H.E Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

President of the Republic of Liberia

Executive Mansion

Monrovia, Liberia

 

Dear Madam President:

 

Immediately after your inauguration as president of our nation, you decisively ordered a review of all concession agreements signed under the National Transitional Interim Government of Gyude Bryant. One of such agreement is the Mittal Steel deal. That deal was one of the most disturbed concession agreements vehemently criticized as “bad” for Liberia by some senior members of the Bryant administration; yet, it was signed amidst major environmental and other lapses.

 

To further demonstrate your administration’s environmental consciousness, you fully constituted and subsequently appointed an executive director of the Liberia Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Your administration further implemented a new Forest Reform Law for sustainable and safe forest practices, and the 2006/2007 Monrovia Action Plan & Trust Funds. Those achievements are indicative of your leadership’s environmental friendliness.

 

While we wholeheartedly embrace the Mittal Steel deal for its inherent financial incentives and employment potential in the nation’s postwar era, we hasten to respectfully draw your attention, Madam President, to some critical points observed after insightfully reviewing the document on its environmental merits. The deal lacks sound Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) stipulations regarding mitigating measures that would ensure the unconditional protection of the area to be impacted in the nation’s best interest.

 

 

The Essence of an EIA:

 

Mining activities have inherent dangerous environmental problems that must be carefully outlined and delineated in component through the process of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The process is the gathering of relevant information to ensuring that the likely significant effects of new development on the environment are fully understood and critically assessed and communicated in a non-technical language to help the public and authorities understand the full facts of the operation.

 

Such information gives government functionaries and the community not only the right to know and allay potential fears, but provides relevant information for decision-making in the interest of protecting the environment.

 

Transparency and well-defined unambiguous measures must address the issues of geological and hydrological concerns, surface water contamination, air pollution or atmospheric control, chemical hazardous waste control, decibel level control, protecting species from extinction, erosion and sediment control, preserving national heritage such as parks, and so on. This means that an environmentally sound technology and mitigating measures should be included in the package, rather than added on afterwards.

 

Some of the problems also observed is the East Nimba National Reserves, which is one of the few protected areas in Liberia because of its biological richness, but is included in the concession agreement that gives the concessionaire the right to disturb. Given the ecological importance of this area, there is potential damage to the environment.

 

The lack of clarity in some wording raises concerns, for example the proviso reflected in the wording “as much as possible” or “shall be warned to take preventative measures” is weak and opens up to unrestrictive interpretation at the advantage of the concessionaire. It should be replaced with “shall take” or “shall be required” which is more decisive.

 

Recommendations:

 

·         Since the Liberia Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for protecting and managing the nation’s environment, it should play a leading role in the process to ensure environmental protection;

·         The concessionaire must provide Environmental Impact Assessment outlining aforementioned components;

·         There should be public hearing to address concerns; and

·         The concessionaire should engage in environmental educational awareness in the communities that might be impacted

 

Considering our past and present environmental ordeal that left the nation with prevailing environmental decadence and gloomy environmental future from similar composition and magnitude, we must be guided by our past and prepare ourselves for a better environmental future.

 

 

May God bless the work of your hands our nation and environment.

 

 

Respectfully,

 

 

Morris T. Koffa

Executive Director

Liberia Environmental Watch, Inc.

www.liberiaenvironmentalwatch.org

koffamkoffa@aol.com

240-417-2545