Liberia Environmental Threats and Opportunities Assessment (LETOA) Quarterly Report – January 1 through March 31, 2009

The report is based on the FY 2009 work plan and is organized into four sections: accomplishments, project administration, performance monitoring, and issues affecting implementation. The objectives of the LETOA are to identify key environmental threats and their underlying causes across ecosystems, identify synergies and opportunities to integrate environmental issues into existing or planned Mission activities, provide educational tools, maps, and training sessions, and develop and produce an environmental report composed of three distinct sections. During the reporting period, the ETOA team made significant progress towards expected results. The generic ETOA power point presentation was fine-tuned for each stakeholder group, including donor partners, non-governmental organizations, private sector and educational institutions, USAID implementing partners, Government of Liberia, and USAID and the State Department. Presentations were held at the Liberia Community Infrastructure Project (LCIP) on January 19 and 20, and at the Embassy on January 21. The presentations generated lively discussion and provided an opportunity for cross-sectoral interaction between Government of Liberia agencies. The ETOA team leader also presented a power point on the ETOA to staff from USAID/AFR/SD, USAID/EGAT/NRM, and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) on February 18, 2009. Additionally, the ETOA team worked on preparing and distributing reference CDs. Although the benchmark was to provide CDs to key stakeholders by December 31, 2008, the status is ongoing, with completion expected in April 2009. The CDs will contain MSWord and PDF versions of the full report along with selected references. The ETOA team also worked on environmental data collection, monitoring, and adaptive management. GIS Specialist Bob Bouvier traveled to Liberia to work with the members of the Liberia Geospatial Data Committee (LGCD) on formulating and implementing a Liberian spatial data infrastructure (SDI) aimed at coordinating data collection and management. The report highlights the importance of cross-sectoral interaction and collaboration in addressing environmental issues. The ETOA team's efforts to provide educational tools, maps, and training sessions have been successful in engaging stakeholders and promoting environmental awareness. The report also emphasizes the need for continued support and collaboration to achieve the objectives of the LETOA. The ETOA team will continue to work on preparing and distributing reference CDs, collecting and analyzing environmental data, and providing educational tools and training sessions. The report concludes by highlighting the progress made towards expected results and the challenges faced during the reporting period. The ETOA team remains committed to achieving the objectives of the LETOA and continues to work towards a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future for Liberia.