The Deputy Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA), Randall M. Dobayou said Liberia supports the establishment of a biodiversity trust fund dedicated exclusively to mobilize resources for implementation of the post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
Speaking at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference or Fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-15) in Montreal, Canada on 11 December 2022, Mr. Dobayou said Liberia's biodiversity resources and its ecosystems are critical to the social and economic survival of Liberians.
“Importantly, we are home to the largest remaining portion of the Upper Guinea Rainforest in West Africa, for which Liberia has committed to protecting at least 30% under wavering conservation approaches,” he said.
Speaking further, the EPA Deputy Executive Director noted that as Liberia prioritizes the conservation and sustainable use of these natural habitats, which Liberians depend on for livelihood, climate regulation, and prevention of diseases, they hope the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework also includes targets that demand concrete global actions toward mitigating the negative impacts on biodiversity.
He said “A new ambitious Strategic Plan, matched with the required financial resources, is needed to address the triple crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution. This ambitious plan will enable us reset our relationship and make peace with nature.”
Deputy Executive Director Dobayou added “Your excellencies, having a realistic strategy to raise the needed resources is a priority. That is why Liberia strongly supports a realistic resource mobilization target as contained in Target 19.1, particularly articulated by the African Group of Negotiators and like-minded countries.”
He emphasized the country’s supports for the establishment of a Biodiversity Trust Fund dedicated exclusively to mobilizing resources for implementing the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
It is expected that government representatives from around the world attending the event will agree on a new set of goals to guide a global action through 2030 to halt and reverse nature loss.
Nature is critical to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.