Around 2.3 million farmers and coastal residents are expected to be direct beneficiaries of a project to improve Liberia’s early warning weather systems.
The project is also expected to indirectly benefit 5.4 million people in weather-dependent sectors, including those in agriculture and energy production.
African Development Bank (AfDB) recently approved a U.S.$10million grant from the Green Climate Fund (GFC) to bankroll the project.
The project, according to AfDB, will also receive $431,969 from the bank’s Climate Development Africa Special Fund and $1million from the government of Liberia.
The project falls into line with number 13 of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ‘Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts’, the SDG 13 reads.
The devastating effects of climate change, such as severe droughts, floods, reduced agricultural yields, sea-level rise and other climate-related disasters, are on the rise in Africa.
Weather disasters cost Liberia around $6.17 million each year, a figure that is expected to almost double in the next decade, and triple by 2040 under the baseline scenario.
According to the World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal, Liberia is prone to flooding, heavy rains, storm surges, sea level rise and increased erosion due to climate change.
Also, data from the Liberia Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that the country is exposed to natural hazards and climate-related risks, including floods, windstorms, wildfire and coastal erosion.
According to AfDB, the project will entail the installment of a weather radar at Liberia’s Roberts International Airport and the establishment of unmanned aerial systems for upper-air observation.
‘This project underscores the African Development Bank’s commitment to supporting African countries to improve the use of climate information services, which are key drivers of climate resilience, and will be vital to ensuring a green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic’, AfDB’s Officer-In-Charge for Climate Change and Green Growth, Al Hamndou Dorsouma, said in a statement.
For his part, Liberia’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Samuel Tweah, said the project would also be useful in generating information on food security, water security and environmental protection for his country.
‘Liberia will be better equipped to generate and disseminate accurate climate and weather information for climate change mitigation and early warning, food security, water security and environmental protection’, he said.
Tweah also said, ‘These improvements will enable us to understand how disaster losses occur and how to avoid them in the future, saving lives and preventing economic losses’.
Development Diaries gathered that the EPA will execute the project on behalf of the country’s government over a five-year period.
AfDB had launched its Climate Change and Green Growth Framework in November 2021, to enable it prioritise interventions, inform and guide the alignment of its future operations with the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement.
Source: AfDB
Photo source: Lirneasia
