Liberia: JPN Calls for Restriction on YDMC for Encroaching on Gola National Park

An environmental watchdog in Liberia, the Journalists for the Protection of Nature (JPN-Lib). is calling on the European Union, United States government and other international business institutions not to purchase natural minerals from the Youssuf Diamond Mining Company (YDMC) exerted from the Gola Forest National Park in Grand Cape Mount County.
JPN, during a press conference held on Thursday says, the operations of the YDMC in the Gola Forest National Park borders on environmental crimes, and so doing business with them is a blatant violation of the wildlife conservation laws of the nation and other international protocols on protected conservation areas.
JPN says YDMC is carrying out active mining of gold and diamonds within and around the protected Gola Forest National Park which according to them is in clear violation of Sections 5.8 and 6.1.2 of the National Wildlife Conservation and Protected Areas Management Act of 2017 of Liberia.
According to JPN, sections 6.1.2 of the National Wildlife Conservation and Protected Areas Management Act of 2017 says, ”The authority shall ensure the protection of all wildlife species, known and unknown as party of an important natural heritage and the symbol of significance to the cultural values of the communities surrounded the protected areas forest edge and the corridors joining key wildlife protected areas”.
JNP added that section 5.8 of the act states “No protected area established by the Legislature action under chapter five of the act shall be abolished or alienated, nor shall its boundaries be modified, except by act of the Legislature, following constitution with the authority”.
The environmental watch group says the Yousuff Diamond Mining Company has ignored and violated these provisions of the law and has gone beyond the 2-kilometer buffer zone as provided for by law to build road in the Gola Forest National Park to do mining explorations thereby scaring away Liberia’s biodiversity species to neighboring countries .
Moreover, the JPN, is also calling on the national government to speedily investigate the legitimacy of two communications signatured by the deputy minister for operations of the  Ministry of Mines and Energy, Emmanuel O. Sherman dated February 1, 2022 granting exploration license #MEL2121/16 to the Youssef Diamond Mining Company to carry out mining in and around the Gola Forest National Park.
The other communication according to JPN from Deputy Ministry Sherman dated May 17, 2022, seconded a geologist name Henry Zeze and a mining engineer Alecie R. Gongloe to the company as eyes for the ministry during the pilot mining operation of the YDMC.
Not being satisfied JPN says it had a mobile phone conservation with deputy minister Emmanuel Sherman, and Sherman confirmed the exploration operations of the Youssef Diamond Mining Company in the Gola National Forest Park something the environmental watchdog considers as a serious contradiction to the government's fight for the conservation of protected areas.
JPN believes the operation of YDMC in the Gola National Forest Park, will further open  a fault gate for other mining companies to venture in the protected areas for mining purposes which will dash efforts of conservation organizations that have been working hard to conserve national protected areas in Liberia.
JPN categorically condemns in the strongest terms the operations of the Youssuf Diamond Mining Company in the Gola Forest National Park, and calls on the national government to take prompt actions to protect endangered species, conserve and protect Liberia’s forest from degradation. 
JPN says Liberia has signed up to several international conservation protocols and any attempt to play blind eyes on these illegal acts will undermine its quest in protecting the forest and its biodiversity conservation sector of the country.  
JPN has vowed to continue to engender initiatives that will foster Environmental Justice until issues of exploration in the Gola National Forest Park and other illegal wildlife conservation acts are addressed.
The environmental watchdog believes the conservation and proper usage of the forestry sector will immensely contribute to the reduction of Global Greenhouse gas emission to help keep the global temperature at 1.5 degree Celsius or even below amidst the climate crisis.
 
Liberia has an estimated 43% of the upper Guinea Forest and is the third lung of forest worldwide and the Liberian President George Weah has stressed the importance of his country’s forest contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emission while pledging that Liberia will protect and conserve the forest at the recent COP in Egypt.
President Weah also called on powerful nations, especially countries that are considered the highest pollutant of greenhouse gas emission, to take practical steps by investing more money in countries that have agreed to conserve their forest. This global call by President Weah is laudable, JPN-Lib says.
Meanwhile, the JPN has called on international organizations involved in conservation activities to support its efforts in investigating environmental crimes within the various protected areas of the country.
The organization said with increased advocacy about preserving the forest will meet the country’s efforts for the protection of the environment.