Mangrove Ecosystem: Community environmental awareness

Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas, Coastal landscape management or protection, Knowledge creation and awareness raising

Mangrove forest at the Mesurado wetland is depleting at a much higher rate than the global expectation. The decrease of the forest is the result of it being converted to other land uses such as urban development, search for human settlements, agriculture, sand mining amongst other uses. Adding to this, due to climate change, rainfall is sometimes experienced even during some months in the dry season leading to soil erosion and landslides. In Liberia, mangrove forests conservation is yet to be accepted by the local coastal dwellers due to their low level of conservation knowledge which leads to land reclamation, charcoal production or wood for drying of fish. As such the present intervention aimed at: 1. To address the issue of ignorance on the part of the communities about the importance and benefits of mangroves in communities within and around the Mesurado wetland. 2. To employ the integration of conservation messages into sermons preached by religious leaders, a method previously used successfully in the conservation and protection of elephants in Kenya and within the sub-region. 3. To address the continuous protection of the Mesurado Wetlands through a system of religious conservation awareness and education and alternative livelihood options for the communities engaged. 4. To ensure that young people take action in addressing climate change issues by their inclusion, and active participation at all climate change discussions and negotiations henceforth. 5. To link climate change with key development challenges, like poverty alleviation, agriculture, gender, health, education, economic growth, urbanization and migrations, governance among others 6. To address knowledge transfer and capacity building based on the personal involvement of local people are at the heart of this project and hence dissemination is an integral aspect of what is planned. 7. To raise awareness in terms of the important ecosystems provided by the Mesurado Wetlands: it is a crucial component of the blue forest ecosystem a powerful form of erosion control, and the existence of mangrove trees, it provides shelter and nutrients to young fishes, shrimps, crabs and molluscs where they can live safely and develop. (1,2)

Consultations and discussions began as early as 2020 with the community and stakeholders representatives. The proposal which developed in an intervention has evolved as a direct result of that consultation process and a pre-project development visit which was undertaken early on by the project team. The intervention is fairly new as it has been approved in July 2020. In April 2021, the Youth Climate Change Initiative- (YCCI-Liberia) Liberia, a climate and environment non-for-profit and one of the implementers already organised a session. Participants at the workshop were drawn from wetland communities including, Peace Island, SKD Boulevard, New Matadi, Sinkor and communities along the battery Factory area. Students of the University of Liberia were also in attendance. (2)

• Citizens or community groups
• Young people and children
• Marginalized groups: Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)