Worst…
-dealing with clothes that seem to constantly have a mildewy odor since it is difficult for clothes to air dry effectively during the rainy season
-serving as the catalyst for a domestic dispute
-arriving at work, on several occasions, being soaked as a result of the sudden downpours that are common here during the rainy season
-getting into an argument with an immigration official over a ‘mandatory’ $20 fee-all in order to get a stamp in my passport
-finding my backpack chewed through as a result of mice and then, trying unsuccessfully, to keep them out of my room

Best…
-riding on the back of Sekou’s motorcycle to eight villages in and around the North Loma rainforest in Lofa County
-drinking palm wine and eating cola nuts with various town chiefs and community members as I was welcomed to the various villages
-interacting with the children in Konia during my stay at the guesthouse
-sitting with my friends Joscee and Karpo at the ocean-side drinking spot in Congo Town reflecting upon life while seated under a palm-thatch umbrella and a full moon
-eating fresh mangos, bananas, coconut and pineapple

Children in Tubmanburg...the future of Liberia

Children in Tubmanburg...the future of Liberia

I have come to realize that my worst experiences were often mere annoyances to most Liberians who deal with these challenges on an almost daily basis.  And thus, I cannot call them bad experiences but rather, learning opportunities.  Having heard many stories from Liberian friends about the atrocities they witnessed during the war-from beheadings to rape, it seems that while there are still numerous daily struggles, most people are happy that there is no war and are optimistic about the future.

The greatest lesson I have come to learn is of the dire need for education.  Whether from seeing university students who still have trouble reading at the level of an average American 5th grader or learning of the lack of awareness of the importance of forest conservation despite the fact that, according to the Forest Development Authority, 90% of Liberians depend on the forests for their livelihoods, education is key to Liberia’s future development.

Whether teaching mothers about the potential health effects of drinking alcohol while breast feeding or teaching men and women about how to sustainably harvest non-timber forest products, as opposed to cutting down entire trees for a one-time benefit, my summer has helped me to learn of the need for improved educational systems and infrastructure.  I hope that our ongoing collaboration to develop and implement an environmental and conservation education program will be a modest investment in that effort.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TFcJwJAnlU

Therefore, we are working in partnership with colleagues here in Liberia to identify and create lessons that help to build an appreciation for nature and the basic biological functions that forests provide.  Since science curricula is very limited and often non-existent in most schools in rural areas here, community awareness of environmental issues often needs to begin at the basics.

We are working to develop lessons on the value of biodiversity-that is, the importance of plants, animals, climate and people to a functioning biological system.  Then we hope to explain the idea of a food chain and food web.  Creating awareness about how water circulates through various channels will also be important since rainforests rely upon and are important for the proper functioning of the water cycle.

Many people do not understand that the soil on which they farm-that which was recently rainforest, will only provide adequate nutrients for one or two years of agriculture.  Without fertilizers or natural organic matter to use to increase the productivity of fields, slash and burn clearing of rainforests will continue as farmers seek soil with more nutrients as their current fields fail.  Helping increase community awareness about soil limits and how best to augment the current agriculture system is important (i.e. through agroforestry-a system combining tree crops and more traditional crops so as to preserve forest cover and still provide food production for families).

Another component of clearing of the forests that relates to both water quality and the productivity of soils is the lack of awareness of how erosion occurs.  Creating awareness about what happens when soil is exposed without cover, especially in a tropical country where rainfall is high (nearly 4,300 mm per year in the interior of Liberia), is an important lesson that needs to be better understood amongst rural Liberians.

Children as well as adults are important players in forest conservation efforts

Children as well as adults are important players in forest conservation efforts

A colleague at Flora and Fauna International has helped us to remember that even as we attempt to design lessons for children, we can often use these same activities for adults since often the adults may be illiterate or lack the basic science knowledge that their children also need.

Our goal is to help communities realize how dependent they are upon the forest-something many stated they understand but yet it appeared most do not fully appreciate the intricacies of the relationship.  We believe that once communities understand their relationship with the forest and the limits of ecosystems, they will be better able to manage the forest sustainably.  As animal species decline as a result of hunting, slash and burn clearing of forest areas for planting increases and cutting of trees for building escalates, communities will be the key monitors and enforcers of conservation.  As Liberia aims to expand the presence of community forest ownership and management, environmental awareness will be vital to its long-term success.

As families reestablish their fields and rebuild their homes, there is, as of yet, little ability to raise livestock.  Therefore, most families rely on hunting of various animals in the forest as a source of protein.  While almost all people interviewed recognized the animals as a valuable food source, few acknowledged the decrease in presence of many species.

The forests hold a valuable traditional use as a source of medicines to cure a wide variety of ailments.  In the same vain, the male and female secret societies that permeate the rural culture depend on the forest for their meeting place.  These meeting places are hidden amongst towering trees and winding vines.

Nearly all of those interviewed, whether children or elders, iterated the importance the forest provides as a source of timber, both for building homes and for selling to market.  Related to logging, some families have begun to harvest non-timber forest products, but for the most part, this harvesting has been conducted in unsustainable means, involving cutting down of the entire tree instead of selectively harvesting to allow the tree to produce more fruit over the coming months.

Another key component of our assessment was to determine the awareness of the communities to the proposed protected area as delineated by the Forest Development Authority of the Liberian government.  Some were aware of the proposed boundaries while a few knew that they were not to harvest or hunt within these boundaries.  Many women and young people were completely unaware of the proposed boundaries all together.

It was apparent from our assessment that basic environmental and conservation concepts are needed in Lofa County, especially near the proposed protected area.

In our meetings, I did find one individual, Mulbah G. Mulbah, who was well aware of the challenges faced by global warming, declining animal species and the need for education related to conservation and the environment.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYU7EWMUM_E

SADS hopes that with a concentration on education and skills training, more people in Lofa County will become aware of the need to conserve forest resources.  Simultaneously, SADS aims to provide people with new skills so that they can begin to make a living without having to rely exclusively on forest resources.