Picture collage depicting the project’s launch

Overview of the Project:

The initiative is designed to be carried out in the Lake Piso basin in order to protect endangered species, reduce deforestation, and provide the locals with a means of livelihood, according to Mr. Samuel Boakai, who acts as the coordinator of the UNDP-GEP Small Grants Program.

BudgIT Liberia, a nonprofit organization, was established to work with national and international NGOs on initiatives that advance justice, freedom, social equality, and the restoration of the nation’s forested landscape. For efficient service delivery, BudgIT Liberia also provide simplified access to project monitoring information and budgets.

A part of Lake Piso basin- where BudgIT Liberia is projected to offer more than 50,000 forest tree seedlings for reforestation.

Madam Mirriam Jabula, the financial and administrative officer for BudgIT Liberia, began her considerations for the project’s execution in Cape Mount by thanking UNDP for the grant chance. According to her, BudgIT Liberia has worked in and is now working in the Cape Mount region. She said that BudgIT’s main goals are to protect Liberia’s heritage and encourage biodiversity in the Lake Piso area. Working with the residents of Cape Mount has yielded some positive results for BudgIT Liberia, and they plan to keep working together, particularly on UNDP-GEP small grants projects.

According to her, the initiative aims to generate at least 50,000 fruit and forest tree seedlings, which will be made accessible to CSOs to assist farmers in combating land degradation, particularly with a view to mitigating climate change. By enhancing their capacity to showcase forestland restoration in their communities, farmers in various villages in the Lake Piso region are intended to be given more influence. In other places where land degradation is a serious issue for land users in Liberia, the outcome of this activity can be duplicated with the help of success stories.

Community Stakeholders:

Mr. Emmanuel Kailue, the Grand Cape Mount County assistant Superintendent, addressed on behalf of the county government. He began by expressing his gratitude and admiration to the UNDP family and BudgIT Liberia for frequently traveling to Grand Cape County, a region known for its friendliness. He acknowledged that they were aware of UNDP’s efforts to save biodiversity and our rainforest.

However, there have been challenges with some of the projects being implemented in the county that have made some project implementations difficult, unlike BudgIt Liberia that have been very successful in their implementations in the county. There’s a serious need for NGO, CSO, and CBO collaboration with the county leadership for the implementation of those projects. It is difficult to succeed in your project’s implementation when the local leaders are not involved.

Project Launch:

UNDP- Mr. Richard S. Sambolah, the Chairman of the UNDP-GEP Small Grants Program.

Firstly, thank all of the community people and our implementing partners for today’s launch of our UNDP-GEP Small Grants program. Cape Mountain residents are receptive, and we are hoping to succeed on this project by working with the community on our partner’s implementation of their projects.

According to him, UNDP hopes to conduct certain land reform and forestry projects through its implementation partners as well as provide skill-based livelihood prospects. Our partners will provide seedlings of diverse fruit and forest tree species to assist other organizations in the counties in aiding farmers resist land degradation, particularly in the goal of reducing climate change. Farmers in various villages in the Lake Piso region are meant to be given greater influence by improving their capacity to display forestland restoration in their communities. The results of this exercise may be replicated with success stories in other counties in Liberia where land degradation is a significant problem for land users.