By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
The Deputy Executive Director at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has challenged young people to take the lead in creating awareness on the impact of Climatic Change on the environment.
Randall Dobayou said young people should serve as agents of change in order to spread the negative impact of the climate on the environment as a result of human activities.
Mr. Dobayou was speaking recently at a one-day lecture forum organized by the Book Before Boys organization held at the William V S Tubman High School in Monrovia
Director Randall Dobayou addressing students in Monrovia
He spoke on the theme: “Climatic Change: The Effect on Gender, Women and Children.”
The EPA Deputy Director stressed the need for women and children to talk to their community dwellers against cutting trees unnecessarily, cutting of mango trees from the swaps and mining of sand from the beaches
Young people should serve as proponents and ambassadors of the environment because nature does not forgive whenever people do wrong to the ecosystem, he said.
“The children are the direct victims of the effect as a result of the degradation on the environment because they are ones who inherit the impact of the human activities in the future,” the EPA boss told the students and other youths.
“it is based on this background that the world needs to take integrated gender approach in community-based adaptation that will facilitate men and women alike tackling the environmental problems and challenges. Every time a load of sand that is manned from the beach is an invitation of the sea in to land whenever there is rise in the ocean,” Mr. Dobayou added.
The EPA official pointed out that vulnerable people are severely hit whenever there is an environmental disaster because most of them are at the lowest of the living standard in any society.
The environmental scientist explained that the erosion in the Township of West, the flooding in some parts of Matadi, the Doe Community and the Topo Village are the impact of human activities on the environment
“Based on these prevailing circumstances,” Mr. Dobayou went on,” the EPA has embarked on national adaptation strategy by training women in several parts of the country about the reduction of cutting of trees for the production of coal and the introduction of a stove made out of clay.”
The EPA has also embarked on creating awareness through the various media institutions, producing jingles about danger of climatic change and held a three-day national conference on the environment,” he informed the students.
According to him, the EPA in collaboration with it partners has established a master degree granting program in Environmental Science at the University of Liberia and established partnership with national institutions and professional organizations purposely to protect the environment.
Meanwhile, the EPA is said to have imposed fines on companies guilty of environmental offences and broken down houses that are constructed in the drainages.
The Deputy EPA Executive Director said that his institution has also reached an understanding with state security institutions on making illegal mining of sand on the beach a criminal offence, unless the person is licensed
“We have also employed wetland agents purposely to alert us whenever there is a cutting of the tree and construction in theswam,” he claimed.
It was also disclosed to the student that companies have been made to obtain environmental impact assessment before constructing huge projects, mining of gold, diamond or iron ore.
The EPA executive maintained that the Liberian government has put in place a mechanism aimed at punishing violators of environmental laws in the country.