Liberia s Revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

This revised Nationally Determined Contribution is a 10-year nationwide sectoral document aiming at reducing the economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 64% below the projected business-as-usual level by 2030, through a combination of the following (i) unconditional GHG reductions of 10% below BAU; (ii) an additional 54% reduction conditional upon international support. The commitment of Liberia is constructed from GHG mitigation targets across nine key sectors Agriculture, Forests, Coastal zones, Fisheries, Health, Transport, Industry, Energy, and Waste as well as cross-cutting targets for urban green corridors. The NDC also includes climate change adaptation targets for eight sectors Agriculture, Forests, Coastal zones, Fisheries, Health, Transport, Energy, and Waste as well as cross-cutting targets for urban green corridors.
To make agriculture, forestry, and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the NDC provides a number of interventions that include both mitigation and adaptation measures, such as (i) reduce agricultural GHG emissions by 40% through promoting low-emissions rice cultivation and reducing the burning of field residues; (ii) reduce GHG emissions from the livestock sector by 40% through incentivizing improved feed to reduce enteric fermentation, and improved waste management; (iii) ensure agricultural households adopt sustainable agriculture, animal husbandry, soil conservation, and organic management practices; (iv) establish fund for research on sustainable agricultural production and GHG mitigation potential from the agriculture and livestock sectors; (v) increase training and capacity building of farmers and agricultural extension agents to implement mitigation actions; (vi) develop a circular agricultural economy plan to support reuse of organic materials and soil re-carbonization. For the forestry sector, the measures are as follows (i) reduce the national deforestation rate by 50%; (ii) reforest, including through natural regeneration and tree planting through community and school programs; (iii) restore 25% of priority degraded forests; (iv) establish 5 new Protected Areas. As for the agricultural adaptation (i) develop incentives and programs to promote crop and livestock diversification, climate resilient seeds, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), water harvesting, irrigation systems, increased soil fertility; (ii) develop facilities and climate smart technologies to promote postharvest and value addition practices, including establishment of 5 seed/gene banks and improved storage facilities. In the fishery sector (i) increase the ability of fishing communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change by establishing 2 Marine Protected Areas and supporting alternative fishery livelihoods by developing the foundational structures and extension services needed to increase aquaculture production and reduce the impact on marine fisheries; (ii) invest in marine store and tracking systems for artisanal fisher communities, including the provision of training, fishing gears and alternative livelihoods; (iii) develop and implement climate smart fishery management systems.
More inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems can be enhanced by (i) promoting incentives and programs to promote low-carbon agriculture practices and to implement low-emissions livestock systems; (ii) developing alternative livelihoods programs with forest dependent people including development of markets for non-timber forest products and ecotourism; (iii) holding trainings to develop capacity for forest managers, researchers, and forest-dependent communities to implement mitigation actions in the forest sector for uptake of best practices for climate smart forest management, monitoring and conservation, increase forestry research, and enable forest communities to implement improved forestry practices; (iv) providing trainings about and incentives for fisher-folk to adopt eco-stove fish dryers to reduce GHG emissions and discourage mangrove deforestation; (v) increasing training and capacity building of farmers and agricultural extension agents to implement climate adaptation actions in the agriculture and livestock sectors, especially by increasing support for education and training on agricultural climate risks and adaptation solutions for vulnerable groups; (vi) establishing or strengthening crop and livestock insurance systems; (vii) establishing co-managed fishery areas in coastal and aquatic ecosystems associated with fish production in coordination with fishery communities.
To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, among others, the INDC suggests the following (i) expand marine and coastal ecosystem protection; (ii) improve protection and conservation measures in mangrove ecosystems; (iii) enhance coastal carbon stocks by restoring degraded coastal wetlands and mangrove ecosystems; (iv) establish an early warning system and predictive scenario modeling for climate disasters and coastal flooding; (v) increase funding for coastal and blue carbon climate research; (vi) reduce GHG emissions through interventions in the transport system, both private and public; (vii) identify endangered and vulnerable fish species, map the areas valuable for their protection, and work with fishery communities to create multiple-use conservation areas; (viii) strengthen the capacity of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority, including manpower development, logistics, and training in adaptive management. The entire document insists on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to encourage the transition to renewable energy.
As for Governance, the National Climate Change Steering Committee (NCCSC) is the supreme institutional body responsible for coordinating and supervising the implementation of climate change policy and other related activities, while the EPA is Liberia s Designated National Authority for the UNFCCC and has the mandate as the national regulatory agency for sustainable environmental management, including climate change.