In May 2012, Liberia joined other West African Countries and validated the Master Plan for the Monitoring of the West African Coastline (SDLAO).
In August 2013, the Liberia WACOM Focal Group was setup during the Feedback Workshop on MOLOA in Monrovia. Comprising Eight (8) Government of Liberia (GOL) Ministries, fourteen (14) GOL agencies, public corporations and coastal municipalities and five national Non-Governmental Organizations (NNGOs), the focal group is chaired by the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy through the Liberian Hydrological Service (LHS) and Co-chaired by the Liberian Maritime Agency (LiMA).
The Focal Group was tasked to perform three cardinal activities to address
1. Establishment of a coastal zone management regulatory framework,
2. Development of National Integrated Coastal Zone Policy and 3. Data Acquisition Plan (DAP). International support is needed to help Liberia implement the aforementioned activities.
Actions undertaken at national or local level since 2010
Since 2010, Liberia signed a Coastal Adaptation Project with UNDP with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) entitled “Enhancing Resilience Of Vulnerable Coastal Areas To Climate Change Risks In Liberia”
This project features the implementation of climate adaptation programme in three coastal cities namely Buchanan, Hotel Africa and Robertsport. In Buchanan, sea defense structure, “Breakwater Revetment System” is being constructed to reduce the impacts of severe sea erosion along a third of the approximately 2.2km shoreline while solar fish drier is being tested in Robertsport to also reduce the stress on the destruction of mangrove bush which the locals cut and use to dry the fish for the local fishermen.
This project also creates awareness of coastal zone management by conducting several “behavioral rules” workshops in Buchanan, Hotel Africa and Roberstsport in 2012. Behavioral Rules billboards were erected to sensitized the coastal communities of these cities. The project will assist the GoL to set up an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Unit at the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy.
The Ban on Beach Sand Mining is now being enforced vigorously by the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy of Liberia since 2012.