FrontPage Africa again ignores EPA-L: A case of media bias?
By Morris T. Koffa 
About few weeks ago, FrontPage Africa published its “Who Passed; Who Failed in the Liberian Gov’t: FPA’s 2012 Assessment,” which is the annual ritual of that news media’s way of assessing the performance of the Liberian Government.
The exercise was somehow exhaustive. It assessed just about all of the government functionaries including the Drug Enforcement Agency, Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, General Auditing Commission, Liberia Civil Aviation Authority, and Forestry Development Authority.
Although the process is nonscientific as FPA readily admits, this annual ritual is often a befitting exercise for public consumption, because it usually generates public interest and provides a window on how the government entities are performing. This exercise also helps the government gather some useful suggestions often driven by public opinion.
For the entities, the media exercise could serve as an opportunity to gauge and analyze their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT); in order to identify existing gap for improvement. Since the entire effort is about the functionaries of the government of Liberia, it is important to be inconclusive of all government entities to create a sense of media balance. Omitting one entity in the exercise, and more so on a consistent basis may generate reasonable perception and conclusion that such an entity is unimportant.
Unfortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA-L) has been a victim of this exercise of exclusion since its inception several years ago. Such neglect raises logical questions as to why the EPA-L has been left out of the equation, when it should be regarded as an equally important entity of the government.
The EPA-L was created in 2003 by an Act of the Liberian Legislature as an autonomous agency charged with the responsibilities of protecting and managing the environment for the well-being of all citizens and residents. These responsibilities are geared toward developing and sustaining healthy human resources germane to the nation’s economic growth for present and future generations.
Furthermore, the EPA plays a vital role in sustaining the overall economic and social growth as well as the political stability of the nation. No nation succeeds in its developmental goals in the absence of sound environmental practices against the calamities from environmental degradation.
A well-managed and protected environment is considered the crux and indicator of measurable progress as enshrined in the United National Millennium Development Goal (MDG), which stresses that poverty reduction is the measure of sound, sustainable environmental practices.
It goes to say that no nation succeeds holistically without sound, measureable and achievable environmental goals. With such grounded information, EPA-L has been doing its very best even with limited national resources to ensure that Liberia remains a partner in the global desire to protect the environment for humanity. With such a national core mission, leaving out the EPA-L is inconceivable, to say the least.
Excluding EPA-L from the annual evaluation exercise concerns Africa Environmental Watch (AEW), Inc. and perhaps many other environmental groups. FrontPage is one of the iconic news organs in Liberia. It attracts more readerships, therefore, whatever news it provides is widely consumed; and perceptions are developed leading to serious public policy discussion.
Marginalizing a critical government entity such as the EPA-L is likely to give the perception that the entity is irrelevant, and contributes nothing meaningful to the social and economic sectors of the country. Such a notion of exclusion of the EPA-L may send mixed signals to the public and our international partners. In the end, the exclusion could undermine a thriving global partnership which the EPA-L has begun to build.
It should be recalled that at the September 2011 environmental forum held on behalf of EPA-L in Washington DC, partnership initiatives were established. The Liberia Environmental Forum for capacity building and technical assistance of the EPA brought together global partners such as the United States Environmental Protection Administration (USEPA), USAID, Global Environmental Facilities (GEF), UN Sustainable Development Office, National Council for Science and Environment (NCSE), Environmental Law Institute (ELI), Conservation International (CI), University of the District of Columbia UDC and many others.
At the conclusion of the conference, several memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed between the UDC and EPA-L, William V. S. Tubman University (TU), and Stella Maris Polytechnic (SMP). As a follow-up to the MOUs, a technical assessment team from UDC and AEW visited Liberia in May 2012 to conduct the need assessment for EPA-L, TU and SMP. Other tangible benefits derived from the conference are beginning to mature.
This is just a glance of what is unfolding in Liberia as a result of the EPA-L’s effort. Of course, there is more to be done but let’s recognize the little that is achieved through the many sacrifices of the hardworking people at the agency. The media has an important role to play in the process.
Another EPA accomplishment is that through its global partnership initiatives with Africa Environmental Watch and others, environmental degree programs are now being offered at Stella Maris Polytechnic and William V.S. Tubman University. These degree programs will prepare research practitioners to assist policymakers in making sound policies that will improve the nation’s environmental practices.
These initiatives are beginning to bear some tangible results. Liberians cannot afford to let these efforts waste. Furthermore, institutions inside and outside of Liberia including the media community bear equal responsibility to promote the EPA-L, because of its core value and mission to protect our environment. If we ignore the importance of the EPA-L and not help publicize the work it is doing, we will open the floodgate of corporations, companies and other institutions to constantly endanger the air we breathe, the water we drink and the soil that grows our food.
On several occasions, AEW brought these concerns to the attention of Front Page Africa’s editor-in-chief. To his credit, FPA published EPA-L related “concerned letters” during the administration of the late Hon. Ben Donnie. Notwithstanding, the situation still persists. Of course FPA has the right to evaluate or assess whomever it chooses, but as a matter of social responsibility and media balance, AEW hopes that just as FPA focuses on other government entities, it needs to extend similar attention to the EPA-L, so that the public will enjoy the same courtesy to better engage or promote the EPA-L in other circles of government.
Once again, the EPA-L was established in 2003; but it did not become fully institutionalized until in 2006 by the Sirleaf-led government. The EPA-L, like other government entities has had its share of challenges, but yet it is making measurable progress amidst limited resources to deal with the enormity of its core vision of protecting and regulating Liberia’s environment. Such progress along with the problems encountered need to be publicized. AEW believes that FPA’s readership deserves to know how their EPA-L is doing and how we collectively can make it better.
The current EPA-L leadership embarked on a visionary roadmap by building a network of domestic and global partnerships for a sustainable environmental future. For example, Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is now a standard requirement for all companies (commercial and private), whose activities are deemed sensitive to the environment. This means that the EPA-L often assesses both pre and post environmental conditions of the companies’ activities. The EPA-L often trains inspectors to spot indictors of potential environmental threats. This was never the case in the past.
In conclusion, the AEW hopes that FPA will consider this article as an appeal to focus on EPA-L in present and future media exercises. We all are in this together. Where praise is due, let it be shared all around. Where suggestions for improvement are due, let them also be shared around.
Postwar Liberia needs a sound and balanced critique of development and progress that we all can be proud of. Thank you!
Mr. Morris T. Koffa, is an Environmental Engineer & Disaster/Emergency Management Practitioner, and Executive Director of the Africa Environmental Watch (AEW), Inc. He can be reached at [email protected] and 240-417-2545 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 240-417-2545 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (cell).
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