Project Summary

Liberia’s capital city, Monrovia, is extremely vulnerable to coastal erosion and shoreline retreat as a result of climate-induced sea-level rises, and an increasing frequency of high-intensity storms. The most vulnerable part of the Monrovian Metropolitan Area (MMA) coast is West Point, an impoverished and densely-populated informal settlement situated on a narrow spit between the coast and the Mesurado Wetlands. In the last decade, coastal erosion has eaten up 30m of West Point’s shoreline, destroying 670 dwellings, cutting off a main road, and threatening public spaces and boat launching sites critical to the fishery-based livelihoods of the people there.

The Government of Liberia (GoL) with funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) through UNDP launched the Monrovia Metropolitan Climate Resilience Project (MMCRP) in 2021 in West Point to reduce the vulnerability of coastal environments/ecosystems to climate risks. The overall goal is to enhance the resilience of the vulnerable coastal communities within the Monrovia Metropolitan Area (MMA).

The MMCRP is expected to protect coastal communities and infrastructure at West Point by constructing a rock revetment to protect the borough further against sea erosion, and increasingly frequent high-intensity storms, Institute capacity building and policy support for the implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) across Liberia, protect mangroves and strengthen gender-and-climate sensitive livelihoods to increase local adaptive capacity in Monrovia.

The construction is part of a strategic, cohesive coastal adaptation strategy anchored in the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) approach which will increase local adaptive capacity by strengthening gender and climate-sensitive livelihoods, and by protecting mangroves in the Mesurado Wetlands within Monrovia.

Objectives

  • Establish effective and sustainable coastal protection measures for Monrovia’s most vulnerable communities at West Point.

  • Strengthen institutional capacity to manage coastal areas of Liberia in a climate-resilient manner, while raising community awareness on the impacts of climate change, and adaptation practices. 

  • Protect mangroves and strengthen livelihood practices in vulnerable communities across the MMA to enhance people’s adaptive capacity and contribute to long-term transformational change.

Expected Results 

  1. Reduced exposure to coastal erosion by
  • Protecting coastal communities and infrastructure
  • Building institutional capacity and policy support for implementation of ICZM.

2. Institutional and regulatory systems strengthened for climate responsiveness.

3. Increased incomes from climate-resilient livelihood activities that protect mangroves and promote gender balance, ultimately increasing the local adaptive capacity of communities there. Some of the activities will include;

  • Construction of coastal defense revetments.
  • Development of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (ICZMP) for Liberia.
  • Strengthening the asset base and technical capacity of the country’s Integrated Coastal Zone Management Unit (ICZMU) to be able to collect spatial and biophysical coastal information required for the successful implementation of the ICZMP.
  • Establishment of a community education and innovation center to function as a knowledge generation and learning hub on climate change adaptation practices.
  • Establishment of a community-led co-management agreement to ease anthropogenic pressure on mangroves in the MMA.
  • Establishment of small-scale manufacturing facilities and development of training materials to empower community members to manufacture and sell cookstoves as a climate-resilient livelihood activity.
  • Installation of low-maintenance, eco-friendly cold storage facilities near fish processing sites to increase market efficiency.

Achievements

  • Completed data collection (met-ocean data collection) by the firm (EARTHTIME) to conduct the hydro-engineering study and detailed design (HESDD).

  • Hosted the first phase of community meetings in project areas to prepare the communities for the project.

  • The final design, structural analysis, bill of quantities, and cost estimate prepared by the Ministry of Public Works for the renovation of the proposed Education & Innovation Centre (EIC) in West Point were cleared.

  • Data and relevant information being prepared for the Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and the baseline report to conduct the Social and Environmental Safeguard Monitoring (SESM) submitted by Prime Africa.

  • Contract finalized to develop the high-resolution multi-criteria vulnerability mapping to inform the development of Integrated coastal zone management.

  • IEC messages and topics on climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation practices in coastal and wetland areas drafted and finalized to conduct sensitization and awareness. 

QUICK FACTS

DurationJuly 2021 to July 2027
InvestmentUS$ 25,638,905.00

Funding Partners

GCFUSD17,255,755.00
UNDP Trac USD1,577,750.00

 

GoL

USD2,540,000.00 (grant)

USD4,265,400.00 (in-kind - rocks)

TotalUSD25,638,905.00

 

Implementing Partners

Ministry of Mines and Energy; 

Ministry of Public Works; 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

 

Implementation Location

Township of West Point, Monrovia, 

Montserrado County

BeneficiariesThe impoverished communities living in West Point
SDG13

Project document

 

 

 

 

 

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