Countries of the Mano River Union basin have embarked on an effort towards the establishment of the MRU Transboundary Water Basins Management Office to help protect rivers along the various borders in the basins.
The move is part of efforts by Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Guinea to enhance sustainable transboundary water basins management among the three countries. The establishment of the office will also promote forest conservation along transboundary water to avoid those waters from going dry.
Considering the critical nature of establishing a transboundary water basins management office in the basins, the Mano River Union and ECOWAS, in collaboration with the International Union of Conservation of Nature recently conducted a day-long workshop in Monrovia to sensitize and educate relevant government ministries and agencies in Liberia about the creation of the office.
The Deputy Secretary General of the MRU Secretariat, Ambassador Ama Gborie, to representatives at the one-day gathering, underscored collaboration as a crucial way to ensure the sustainable management of the ten transboundary rivers within the Mano River Union Basins.
“We are here today because we share a common concern and a common purpose to ensure the sustainability and coordination of our shared natural resources,” Ambassador Gborie emphasized. “These basins are not only ecological treasures but also hold immense economic, social and strategic value for our communities and our future.”
“The absence of coordinated sub-regional mechanisms has left these critical ecosystems vulnerable to fragmentation, degradation, and competing interests, and that is why the creation of the TWBMO is not only timely but essential, Ambassador Gborie. “It will provide a permanent institutional platform for collaboration, joint decision making and policy harmonization that reflects both national priorities and regional commitment under ECOWAS and the MRU strategic plan.
She noted that the meeting serves as a reaffirmation of collective commitment and an opportunity to align efforts, strengthen partnerships and ensure that the path forward is inclusive, informed, and family-rooted in ownership by member states.
The ambassador urged the gathering in Liberia to seize the opportunity to share openly, plan strategically and move forward together towards the establishment of an institution that will safeguard water resources in the MRU basins and transform them into engines of cooperation,development and peace.
Ambassador Gborie, however, recognized the vital roles of national leaders and regional stakeholders in advancing the vision of sustainable development,peace and integration across the subregion.
Managing Director of Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC), Mohammed Ali, underscored the management of all transboundary waters within MRU bisan to ensure a comprehensive process.
“The sensitization and education meeting on the creation of the Transboundary Water Basin Management Office It is important that we talk about our river basin because it has an impact on our economy and our livelihood,” he said. “We see this as a pivotal step to our shared vision for sustainable development and regional cooperation.”
“Our government recognizes the immense economic and social value in protecting and jointly managing our shared water basin, basin,”the LWSC Managing Director narrated. “This initiative, started by the Mano River Union Secretariat in collaboration with ECOWAS and the IUCN, holds the protection of our water basin to address both ecological context and economic disparity across our borders.”
The Executive Director of Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency, Emmanuel Yarkpawolo, decried the abuse and pollution of the Cavalla River and other water bodies along the borders of Countries in the MRU basin as a result of mining.
Dr. Yarkpawolo expressed the hope that the establishment of the Boundary Water Basin Management Office will help deal with such a situation and ensure the protection of shared trans-boundary water bodies in the MRU Basin.
The one-day session was attended by representatives from the Liberia’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Mines and Energy, and Forestry Development Authority, among other relevant government institutions.
