Supporting Liberia to advance their NAP Process

The Republic of Liberia sits on the Atlantic Coast, and its equatorial climate means there is little temperature variation throughout the year. However, climate change is predicted to increase the extremities of the wet and the dry seasons, negatively impacting rice cultivation and livestock. Furthermore, along the highly populated coastline, significant infrastructure is at risk from sea-level rise and coastal erosion. 

 

Liberia is rich in water, mineral and forest resources, with the latter covering approximately 45 percent of the country. Industries such as mining (gold and diamonds), hydropower, and palm oil and rubber, play essential roles in the Liberian economy, but also put pressure on the country’s natural capital and environment, increasing their vulnerability to the effects of climate change. Agriculture is a critical industry to protect from changing climatic conditions, with approximately 80 percent of the rural population already vulnerable to food insecurity.

 

The National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), developed in 2008, was Liberia’s first climate change initiative and contains a set of systematic adaptation actions. Liberia’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), submitted in accordance with the Paris Agreement, also details a number of adaptation actions, including the development of a NAP, the focus of which will be coastal development and management, agriculture, energy (hydropower), forest management and coastal resilience, and health and waste management. Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), the operational arm of the National Climate Change Steering Committee (NCCSC), will orchestrate the NAP process at the national level, with the aim to have a long-term systemic impact and facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.