Eco-Health Alliance, Partners Launch USAID Conservation Works Activity

Harbel – EcoHealth Alliance (EHA) has launched Liberia’s Conservation Works Activity (CWA). The project funded by the United States Agency for International Development, is a five-year initiative which employs One Health strategies to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable economic growth throughout Liberia.

The CWA is implemented by EcoHealth Alliance, in partnership with Fauna & Flora International, Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue & Protection, Partners in Development, and Solimar International.

EHA, in a statement issued said the team will work in close collaboration with Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and while operating in the Proposed Protected Areas of Grand Kru-River Gee, Cestos-Senkwehn, and Krahn-Bassa, as well as Sapo National Park, Marshall Wetlands and East Nimba Nature Reserve, CWA will support the establishment and expansion of new Protected and Conserved Areas (PCAs).

The activity will improve the livelihoods of communities in and around PCAs and promote economic growth via conservation-compatible investment and ecotourism.

The FDA Managing Director, C. Mike Doryen, believes that “the CWA will allow Liberians to demonstrate the value of a forest, standing, rather than cut down”. 

Additionally, the launch coincides with World Chimpanzee Day to call attention to the importance of conserving Liberia’s critically endangered western chimpanzees and other protected wildlife. At the event, Dr. Jim Desmond, CWA Chief of Party, emphasized that CWA is a critical step toward better protection of chimpanzees, as Liberia is one of the species’ last remaining strongholds.

“Liberia’s forest resources are its greatest treasure…the CWA will support Liberia in becoming a world leader in reversing the impacts of climate change” expressed the United States Ambassador to Liberia,

Michael McCarthy.

The program was officially launched by Dr. Jim Tornolah, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and attended by key stakeholders including Neil Bradley, British Ambassador to Liberia, Madam Jeanine Milly Cooper, Minister of Agriculture, and Atty. J. Adams Manobah, Chairman of the Liberia Land Authority. Guests enjoyed cultural performances and heard from the Superintendent of Grand Kru County, Doris Ylatun, who spoke on behalf of communities across CWA’s target landscapes.

Officials said the launch marks a crucial step in Liberia’s commitment to conservation and economic prosperity, helping to shape a better future for generations to come.

EcoHealth Alliance is an international environmental health nonprofit dedicated to protecting wildlife and the public from emerging infectious diseases. We work with governments, scientists, and policymakers around the world to make critical changes for pandemic prediction and prevention. Our dedicated scientists conduct field research and develop tools to safeguard the health of the planet, people, and wildlife.