Consultations With Communities to Gazette Liberia’s Marshall Wetlands as Protected Area
Conservation International (CI)-Liberia has begun consultations with communities living in and around the 12,000-hectare Marshall Wetland to enhance protection of the biodiversity hotspot and to secure the many benefits it provides to local people amid heightening threats of degradation.
The consultations involve obtaining Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from 67 communities in Grand Bassa and Margibi Counties with a combined population 85,632 to designate the wetland as a protected area. The management framework will enshrine a central role for communities in protected area management and resource governance.
“Designating the wetland as a protected area will be an essential step in a comprehensive coastal biodiversity and mangrove conservation process in Liberia and will support expansion of Liberia’s coastal biodiversity program into the future,” said Peter Mulbah, CI Liberia Acting Country Director.
He added: “The consultations builds on previous engagements with the communities that resulted in a draft gazettement package for the protected area. CI Liberia will be able to help the Government of Liberia submit the gazettement package for legislative approval and officially create the Marshall Wetlands Protected Area.”
Comprising of six islands and three rivers, the wetland is covered mostly by mature mangrove forests reaching up to 30 meters, with secondary forests and savannah woodland further inland. The wetland, designated as a Ramsar site in 2006, provides many benefits to local communities including control against flooding and underground water recharge and is a sediment trap.
The very large stands of mangroves, fish population and wildlife are valuable resources for inhabitants in the area. In addition to the Red Colobus monkey, a number of bird species listed by the convention of migratory species appear in the area.
The main threats to Marshall wetland include infrastructure development, such as illegal structures for housing; illegal sand mining; use of mangrove wood for fuel-wood, charcoal, and fish smoking; and unregulated waste disposal; and invasive alien species.
CI Liberia recently concluded a three-year project to strengthen the conservation and sustainable use of Liberia’s globally important mangrove forests through effective participatory land-use planning and establishment of marine protected areas in at least 35% of Liberia’s mangroves.
