Delivered by Stephen Rodriques

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to participate in the celebration of this year’s World Environment Day, which comes at a time when the world is focusing on the impact of climate change affecting our world.

I would like to recognize the Government’s leadership, through the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), in organizing the World Environment Day 2021 activities in Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount and for its continued partnership with UNDP.

On this historic day, the UN will launch the “UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration” (2021 to 2030). The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration aims to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent.

Today, as we commemorate World Environment Day, we are reminded of the call for urgent action to revive our damaged ecosystems. In this regard, the significance of hosting this meeting at Robertsport is not lost on us— Robertsport has varied and unique ecosystems, including the Lake Piso multi-purpose Reserve, which is the first Ramsar Site in Liberia.

The ecosystems of Robertsport and its surroundings, including the Lake Piso, the Ocean, the mountain forests, and the mangrove vegetations, support life and are very important sources of livelihoods.

These ecosystems are seriously under threats from unsustainable fishing practices, unsustainable harvesting of mangrove vegetations, deforestation, unstainable farming practices, etc.  We need to take positive actions to repair these ecosystems because we all depend on healthy ecosystems for our survival.

Ecosystem restoration is a global undertaking at a massive scale. It means repairing billions of hectares of land so that people have access to food, clean water and jobs; it means bringing back plants and animals from the brink of extinction, from the peaks of mountains to the depths of the sea; it also includes the many small actions everyone can take, every day— growing trees, greening our cities, rewilding our gardens, and cleaning up trash along the rivers and coasts.

These actions to restore Liberia’s ecosystems carry substantial benefits for people— restoration also creates jobs in rural areas where they are most needed. Increasingly, we are seeing countries invest more in restoration activities and strategies, to adapt to the impact of climate change, and to support efforts to mitigate Climate Change.

Ladies and Gentlemen, UNDP is committed to continuing support to the Government and people of Liberia to protect the environment and better manage its natural resources more sustainably.

To date, through our partnership, Liberia ratified the Paris Agreement and developed its first State of the Environment Report. In addition, UNDP has established a Climate Change Early Warning system to provide climate and weather information for Liberia.

We have also created a Graduate programme in Environment and Climate Change Studies at the University of Liberia to support the Government’s efforts to build national capacity to address the country’s environment priorities and challenges. Our Solar-for-Health initiative has improved the delivery of health services in rural health facilities, by providing consistent and clean energy.

We are implementing Coastal defence interventions to reduce the impact of climate change on coastal communities, and Community-based adaptation initiatives to increase resilience to climate change in communities. UNDP’s Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme provides small grants for local non-state actors to address community-based environment priorities. Last, but not least, UNDP trained up to 75 representatives from around Lake Piso on biodiversity conservation. The same group of trainees are involved in the Clean- Up campaign, which UNDP is supporting today.

As our survivals depend on healthy ecosystems, everyone needs to be part of the drive for restoring and protecting Liberia’s ecosystems. Earlier this week, we joined the Youth Environment and Climate Change Action (YECA) Summit and witnessed the dynamism of the youth engaged to guarantee the future of our environment and planet.

Looking forward, I encourage the Government and people of Liberia to continue to take bold actions to protect its ecosystems around the country. For instance, an active Youth brigade in different communities will accelerate Liberia’s efforts to restore the country’s valuable ecosystems.

The number of participants in today’s Clean-Up Campaign and the results show that this  works. We can and should channel the energy and passion of the youth into a more sustained movement for ecosystem restoration and protection in Liberia. A Youth Brigade for the Environment is that sustained movement that is needed!

I wish to conclude by reiterating the UN Secretary- General’s global call to action. Let us work together and strengthen our efforts to reverse the damage we have done. Let us take urgent and sustained actions to restore and protect Liberia’s ecosystems. Together, we can replant and protect our forests.  We can clean up our rivers and seas.  And we can green our cities.  We will only succeed if everyone plays a part.

UNDP stands ready to support the government and people to join this global movement for action.

Thank you