The Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia has begun a two days needs assessment workshop for national Stakeholders on the Biodiversity Areas Beyond National Jurisdictions (BBNJ) Agreement

The workshop with support from High Seas Alliance through the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is geared towards identifying and engaging relevant stakeholders in the BBNJ Treaty ratification process, assessing stakeholders’ needs, concerns, and expectations related to the treaty, and enhancing awareness and understanding of the treaty’s implementation for Liberia, and gathering stakeholders’ inputs that will inform national policy and legislative framework supporting the treaty implementation

When concluded, the workshop will increase awareness and knowledge among stakeholders and gaps that need to be addressed for successful ratification, develop recommendations to guide government’s approach to the treat implementation and strengthen collaboration among government agencies, academia, and civil society in marine biodiversity governance

Participants of the workshop are drawn from the National Fisheries & Aquaculture Authority Liberia Maritime Authority, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Liberia , and Ministry of Agriculture Liberia – MOA Liberia

Others are the University of Liberia , United Methodist University , Conservation International, Liberia, Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia, Fuana and Flora (FFI), United Nations Development Programme – UNDP , Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Civil Society Organizations and community Based Organizations among others