Liberia's Weak Adaptation Efforts Leave Communities At Risk of Flood Disaster

He giggles between phone calls as a staff member walks in for a reminder. Artur Becker, the Director for the Department of Multilateral Environmental Agreements at Liberia's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), sits behind his desk at his office in Monrovia. As the country's lead on adaptation plans, Becker had just returned from a workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, where he and other representatives from Least Developed Countries assessed their progress on National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).

In an exclusive interview, I asked Becker: "When it comes to climate change adaptation, where is Liberia?"

"Liberia is among the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change," he began, citing a range of threats from coastal erosion and sea-level rise to increased temperatures and flooding.

He explained that despite this exposure, Liberia successfully developed a comprehensive strategy -- the National Adaptation Plan (NAP).

"We set the stage for what the country intends to do to address the harsh consequences of climate change," Becker said. "That plan identified climate-sensitive sectors impacted by climate change, including coastal zones, fisheries, energy, and agriculture."

Becker revealed that following the NAP development, a detailed climate change vulnerability risk assessment was conducted, which also identified these sensitive sectors.

Liberia is among the countries that have developed and submitted its climate adaptation strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Countries like Nigeria and the Ivory Coast are yet to develop their adaptation plan of action.

The ten years plan was launched in December 2021, (2020-2030) as a roadmap for the government to build resilience and ensure sustainable development.

But despite its clear vision, the plan faces a major obstacle: it was not costed.

"The interventions are wide and require a lot of costs. It's cost-intensive," Becker explained. "Unfortunately, the NAP was not costed." He revealed that the government is now trying to secure funding to determine the total cost of the plan.

"There are competing priorities for the government," he said, emphasizing that Liberia has a part to play, but it will also rely on support from the international community to address its adaptation needs. "What is important to note is that, obviously, the intervention around adaptation will come with cost."

Despite the lack of dedicated government funding for the NAP itself, Becker was quick to highlight several ongoing projects that demonstrate a commitment to climate action and serve as a "major strengthening to adaptation in Liberia." These projects, primarily funded by international partners, include: the $20.4 million Sinoe coastal project, which aims to protect vulnerable communities from sea-level rise and flooding.

The "Integrated Approach to Coastal Adaptation in Liberia" project in West Point, a dense urban slum in Monrovia. The project, funded by the Global Environment Facility and the UNDP, focuses on building a rock revetment and seawall to combat severe coastal erosion. The Enhancing Climate Information Systems for Resilient Development (CIS) project, and the UNDP's Energy and Environment Programme which work to strengthen Liberia's capacity to manage its environment and promote sustainable development.

Becker stated that these projects are all "adaptation interventions, one way or another, taking place at a larger scale."

The NAP is an integral part of Liberia's broader climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, known as its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Becker pointed out that the six priority sectors of the NAP are also reflected in the country's NDCs, which are legally binding plans that include both adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Liberia's updated NDC 2.0 was costed at $490 million, with 54% of that amount conditional on support from the international community. Only 10% of the cost is expected to come from the Government of Liberia.

"The national adaptation plan is an instrument that accelerates adaptation efforts, but it does not work in isolation," Becker said. It works side-by-side with sectoral plans and strategies, while acknowledging that finance remains the major challenge but expressed optimism that the government's commitment to climate action, reflected in the environmental sustainability component of the ARREST Agenda, will lead to real progress.

Liberia faces significant climate threats, which are projected to intensify over time. The main hazards include Sea-level Rise, coastal erosion, extreme Weather Events, and rising temperatures, according to the World Bank Country Climate and Development report.

These hazards pose a direct threat to the agriculture, food security, Coastal and Urban Infrastructure, public health and forestry and Fisheries. The World Bank noted that despite the high vulnerability, Liberia's readiness to adapt remains low due to limited institutional capacity, a lack of detailed data on climate hazards, and limited access to finance.

The report recommends several pathways for more resilient growth, including prioritizing investment in climate-resilient infrastructure like flood protection and durable roads. Promoting sustainable land management and climate-smart agriculture. Strengthening human development to reduce dependency on natural resources and. leveraging the country's forests, for carbon markets and climate financing.

In an email to UNDP Liberia, said the country has made notable strides in advancing climate adaptation policy and institutional development including the development of : its NAP, the National Climate Change Policy, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Strategy.

UNDP believes these frameworks have been instrumental in mainstreaming climate resilience into national development planning. "Through technical assistance from partners such as UNDP, World Bank, African Development Bank, Liberia has successfully mobilized millions in climate finance from facilities such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) as well as bilateral partners such as the European Union, Norway, Germany, United Kingdom and Embassy of Sweden for flagship projects in agriculture, coastal, fisheries and forestry."

"Community-Level Impact: Communities and stakeholders have benefited from infrastructure upgrades, early warning systems, and livelihood diversification. Government Ownership: In the past few years, including 2024, the Government of Liberia has demonstrated increased commitment by confirming and disbursing cash co-financing from the national budget, an important step toward sustainability and national ownership."

Despite these gains, UNDP noted that challenges remain in scaling up efforts, ensuring timely co-financing, and building long-term institutional capacity. Delays in government co-financing in earlier years affected project timelines and implementation momentum. Limited technical and institutional capacity, particularly at sub-national levels, affects the sustainability and scalability of adaptation interventions. Weak inter-agency coordination has led to duplication of efforts and inefficiencies in resource utilization. Inadequate climate data and early warning systems limit evidence-based decision-making and adaptive planning.

To address the current limited political will and funding constraints, UNDP recommended the following measures including embed climate adaptation financing within the national budget framework to ensure predictable and sustained co-financing, which is also an incentive for mobilizing international funding. Strengthen and regularize high-level coordination mechanism such as the National Climate Change Steering Committee, the National Climate Change Secretariat, REDD+ Technical Working Group and Environmental Sector Working Group to mainstream climate adaptation across all sectors and levels of government. Explore innovative financing mechanisms such as climate levies, green bonds, and public-private partnerships to diversify funding sources. Elevate climate adaptation as a national development priority through sustained political engagement and public awareness campaigns, leveraging partnership with civil society and NGOs. Expand collaboration with development partners, including South-South cooperation, to share best practices, build capacity, and attract investment.

Communities in Liberia have experienced flooding. Some have been made homeless, and properties destroyed. The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), the lead entity to respond and manage disaster crisis across the country, have lamented the lack of enough funding to enable the agency's response to these hazards mainly caused by climate change.

Already the country grapples with existing vulnerabilities: an estimated 2.2 million people are exposed to floods, 320,000 to coastal erosion, and 2.1 million to windstorms. Experts predict that the impacts of climate change will only intensify these risks.

Archie Doe, the Communications Director for the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), stated that the agency has been severely challenged by a lack of government funding. He noted that the NDMA's annual budget from the Liberian government is low, covering only salaries and operational costs. This has left the agency's disaster response efforts entirely dependent on donors such as the UNDP, ECOWAS, World Bank, World Food Programme (WFP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Despite these financial limitations, Doe confirmed that the agency has successfully developed a flood response plan. "The next thing is to begin the implementation of the flood response plan," he said. Quoting predictions from the World Bank Climate Change Risk Profile on Liberia, Doe highlighted the urgency of the situation. "We are going to have two big peaks of the rainy season," he said. "One... around July, and the second peak... around September is going to be the heaviest of the entire six months of the rainy season."

"So, the response plan has been put in place. We have institutions that are doing the risk vulnerability study. In an event that we have X, YZ Community hit by flooding what actually going to be our response effort? We are now on the awareness portion. The team from different institutions is creating awareness in flood-prone communities."

Read the original article on Liberian Observer.

Liberia's Weak Adaptation Efforts Leave Communities At Risk of Flood Disaster

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