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An
ecological perspective of Liberia
Wednesday,
January 24, 2007
By
Wollor E. Topor
Once
upon a time, there was a eutrophic aquatic ecosystem
called Liberia. Its bio-diversity was polarized
(we-are-people/exploiters versus the
powerless/exploited), yet co-existed perhaps not in
‘peace’ but in complacency and tolerance or in the
positive term: every fish ‘swum with the tide’ of
social exclusion, rampant corruption, social
injustice, marginalization and bad governance for over
a century. Not until the dynamite or a dramatic social
change was threw into River Liberia.
For
almost two decades, vicious unpleasant waves shocked
and coerced the ecosystem to the brink of
self-destruction. For instance, the natural habitat
was disrupted and most species moved away from the
riverbed or along Liberia’s riverbanks.
With
biotic potential, individual species move into
different directions to invade other habitat for
better or for worse. The eruption never even spare the
plundering of the physical environment whose resources
(timber, diamond, gold, etc) still milked and fueled
the turbulence of the river, a situation, which almost
turned the system oligotrophy as the biotic life whose
threshold level was crossed had to perish. Thanks to
the Almighty God who had the “pie” together – at
least every member of the community pledged its
allegiance to the flag.
With
reconciling the waves from the dynamite at a cost of
even forgiving the unforgivable, every creature is
resiliently starting from scratch. And the homeostatic
process is catching up with every species, as each
seems to be pulling towards the limneitic zone of
River Liberia. What could be the implications?
Firstly, nowhere is better than ones’ personal
native niche. Secondly, that every
species intends to
give its best in values, talents and skills to
the nation building process. This is a positive step
in the direction of total
participation for equitable growth.
This
time, the nation building visionary
strategy could go beyond the short, medium-term and
emergency plans other than guide them. A development
model that possibly will give consideration to the
unfinished development issues (the punitive outlook
toward the poor, political instability, inadequate
infrastructure and social services, poor human
development, environmental abuse, declining income and
export earnings, war, etc) of the 20th
century that barged in while Liberia faces the
challenges of 21st century (participatory
democracy, social
justice, economically vibrant, environmentally
friendly - living in harmony within the limits of the
Liberia carrying capacity - for sustained
productivity.
Subsequently,
this ‘growth with equity’ model
should produce a society that is diverse, yet
cohesive in consensus-building where issues that
unites the population are far greater than those that
divide them; a community where every shark, fish,
clam, crab, bloodworm, etc) can responsibly swim and
move freely in harmony, and deals honestly and fairly
with each other respectfully for peaceful
co-existence. Anything
less than the above scenario could leave River Liberia
in vicious hurly-burly.
Wollor E. Topor lives in the Philippines
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