Monrovia, Liberia – The government’s Blue Ocean Program, which aims to support the nation’s developing blue economy, has launched Liberia’s first National Mangrove Inventory, marking a significant step in the preservation of its coastal and marine ecosystems.
On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, in Monrovia, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Conservation International (CI) Liberia formally launched the campaign. Authorities celebrated the occasion as a turning point in Liberia’s economic and environmental reform.
The mangrove inventory is a strategic economic investment as well as an environmental undertaking, according to EPA Executive Director Dr. Emmanuel King Urey Yarkpawolo. According to Dr. Yarkpawolo, Liberia’s Blue Economy Vision aims to use the nation rivers, coasts, and oceans for renewable energy, tourism, fisheries, and sustainable development. This vision is based on healthy mangroves.
Strong mangrove forests, he stressed, provide livelihoods, boost food security, and act as organic barriers against floods and sea level rise two issues that are posing an increasing threat to Liberia’s coastal residents.
“Wetland protection is essential to producing legitimate carbon credits and equitable benefit-sharing under our National Carbon Market Policy,” Dr. Yarkpawolo added, connecting mangrove protection to the nation’s aspirations for a carbon market.
The EPA Boss revealed that Liberia has created a national framework worth US$3.2 million to stop the degradation of mangroves through scientific research, community-led restoration, and legal enforcement. In order to fully implement the strategy, he called on partners such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, Sweden, and the European Union for assistance.
Dr. Yarkpawolo stated that the inventory is a call to action rather than just a report. “Let’s make sure our kids inherit a resilient, productive, and lively coastline.”
He commended Sweden’s unwavering cooperation under the Blue Oceans Program and recognized Conservation International’s technical know-how in spearheading the inventory.
The National Wetlands Task Force was formed by EPA to operationalize this direction; it is now involving coastal communities in restoration initiatives, mapping wetland boundaries, and identifying threat zones.
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai signed Executive Order No. 143 in 2024, requiring the rehabilitation and preservation of all wetlands and identifying mangroves as national heritage essential to climate resilience. Dr. Yarkpawolo recalled this as a firm government commitment.
He pointed out that the new inventory will offer up-to-date information on the quantity, carbon storage, and health of mangroves, all crucial variables for investment and planning. An Important Development for Liberia’s Coastal future according to experts, Liberia will be in a better position to draw in blue investment, improve its climate resilience, and maintain its position as a regional leader in sustainable ocean governance due to the National Mangrove Inventory.
Dr. Yarkpawolo asserted that Liberia may emerge as a regional leader in sustainable ocean and coastal management through science, cooperation, and consistent investment.
Liberia’s leadership in putting marine conservation first was commended by Valentine Ebua, Managing Director for West and Central Africa at Conservation International. He called the move a daring step toward balancing ecosystem preservation with economic growth.
Mr. Ebua called on the government to make sure that information from the inventory is used to support sound policy initiatives, such as the establishment of community-based restoration initiatives and mangrove-protected zones.
Madam Kerstin Jousson Cisse, speaking on behalf of the Swedish Embassy, praised the achievement as a tangible outcome of the Blue Ocean Program, which began its start at the 2019 Blue Oceans Conference. She emphasized the importance of Liberian experts leading the project, especially those from the University of Liberia.
Liberia’s first mangrove inventory may usher in a new era where environmental preservation and economic development coexist peacefully as the country’s coastlines in West Africa continue to be threatened by the effects of climate change.
