Archive for April, 2012

Liberia's EPA: Global challenges and benefits

By. Morris Koffa

The EPA is mandated to protect the human health and well being of the Liberian people and others living within in our jurisdiction.

This directive also includes the protection of our ecosystem and biodiversity to include our species and waterways, the air we breathe as well- so the emphasis while on human, also considers the health and life of our natural habitat including our wilderness and mountains.

Understandably, the EPA is less than a decade old, and as such may not be in a “prepared mode” to confront or catch up with most of the 21 century challenges of global environmental problems, regimes, and politics. But with a vision that encompasses a wide range of strategic planning, teamwork, and leadership that can reconcile scientific expertise with democratic values, progress can be made.

Domestically, we are still faced with the environmental problems of household and solid wastes collection and disposal. With teamwork from the municipal authorities, other line ministries, and the availability of logistics, handling and disposal of toxic or chemical wastes could be resolved.

Maybe, another small problem could be the building of engineered landfill sites for the disposal of garbage - one that should be out of the reach of the community and constructed in a way that does not affect our ground water and surface water. A need for extension in rural Liberia is necessary.

Historically, global environmental movements have been noted for raising issues that are sometimes based on limited scientific evidence and simply on self-centered emotionalism. At other times it has been simply a reactionary targeting for political purposes.

However, of commonality between environmental movements and governments is the consensus that adverse human interaction with the environment is responsible for global warming- the climate change phenomenon.

Actions to mitigate the impact of global warming have resulted into nations taking voluntary actions to reduce CO2 emissions. While the European Union has set an emission trading system (ETS), the US is proposing a Cap and Trade (Waxman- Markey) or carbon tax as a means of reducing emissions. Less we forget, deforestation constitutes 20% of carbon emissions, which is more than emissions from transportation.

But what is the role of Africa in this context? The continent, a member of the Group of 77, and China initially contended that developed countries should take ownership for the level of greenhouse gas emissions from their rapid economic activities. But pollution knows no boundary and that action from one country could eventually affect another innocent country through transboundary air pollution (TAP).

This proposal by the G/77 and China after series of negotiations of the COP ranging from Kyoto, Marrakech, and Bali consummated into the adoption
of first, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). This seeks to reduce GHG by allowing firms in developed countries to meet some of their emissions targets by initiating GHG reduction projects in developing countries where costs are lower) - and later, the Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forests Degradation (REDD) framework.

REDD is a policy approach that has emerged in global climate talks and is intended to safeguard the loss of forest and the conservation of biodiversity as well. Simply put, developed countries will be able to buy carbon credits from developing countries by investing in the protection of their forests. The Congo River Basin just got around $500m from Norway and the UK for this exercise.

Liberia, like many African countries stands to benefit from this arrangement given the fact that we have one of the largest rainforest in the West Africa region. But there may be serious hurdles in our way. First, the capacities of the following entities the EPA, FDA, Fish and Wildlife Services (if we have one), Bureau of Land Management (if we have one) must be enhanced through training and education.

Second, the FDA must amend or design rules that avoid “investment in influence” and enforcement mechanism that protects out forests from poachers and illegal loggers. The Fish and Wildlife Service must ensure the management of our ecosystem and biodiversity. I guess, the FWS must also organize a list of our endangered species by designing a habitat conservation plan so that they do not go extinct.

Third, land has become a disputable issue in Liberia. Traditionally, rural dwellers do not have title deeds to their land and this poses a real problem for the effective implementation of a carbon credit program.

The UN framework on sustainable forest management calls on governments to take into consideration the role and place of indigenous people in the governance of natural resources. It is necessary to engage the rural poor through a deliberative democracy approach so that their views, though customary, may find their way into a statutory arrangement. Respecting the moral agency of our indigenous people in the economic and political decision-making process cannot be overstated.

Lastly, EPA must work with carbon credit developers or industries from developed countries seeking carbon to design a workable framework (measuring forests carbon and baselines), so that rural or local communities benefit from these arrangements.

The EPA must also put itself in a strategic bargaining position so that Liberia does not become the victim of global carbon prices manipulation.

Further, EPA must begin the process of engaging the international community for the purpose of tapping into some of the resources that are available under the Global Environmental Facility, and the Global Forest Fund. Given our steps towards democratic governance these benchmarks may not be difficult.

The most important problem that may arise is how we create a balancing act between the drivers of deforestation such as farmers, loggers and forestry related agri-businesses and the various institutions that should ensure the effective and efficient governance of our natural resources.

The move to adaptation (from reliance of forests to other economic alternatives) is difficult, and finding the right policy alternative out of series of rational policy analyses to this question is a real challenge to the governing authority.

This calls for sound economic and governance reform policies that consider all of the complexities and players involved in both domestic and international environment activities. Is this difficult?

Yes! Is this insurmountable? No! Can we? Yes we can, but with the right public policy framework and knowledge base in place.

Morrs Koffa is Founder and CEO www.africaenvironmentalwatch.org, Africa Environmental Watch, based in Bowie, Maryland, USA.

We want a long-lasting family

By. Clemente Ferrer

When the State gets involved in family matters, some feel a certain embarrassment and suspicion since “home” is considered to be a great sanctuary of one’s personal privacy. However, there are countries which traditionally provide support and incentives for the family, such as France, which is at the forefront of overall European births, according to a report of the French Institute of Public Opinion (Ifop). www.aceprensa.com

Against a growing number of divorces, politicians are forced to promote marital stability as a means to impact children’s lives and society at large. The two principal French political parties agree on what the priorities are, but differ on the solutions. According to the INSEE (Statistical Institute), single parent families – with a high percentage of single mothers – are now reaching 19%; its poverty rate reaches 46.2%, versus 7% for the rest of the French population. www.insee.fr

In order to make marriage a long-lasting one, a State must prioritize: the institution of marriage itself; the introduction of new tax benefits for newlyweds; the promotion of an aid policy which favors stable conjugal unions; and the establishment of premarital courses that help build a long-lasting conjugal coexistence.

A new survey carried out by Ifop for the French newspaper La Croix, shows that 77% out of the sample survey (young people between 25 and 34 years) aspire to build and maintain a family with the same partner. www.la-croix.com

According to the survey sample, below are some of the measures that could help strengthen the institution of marriage: a global change in mentalities (33%); external help to solve problems (28%); housing assistance and reconciliation between family and work (25%); effective services for the education of children (17%); revaluation of the institution of marriage (15%); and for the media to portray the image of happiness in family life (12%).

In conclusion, there seems to be a certain principle that brings an advantage to society, and that is due to the stability that the institution of marriage brings. The question comes down to how can the incentives that help a family last over time be improved; how can a family overcome the obstacles encountered throughout coexistence? (Translated by Gianna A. Sanchez Moretti)

Author and journalist Clemente Ferrer has led a distinguished career in Spain in the fields of publicity and press relations. He is currently President of the European Institute of Marketing.

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Vice President Joseph N. Boakai LAMA's Visit: Facts and Rationale

By. L. Wellington VanPelt

(A rebuttal to Mr. Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh’s March 31, 2012 Article)

I shall begin with what both Mr. Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh and I may likely agree on. (1) Our community needs a Community and Cultural Center. (2) Facts should never be optional. (3) For the media to be respected, it must respect its readers and the community it purports to be serving.

By all accounts, the Vice President’s Atlanta Visit was an enormous success! It was also important to the Liberian Diaspora, “Liberia’s 16th County.” In fact, I was so pleased with the level of success that early morning, April 1, I separately emailed both Mr. Leo Mulbah, LAMA’s President and Mr. Amos Smith, Program and Planning Chair (cc: Ms. Maima Gibson and Ms. Imani Bendu), expressing my profound gratitude for such an exceptional job: “feat done in less than two months of planning without the requisite resources or a paid staff and with the temerity to challenge Liberians to pay $50.00 or more for an event in any economy. And, Liberians SHOWED UP!”

Now, here are the facts:

FACT ONE: Vice President Joseph N. Boakai’s trip did “killed several birds with one stone.” His original trip was a scheduled appointment with Rev. Franklin Graham of the Samaritan’s Purse (Charlotte, NC). Samaritan’s Purse is involved in some needed and important work in Liberia.

FACT TWO: LAMA initially scheduled its inauguration for March 24, 2012 but changed to March 31 to benefit from the Vice President’s North Carolina trip.

FACT THREE: To achieve maximum outcome, the Vice President’s office called Hon. Cynthia Nash, Honorary Consul General after she returned from the inauguration of President Sirleaf and Vice President Boakai in Liberia, and informed Hon. Nash of the VEEP’s pending visit to Atlanta. They asked her to facilitate some meetings while he was in Atlanta. Hon. Nash quickly seized the opportunity and brilliantly orchestrated several appointments; including meetings with Coca Cola, Carter Center, MLK Center, Clark Atlanta University, Former Gov. Sonny Purdue and a highly successful “Liberia and USA Business Summit 2012”, among many. Typically, such events require six months of planning at a minimum.

Thus, Mr. Sungbeh’s assertions that “the political leadership structure in Liberia to agree to travel abroad just to install …” is not supported by facts. His lack of engagement (as a Liberian in Atlanta and former president of LAMA) is demonstrated in his absence from the LAMA Palava Hut Meeting, an excellent platform to have asked questions or expressed concerns, and his “journalistic ineptitude” in not interviewing any of the key players: VP Boakai, Hon. Nash, Pres. Mulbah or Chairman Reeves. Instead, he self-servingly sits in his “golden office with his magical pen (laptop)”— not seeking the view of any Liberian who attended.

He would have been very proud that so many Liberians and friends of Liberia came out on a Thursday night, and were engaged in a frank and uncensored “conversation” with government officials on topics such as, dual citizenship, land reform laws, youth employment, incentives for Liberians wanting to return home, and other issue pertinent to Liberia’s future. Was he afraid he would have been accosted with many compliments as I received, unsolicited throughout the weekend from Mrs. Wulah, Mrs. Nebo, Mr. Bull, Mr. Marshall, et al?

The Liberian Diaspora, rightfully dubbed the “Liberia’s 16th County” should be a place that all government officials take very seriously. Can you imagine the Prime Minister of India going to South Africa without visiting Durban? Or a Haitian President coming to the United States and not visiting New York City or Miami? While Atlanta does not have the largest Liberian population in the US, its juxtaposition to Charlotte, the promising relationship with the Port of Savannah (Georgia), as headquarters for Delta Airlines and Coca Cola Company (major economic contributors to Liberia’s growth), made the Vice President and his entourage’s visit more than an intellectual or political exercise. It was a prudent, rational, and appropriate visit!

Even if the Vice President (or Sirleaf’s Administration) had been trying to pay back political debt as Mr. Sungbeh infers, because some of LAMA’s leaders are also leaders in Unity Party (Georgia), it would not had been an aberration. PAY BACK is “political capital” in emerging and thriving democracies. Look at appointments to commissions, ambassadorships, boards or the infamous: “you are doing a heck of job, Brownie” during the Katrina fiasco, Halliburton as a major beneficiary of the Iraq War, to name a few. The catastrophe would be if the administration only supports its party’s programs in the US. That would be a sad commentary!

The Press (at home or abroad) of which Mr. Sungbeh is supposed to be a part of remains our Fourth Branch of government. Though, unelected or un-appointed, it has implied authority and the need to be responsible and transparent. It must be vigilant in protecting, representing and speaking out for all Liberians, especially those who cannot speak for themselves as the kids in Clarkston.

Is the plight of Liberian refugees in Clarkston (Georgia) not worthy of Mr. Sungbeh’s concerns? Are the unintended consequences, combined with the protracted effects of our civil war, which dominate these young people’s lives important? Through no fault of their own making, young Liberians, age 15 – 27 years old cannot read or write beyond their names; adults can not read their prescriptions without the aid of someone else; older children in lower classes can not perform even at that level yet they are constantly being teased because of their accent; young people who were taken from war zones and placed in a structured environment now are involved with the juvenile judicial system more than they care to; some who are involved with drugs are being deported back to Liberia.

Yet, Mr. Sungbeh, a former LAMA President, does not see the rationale for a Liberian Community and Cultural Center where some of these young people could be tutored, mentored and assisted to transition into their new environment. Additionally, the goal is to use the facilities to house a number of social programs that LAMA will be implementing over the coming years. Our failure to successfully integrate them into this society will only lead to more deportations back to Liberia. They might not deal drugs in the US in the future, after serving their term, but they might deal drugs back in Liberia.

Finally, I again agree with Mr. Sungbeh; “most Liberian communities in the US wish they were as fortunate as LAMA.” Yes, LAMA is fortunate to have corps of young, vibrant and progressive leadership led by Pres. Mulbah, for whom the fact that no LAMA leader, including Mr. Sungbeh, (president 1989) has been able to achieve, has reached a Rubicon that says we need to provide better options for these young people and our greater community.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mr. Bill Gates, Mr. Martin Cooper, Pres. Barrack Obama, and Pres. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, of the Civil Rights Movement, Microsoft, Father of the Cell Phone Technology (Motorola), First Black American Elected US President, and First Female Elected African Head of State, respectively, all accomplished feats because of their conviction, capacity to solve problems, desire to make a difference, etc. instead of being mired into their “elusive history” of “never-been-done-before”.

L. Wellington VanPelt, former Liberian Community leader in Detroit, MI; Houston TX;, Raleigh, NC and National Chair, Ricks Institute Alumni Association, USA