In the Wake of West Point Looming Tsunami, EPA, UNDP Wants Gov’t Allot Climate Change Support Fund In Nat’l Budget; As EPA Boss Takes off In’t Climate Change Conference In Korea
A two-day technical working session on practical tools and methods to incorporate Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) into planning and budgeting processes got underway on Thursday August 15, 2019 in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.
The meeting is organized by the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA), the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with support from the National Adaptation Plans (NAP) Project, which is bankrolled by the Green Climate Fund.
Technicians and experts from line Government ministries and agencies and representatives of non-governmental organizations are attending the forum, which among many others seek to review content of a draft toolkits developed by the national consultant for mainstreaming climate change adaptation into planning and budgeting processes.
UNDP CCA Mainstreaming Consultant Dehpue Y. Zuo said participants are also expected to provide technical input on CCA budgeting and planning at the local and national level.
Zuo told the opening session of the two day forum that participants will also present useful tools for incorporating climate change issues, problem analysis; program formulation, cost and benefit analysis, implementation and monitoring.
Also speaking, EPA Deputy Executive Director, Randall M. Dobayou stressed the need to include climate change activities in the national budget because it cut across and affect every sector of the country.
He disclosed that countries around the world are now allotting money in their budget for climate change activities and made specific reference to Costa Rica, which according to him is appropriating US$ 100 million annually into its budget to fight climate change.
Hon. Dobayou noted that the countries are mainstreaming climate change into their planning and budgeting processes.
“The people who are responsible to draft those countries budgets didn’t forget to capture climate change activities in their national budgets.”
He said climate change is real and its impacts are becoming more visible in several places including Sinoe, Grand Bassa and Montserrado counties.
The EPA Deputy Director underscored the need to start planning to address imminent dangers post by the impacts of climate change by allotting money to address the impacts of climate change.
Hon. Dobayou used the occasion to dismissed speculations that EPA was receiving huge donor funding and explained that money coming from its partners are not directing coming into the agency’s account.
According to him, Liberia stand the risk of not accessing about US$ 50 million if the country don’t budget for climate change activities because according to him GCF might ask for a US$ 10 million co-financing.
“How do you access the money when you don’t have money budgeted?” he asked.
For his part, EPA Manager for Planning and Policy, Z. Elijah Whapoe expressed happiness over the turnout of financial and other expects at the training.
He said that sustainable development can’t be carryout in the absence of environmental sustainability.
According to him, similar forum was held when he was the Comptroller at the EPA, but “that gathering was much smaller and not well planned like this one here”.
He disclosed that the EPA was finally doing the second State of the Environment Report since the first one was released in 2006.
Mr. Whapoe indicated that the EPA is also doing National Environment Action Plan which according to him will present the condition of the environment in a problematic format.
He noted that both reports are being done with funding provided under the Liberia Forest Sector Project (LFSP).
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development Team Leader, Dorsla Farcarthy asked the audience to fully participate in the meeting and ensured that the document is properly looked at.
EPA Deputy Executive Director Dobayou
In a related development, the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA), Dr. Nathaniel T. Blama is expected to highlight the plights of residents of the township of West Point at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Global Programing Conference ‘Realising Climate Ambitions’ in Songdo, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
West Point, Liberia’s largest slum faces imminent danger caused by sea erosion. Several homes in the community have been washed under the ocean.
The Liberian Government has finally asked residents in areas in the township considered as ‘red zone’ to evacuate dangerous spots to avoid fatality.
The Government Liberia needs US$ 40 million to secure the entire township from the rising level of the Atlantic Ocean.
The government has financial constraint, but authorities of the EPA are scouting funding to erect coastal defence in West Point.
In this regard, EPA Executive Director Dr. Blama is expected to take advantage of a speaking opportunity at the second day of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Global Programing Conference on Tuesday, 23 August 2019 to champion the case of West Point.
Dr. Blama was invited to serve as a speaker at the day-two of Green Climate Fund (GCF) Global Programing Conference, which runs from 19 to 23 August 2019.
The GCF addresses climate change. It relies on the support of partners like the Government of Liberia to deliver and catalyse transformational change in developing countries.
The second day session which is titled “Getting ready for Climate Action: A holistic Approach” will feature panel discussions on how countries could use the GCF’s Readiness and Preparatory Support Program to strategically prepare themselves for ambitious climate action.
The session is being organized in the context of the proposed pursuit of impact programing directions for the GEF first replenishment whereby the GCF’s dedicated financing allocation for readiness national adaptation planning and project preparation make the GCF a unique provider of full value-chain support to developing countries in planning, conceptualizing and implementing mitigation and adaptation projects and programs.
Dr. Blama is expected to seize the opportunity to talk about the situation facing West Point considering that the latest climate syncience from the inter-governmental panel on climate change makes it clear that the global community must act with a sense of urgency and at scale to ensure that the goals of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement are met.
According to the organizer of the conference, the UN Climate Change Action summit to be convened by the Secretary General (UNSG) in New York, USA on 23 September 2019 will be a momentous event to galvanise the globally community towards more ambitious climate action.
“To support these efforts, the GCF is coalescing climate finance leaders from nearly 100 developing countries at the ministerial level as well as the leadership of our 50 accredited entity partners to build ambitious programing plan during the GCF’s first replenishment period,” Yannick Glemarec said in a letter of invitation of Dr. Blama.
“The stewardship of the Government of Liberia is crucial in this endeavour and I sincerely hope you will accept my invitation,” Glemarec concluded in the letter.
