UNDP's biodiversity work

Through its Global Environment Facility Programme, UNDP is providing assistance to Liberia's transitional government in setting out a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, based on the continued restoration of peace and security in the country following the 2003 Accra Peace Agreement.

The overall mission is to help Liberia use its biodiversity to meet the requirements of present generations without endangering the potential of future generations. Specific goals include protection of critical ecosystems, rational and sustainable use of biodiversity and equitable sharing of the benefits of these natural resources.

Shifting cultivation, soil erosion, timber exploitation, poaching and hunting, mining, insufficient public education and awareness, inadequate law enforcement and insufficient training in biodiversity management are among the challenges that threaten Liberia's biodiversity. Ten areas have been identified in the Strategy and Action Plan as priorities:

• Land rehabilitation
• Forestry sector reform
• Timber management
• Poverty alleviation through appropriate and equitable use of natural resources
• Food security
• Addressing the bushmeat trade
• Provision of alternative sources of protein to bushmeat
• Restoration of electricity
• Environmental impact assessment
• Coastal erosion and mangrove destruction

As called for by the Convention on Biological Diversity, an international treaty which Liberia ratified in 2000, the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan evaluates and describes the status of biodiversity in Liberia, defines guiding principles, goals and objectives of biodiversity conservation in the country and sets out concrete measures to tackle these issues.