ArcelorMittal Celebrates Groundbreaking Plan for East Nimba Nature Reserve
05/30/2014 - ArcelorMittal Liberia has announced a major landmark in its environmental program — the first-ever management plan for the East Nimba Nature Reserve (ENNR), a unique microclimate which is home to a number of endemic species.
Final agreement was reached at the end of a two-day workshop held in Sanniquellie, when the members of the Biodiversity Conservation Programme (BCP) of ArcelorMittal Liberia, the Forestry Development Authority, Fauna and Flora International (FFI), Conservation International, the Co-Management Committee (CMC), USAID/PROSPER and members of the local community all validated the management plan, which was then finalised and fully endorsed by the FDA and the CMC.
The result of a decade’s work
An area of the Nimba forest was declared a reserve in 2003, but a longstanding issue has been to reach agreement with local communities as to how the reserve should be managed.
In 2010, in accordance with Liberian law, a co-management committee (CMC), comprising six members from the surrounding communities (Gba, Zor and Sehyi) and six members from the Forestry Development Authority was established to manage the ENNR for the next five years. At a stakeholders' workshop in Ganta three years later, ArcelorMittal Liberia proposed to fund the recruitment of a specialist biodiversity and livelihoods not-for-profit organisation, Fauna and Flora International, to develop a management plan for the ENNR. FFI worked closely with the CMC in drafting the management plan, and as part of the process, visited 25 communities surrounding the ENNR to develop and revise drafts of the management plan, and seeking comments and feedback before a final version could be agreed and endorsed.
A big step forward
Validation of the plan was finally achieved at the end of March 2014 at a workshop facilitated by FFI and has been warmly welcomed by all the major stakeholders.
Saye Thompson, chairman of the CMC, thanked ArcelorMittal Liberia for the technical and financial assistance provided through the BCP. For his part, Roger Luke, co-chair of the CMC, described the development and validation of the management plan as “a big step forward.”
Wing Crawley, coordinator of ArcelorMittal Liberia’s BCP, which aims to prevent or mitigate the impact of mining operations on the environment, said: “This is a great achievement for all because the management plan was developed in a fully participatory manner. The real challenge now is to implement the plan. The BCP is committed to supporting the CMC in this process.”
“We are delighted by the success of this process in the ENNR. The Co-Management Committee have really pulled together and are demonstrating that this type of participatory management process — the first of its kind in Liberia — can be achieved. We have high hopes that the strong support and commitment from ArcelorMittal Liberia alongside the CMC will result in successful implementation of the plan, and that the ENNR will lead the way as a co-managed resource for the long-term conservation of its biodiversity and the communities that are critically dependent on it. We look forward to supporting this process” said Dr Kathryn Shutt, FFI’s West Africa programme coordinator.
About the East Nimba Nature Reserve
The ENNR protects part of the Liberian Nimba range, covering an area measuring 11,533 ha. It is located in the north of Liberia, close to where ArcelorMittal Liberia’s mining operations. The reserve contains a number of endemic and endangered species, such as the Nimba Toad (Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis liberiensis) and the Nimba Otter shrew (Micropotamogale lamoteii), and the endangered West African chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus). The Nimba mountain range is home to more snakes than anywhere else in Africa and more dragonflies than in the whole of Europe.
Through ArcelorMittal Liberia’s extensive environmental and social impact assessments, the ENNR has been identified as one of the most appropriate locations for offsetting the long term environmental impacts of the mining operation, due to its high levels of biodiversity, its location inside the concession and management challenges caused by a lack of resources.
The result of a decade’s work
An area of the Nimba forest was declared a reserve in 2003, but a longstanding issue has been to reach agreement with local communities as to how the reserve should be managed.
In 2010, in accordance with Liberian law, a co-management committee (CMC), comprising six members from the surrounding communities (Gba, Zor and Sehyi) and six members from the Forestry Development Authority was established to manage the ENNR for the next five years. At a stakeholders' workshop in Ganta three years later, ArcelorMittal Liberia proposed to fund the recruitment of a specialist biodiversity and livelihoods not-for-profit organisation, Fauna and Flora International, to develop a management plan for the ENNR. FFI worked closely with the CMC in drafting the management plan, and as part of the process, visited 25 communities surrounding the ENNR to develop and revise drafts of the management plan, and seeking comments and feedback before a final version could be agreed and endorsed.
A big step forward
Validation of the plan was finally achieved at the end of March 2014 at a workshop facilitated by FFI and has been warmly welcomed by all the major stakeholders.
Saye Thompson, chairman of the CMC, thanked ArcelorMittal Liberia for the technical and financial assistance provided through the BCP. For his part, Roger Luke, co-chair of the CMC, described the development and validation of the management plan as “a big step forward.”
Wing Crawley, coordinator of ArcelorMittal Liberia’s BCP, which aims to prevent or mitigate the impact of mining operations on the environment, said: “This is a great achievement for all because the management plan was developed in a fully participatory manner. The real challenge now is to implement the plan. The BCP is committed to supporting the CMC in this process.”
“We are delighted by the success of this process in the ENNR. The Co-Management Committee have really pulled together and are demonstrating that this type of participatory management process — the first of its kind in Liberia — can be achieved. We have high hopes that the strong support and commitment from ArcelorMittal Liberia alongside the CMC will result in successful implementation of the plan, and that the ENNR will lead the way as a co-managed resource for the long-term conservation of its biodiversity and the communities that are critically dependent on it. We look forward to supporting this process” said Dr Kathryn Shutt, FFI’s West Africa programme coordinator.
About the East Nimba Nature Reserve
The ENNR protects part of the Liberian Nimba range, covering an area measuring 11,533 ha. It is located in the north of Liberia, close to where ArcelorMittal Liberia’s mining operations. The reserve contains a number of endemic and endangered species, such as the Nimba Toad (Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis liberiensis) and the Nimba Otter shrew (Micropotamogale lamoteii), and the endangered West African chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus). The Nimba mountain range is home to more snakes than anywhere else in Africa and more dragonflies than in the whole of Europe.
Through ArcelorMittal Liberia’s extensive environmental and social impact assessments, the ENNR has been identified as one of the most appropriate locations for offsetting the long term environmental impacts of the mining operation, due to its high levels of biodiversity, its location inside the concession and management challenges caused by a lack of resources.
