Bio-diversity

Anthropogenic activities within the Lake Piso Multiple Sustainable Use Reserve (LPMSUR) threaten wildlife species and their habitats. The continuous decline of resources in one of Liberia s unique hotspots which hosts the Lake Piso Wetlands, the Cape Mount IBA (LR 005)/KBA and the largest lagoon (Lake Piso) in Liberia, has also affected the basic livelihood of communities within the catchment who depend solely or partly on these resources for their livelihood. The area is also known to be one of the key biodiversity areas of Liberia based on study carried out by Conservation International prior to the establishment of the Lake Piso Multiple Sustainable Use Reserve. The project area also called Lake Piso Basin has a total area of 971.59 km2 and lies within two counties; Bomi and Grand Cape Mount Counties in the southwestern part of Liberia. Lake Piso Multiple Sustainable Use Reserve has a tropical climate generally similar to other parts of Liberia. There are two major seasons, the dry and rainy seasons and average rainfall is estimated to be 2000mm per annum and the temperature ranges between 25oand 30o Celsius with humidity of about 80% during the dry season. This project is aimed at contributing to the restoration of the ecological integrity of degraded areas to enhance biodiversity recovery through planting of mangroves and selected trees species in degraded areas. Education programs will be conducted in schools and communities to promote environmental conservation and sustainable resource utilization. The community members will be trained and empowered to manage the catchment resources. The project hopes to also improve the living standards of community members through introduction of alternative livelihood programs. As pilot project of its kind in the area, FEE will work in three communities identified as affected by habitat degradation in close collaboration with FDA, Community dwellers and CBOs.

Liberia