Mapping Nature for

People and Planet

in Liberia
Report from the First Stakeholder
Consultation

31 October - 3 November 2022

Table of contents
EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW 3

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND VISION 7

SESSION 1: Introduction and vision 7
SESSION 2: Creating a vision 8
SESSION 3: Systematic conservation planning 12
SESSION 4: The recipe: mapping Essential Life Support Areas 15

PART II: POLICY HACKATHON 17

SESSION 1: Introduction to the policy hackathon 18
SESSION 2: Consolidation of the 10 priority policy targets in Liberia 18

PART III: DATA HACKATHON & NEXT STEPS 20

SESSION 1: Identifying national data on biodiversity, climate change and 20
sustainable development
SESSION 2: Tools for ELSA support and next steps in Liberia 25

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & THANK YOU 29

 Photo by Bethany Laird on Unsplash
KEY RESOURCES
Box 1

Workshop webpage
Press Release: UNDP CO EPA The New Dawn Liberia
Workshop agenda
Policy Matrix
Data Matrix
Draft project workflow

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
From 31 October to 4 November 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Liberia and
UNDP Country Office Liberia, with support from the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (Sida), brought together over 27 technical and policy experts from Liberia
and around the globe to discuss how spatial data can be used to identify and monitor nature-
based solutions for biodiversity, climate, and sustainable development in Liberia.

The workshop aimed to:

Engage key national and global stakeholders involved in the development and
implementation of science and policy for nature, climate change, and sustainable
development;
Introduce the essential life support area (ELSA) vision to identify and prioritize where
policymakers can take nature-based actions to deliver across a suite of national priorities;
Develop capacity around spatial data and the use of systematic conservation planning to
achieve the ELSA vision;
Identify strategic priorities for Liberia related to nature, climate change, and sustainable
development;
Identify the necessary global and national datasets to map these priorities; and
Evaluate the political context, integrate multiple relevant data layers, and provide clear steps
on how to use these data to deliver across commitments to the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), UN Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW 3
Over the course of the workshop, policy experts identified the 10 top targets and indicators from
ten different national policies and plans, including:

Updated Nationally Determined Contribution

National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan
Pro-poor Agenda,
National Policy and Response Strategy to Climate Change
National Adaption Plan
National Forest Policy
National Drought Plan
REDD+ Strategy
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Strategy of Liberia, and
Liberia Land Degradation Neutrality Targets

This simple exercise provided an overview of the synergies among these diverse national
commitments and a clear landscape of targets for which spatial data and maps could support
more effective implementation. Technical experts identified national data and global data
sources on sustainable agriculture, carbon, protected areas, forests, restoration, coastal
management, urban greening jobs and livelihoods, and species that would be most appropriate
for the analysis. Together, the group reviewed the methods used to create the map to determine
revisions that would need to be made to ensure a rigorous, policy-relevant map of Liberia’s
ELSAs.

Liberia is committed to working with UNDP to complete the first map of its ELSAs to take action
for biodiversity, climate change, and sustainable development. As a participant and co-creator of
the ELSA mapping process, Liberia will serve as a global leader, modelling how spatial data can
guide progress on national and global priorities. By creating rigorous scientific methods that can
direct the implementation of environmental policy, the project supports the delivery of the three
Rio Conventions and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This report shares key presentations and synthesizes feedback received on data, methods, and
policy targets in order to guide further action in Liberia and around the world.

RESULTS OF THE CONSULTATION 4

FIGURE 1: WORKSHOP PICTURES

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW 5
WORKSHOP OUTCOMES
01 The engagement of over 27 Liberian policymakers, policy experts, scientists and GIS
practitioners to map Liberia’s ELSAs and build national spatial data capacity

02 An overview of the synergies among diverse national commitments, and a clear

landscape of the 10 top targets for which spatial data and maps could support more
effective implementation

03 A survey of existing national and global data on sustainable agriculture, carbon,

protected areas, forests, restoration, coastal management, urban greening jobs and
livelihoods, and species to identify which would be most appropriate to include in
the next iteration of the analysis

A detailed review of the methods used to create the proof of concept map of
04 Liberia’s ELSAs and a compilation of suggested revisions to ensure a rigorous, policy-
relevant map of Liberia’s ELSAs

05 A commitment from EPA and UNDP to iterate on the proof of concept to guide
Liberia’s policy and planning decisions on nature, climate, and sustainable
development

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW 6
 Photo by Jacob Kpehe on Unsplash
Welcoming Remarks

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND

VISION
Recording Day 1 Recording Day 2

Part one of the workshop served to acquaint participants with the ELSA process and the virtual
platform. Given that the workshop brought together actors from many disparate organizations,
these first sessions were also essential to establishing a common understanding of Liberia’s unique
position and environmental goals.

SESSION 1: INTRODUCTION AND VISION

The workshop began with a warm welcome and an introduction to the Liberian context from Mr.
Louis Kuukpen, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Liberia, and Hon. Randall M. Dobayou II,
Deputy Executive Director, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Liberia.

Opening Remarks, UNDP Liberia

Mr. Louis Kuukpen,

Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Liberia.

In his remarks, Mr. Louis Kuukpen, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Liberia, thanked
everyone for joining and expressed his pleasure to launch the workshop on behalf of UNDP Liberia.
The Resident Representative highlighted that it is his belief that the ELSA project is a testament to
the United Nations Development Programme's commitment to support countries in implementing
nature-based solutions, using cutting-edge science to contribute to the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He noted that Liberia is rich with unique biological
diversity including; 40% of the remaining Upper Guinean Rainforest in West Africa, 2,000 species of
vascular plants, including 225 timber tree species, 140 species of mammals, over 600 species of
birds, and 75 species of reptiles and amphibians.

Louis Kuukpen asserted that Liberia has ambitious goals, including the sustainability in food
production systems and the implementation of financing mechanisms for a green and resilient
economy, even though Liberia currently lacks the requisite scientific framework and decision
support tools that can help decision makers to recognize the mapping of essential life support area

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND VISION 7

and take suitable actions to prioritize conservation and restoration based on national priorities
and needs.

Furthermore, he reminded the participants that they are “about to play a key role in a unique
exercise that combines decision-making with cutting-edge science and technology to create a
map that can lead to better outcomes around nature, climate, and sustainable development”.
Louis Kuukpen reminded the participants that they have the opportunity to influence the future
of conservation in Liberia and to show that Liberia is a champion in the use of spatial data
through their participation.

Opening remarks

Hon. Randall M. Doubayou II,

Deputy Executive Director, EPA

Hon. Randall M. Doubayou II, Deputy Executive Director, EPA, began his opening remarks by
thanking UNDP for being a reliable development partner in Liberia’s natural resource
management. He also extended the Liberian government’s appreciation to the Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency (SiDA) and other partners for their support on
the Mapping Nature for People and Planet in Liberia’s project. The director asserted that the
ELSA project would not have come at a better time, when Liberia just completed the greening of
the national development plan (pro-poor agenda for prosperity and development), while
preparing to implement a very ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs). He further
stated that the spatial webtool resulting from this project - would help Liberia to identify and
prioritize nature-based solutions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore ecosystems in ways
that will conserve critical biodiversity, mitigate, and foster resilience to the impacts of climate
change.

“Liberia is very committed to sustain and protect its natural resources and fostering nature-based
solution to combat climate change and provide clean and health environment while fostering
economic development.” (EPA)

SESSION 2: CREATING THE VISION FOR LIBERIA

Creating a Vision: Mapping Essential Life Support Areas
Dr. Jamison Ervin,
Manager, UNDP Global Programme on Nature for Development

Presentation

Dr. Jamison Ervin, Manager of UNDP Global Programme on Nature for Development, presented
the vision of the Mapping Nature for People and Planet project. She explained that humanity
depends on nature in fundamental ways. As it stands, nature underpins more than half of the
global GDP, equivalent to 44 trillion USD. In addition, nature is necessary to achieve half of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We cannot minimize poverty or ensure water security
without healthy ecosystems.

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND VISION 8

Bold action needs to be taken to stem the tide of environmental degradation, climate change,
infectious diseases, and rising inequality. Nations need support to find new and more effective
ways of working together to identify the types of nature-based solutions that could help ensure
the protection, sustainable management, and restoration of nature, and the ecosystem services
that humankind depends on for its well-being. Yet, planning is stuck in siloes, and government
ministries often have conflicting strategies around nature. Additionally, the data and tools
needed to support effective decision making are difficult to access and analyze.

Mapping Nature for People and Planet promotes spatial data as a tool to identify nature-based
solutions that meet multiple national priorities, objectives, and actions. Through cutting-edge
science, the project aims to identify ELSAs, areas where actions to protect, sustainably manage,
and restore vital ecosystems, can achieve policy goals for climate, nature, and sustainable
development in Liberia. To do so, the project will draw on the expertise of national policy experts
and conservationists to identify priority policy objectives for Liberia and corresponding spatial
data. Liberia, as well as the other pilot countries (Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,
Dominican Republic, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Peru, South Africa, and Uganda) will be leaders in
Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP), using spatial data to take action for people and the
planet.

WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL LIFE SUPPORT AREAS?

Box 2

Essential life support areas, or ELSAs, are locations that together conserve
key biodiversity and provide humans with critical ecosystem services, such as
carbon storage, food, fresh water, water filtration, and disaster risk
reduction. For the duration of the workshop, participants worked to identify
the critical input data, refine the methods used to create the ELSA map, and
evaluate the relevance of the final map based on the Liberian context.

How can this project contribute to Liberia’s priorities?

Mr. Z. Elijah Whapoe,
National Focal Point, Natural Capital Accounting and Liberia Forest Sector Project, EPA

Presentation

Mr. Z. Elijah Whapoe, National Focal Point, Natural Capital Accounting and Liberia Forest Sector
Project, EPA, set the scene for Liberia. Mapping Nature for People and Planet is a very significant
endeavor that has the potential to play a very significant role in supporting Liberia’s development
agenda and national commitment.

Mr. Whapoe highlighted that Liberia is endowed with natural resources and has been making
efforts to protect them to improve human well-being. Efforts focused on REDD+, protected areas
establishment, ecotourism, sustainable land management, agro-ecology, and green-house gas
(GHG) emissions reduction - among others. He further explained that the spatial webtool is
paramount to help Liberia achieve the targets embedded in some of the national policy
documents, including the Nationally Determined Contribution (agriculture and forestry), the

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND VISION 9

the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and the REDD+ Strategy. He believes
this could be done through the development of spatial map that delineates Liberia’s land-use
and land cover extent and condition, through the delineation of agro-ecological zones, and
through the monitoring of biodiversity intactness and carbon footprint.

Discussion: What are your expectations for this workshop?

After Mr. Whapoe concluded the presentation on behalf of Liberia, the floor was opened for
questions, comments, and clarifications. During this time, participants were concerned about the
proposed methodology for biodiversity quantification that would be adopted during the ELSA
project. Another concern was raised about how the project could help the country in the
reporting obligations of Liberia under the Ramsar Convention and updating Ramsar sites every 5
years. Another point raised during this exercise was on the webtool or the knowledge acquired
during its development, and how they could help Liberia in achieving the national biodiversity
targets from the NBSAP, which focuses primarily on protected areas management. Lastly, one of
the participants emphasized that no stakeholder should be left behind; a comprehensive
platform or approach to include stakeholders must be ensured.

INTRODUCTION TO THE POLICY AND DATA HACKATHONS

This session opened with a presentation from Enrique Paniagua, Policy Expert, and Marion
Marigo, Capacity Building & Biodiversity Senior Officer. It provided a more detailed overview of
the initial work on policy and data that will set the foundation for the project.

Introduction to the Policy Hackathon: Rapid Policy Analysis

Enrique Paniagua,
Policy Expert, UNDP Global Programme on Nature for Development

Presentation

As a critical step in assessing national priorities and synergies across commitments on nature,
climate, and sustainable development, UNDP and the EPA undertook a rapid policy analysis of ten
key policy documents guiding national action in Liberia (Box 3). The goal of the analysis was to
identify nature-based targets from important national policy documents related to biodiversity,
climate change, and sustainable development.
Box 3:

POLICY DOCUMENTS INCLUDED

Liberia National Determined Contribution
Liberia National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan
Liberia Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development
Liberia National Policy and Response Strategy to Climate Change
Liberia National Adaptation Plan
Liberia National Forest Policy
Liberia National Drought Plan
Liberia REDD+ Strategy
Liberia National Diseaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Strategy
Liberia Land Degradation Neutrality Targets

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND VISION 10

Enrique Paniagua, Policy Expert, UNDP, presented the process and results of this rapid policy
analysis. To identify nature-based targets within these documents, UNDP performed a keyword
search, identifying major themes across commitments plans (Figure 1). The most common
themes in the policies and plans analyzed were: sustainable agriculture, carbon, protected areas,
forests, restoration, coastal management, urban greening jobs and livelihoods, and species.

FIGURE 1: POLICY ANALYSIS OUTPUT

The policy analysis highlighted a series of concerns from the ten policies that are outlined for the
hackathon exercise. To begin with, the National Adaption Plan was not included in the analysis
because all the targets are covered by the National Policy and Response Strategy to Climate
Change and the Nationally Determined Contribution. Among the ten policy documents, the
National Policy and ResponseStrategy to Climate Change, the Nationally Determined
Contribution, Liberia’s Land Degradation Neutrality Targets, the National Policy and Response
Strategy to Climate Change, were identified to contribute to most targets towards the analysis. It
was found that all of the documents are current and up to date and that lots of nature based
solution targets are present in the policy documents. In total, 55 mappable targets were
identified from the policy documents.

The analysis also highlighted that the targets’ indicators are not clear, but the targets are
nonetheless tangible. The baseline for that targets are not present in the policies; therefore, it
creates some difficulty to track the targets and how implementation actions are evolving.

This initial analysis provides the foundation of step 1 of the ELSA process (Figure 2), providing
critical inputs into the policy hackathon. During the policy hackathon, participants have the
opportunity to review the policy documents to identify targets that they feel are most important
to approach with spatial data. The goal of the Policy Hackathon is to emerge with ten priority
targets that can underpin the creation of Liberia’s ELSA map.

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND VISION 11

FIGURE 2: STEP ONE OF THE ELSA PROCESS

Introduction to the Data Hackathon

Marion Marigo,
Capacity Building & Biodiversity Senior Officer, Global Programme on Nature for Development,
UNDP

Marion Marigo, Capacity Building and Biodiversity Senior Officer, presented the main objectives
for the data hackathon to the participants. The ten policy commitments identified during the
policy hackathon will be used to identify which data are needed for the ELSA analysis. During this
session, national experts will give lightening talks to present national data relevant to the ELSA
analysis.

SESSION 3: SYSTEMATIC CONSERVATION PLANNING

In this session, presenters introduced the science behind the concept of ELSA.

Introduction to Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP)

James Watson,
Director, Director of Biodiversity and Conservation Science, University of Queensland

Recording

Dr. James Watson, Director of Biodiversity and Conservation Science at the University of
Queensland, and Scott Atkinson, Technical Specialist for the Nature for Development
Programme, introduced the topic of Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP).

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND VISION 12

Traditionally, conservation has focused on establishing protected areas based on iconic species,
excluding ecosystem services to humans and non-iconic biodiversity. With the explosion of data
from the fourth industrial revolution, we now have access to the types of spatial data layers that
we need to map biodiversity, ecosystem services, and threats at all levels, engaging in a more
data-driven type of conservation.

SCP advocates for conservation areas that are Connected, Adequate, Representative, and
Efficient (CARE). Connected conservation areas ensure that populations support each other,
recolonization is possible, and animal movement occurs. Adequate conservation ensures that the
total area under protection is enough to ensure the persistence of biodiversity features.
Representative refers to conservation across a full range of species, ecosystems, and ecosystem
services, not just iconic species. Finally, efficient conservation areas achieve their objectives at a
minimal cost.

These criteria are designed to help people identify the best places to protect. However,
identifying the ‘best’ regions is an inherently human and political process based on what is
important in a given place – this could be natural resources, ecosystem services, traditional
knowledge and heritage, or many other factors. Thus, to design an effective conservation plan,
we must identify our broad goals, specific targets, and financial or political constraints.

In many cases, different goals or targets might raise conflicting priorities. Using a simple example
from Costa Rica, if the goal was to conserve key areas of the range for two iconic species – the
panther and the resplendent quetzal – as well as the watershed for the capital city of San Jose, it
isn’t clear which what areas should be conserved as these three areas are not synonymous.

Scott Atkinson,
Tehnical Expert, UNDP, Global Programme on Nature for Development

SCP provides a simple calculation that can identify the optimal area to conserve based on the end
goal and any financial or political restraints. It relies on setting some basic guidelines around four
key components. First, it is essential to identify a quantifiable target (e.g., percentage of jaguar
habitat, percentage of resplendent quetzal habitat, and percentage of watershed). Second,
planning units, or units of land or sea on which action can be taken, need to be defined. Third, a
boundary length modifier determines the compactness of the conservation area (values greater
than zero result in more complex reserves). Finally, a penalty factor is imposed for not meeting
the target in a given scenario. SCP effectively ‘scores’ different conservation options by adding
together the cost of a planning unit, the boundary length of the reserve system, and the penalty
factor for any unmet targets. Programs such as Marxan and Prioritize R can quickly and
effectively do this type of calculation to identify the most effective conservation options – those
with the lowest score. These types of approaches can be adapted to national priorities by
changing the cost of planning units, the boundary length modifier, and the penalty factor.
Likewise, by producing a range of top conservation options, they can facilitate dialogue around
which is most appropriate for national context.

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND VISION 13

Exercise on Systematic Conservation Tools:

Presentation

After this introduction to the basics behind SCP, participants engaged in a demo and interactive
exercise of SCP using Marxan from Apropos Information Systems. The game presents players with
a grid of cells, each representing a planning unit or a region that could be turned into a protected
area. The red, blue, and green numbers on the cells represent the contributions that those cells
will make to three different targets, which could represent species or ecosystem services. Each
cell also has a unique price which is the cost to turn that cell into a protected area. The aim is to
design a protected area network that meets the targets around each of the three features in the
most inexpensive way.

The game also uses boundary length penalties to encourage players to connect as many of their
planning units as possible; if a player has a single clumped area, they will have a shorter boundary
and therefore will not have to pay as high of a boundary length penalty. This represents real
conservation planning where connected protected areas allow for richer ecosystems than
disparate ones. Participants inevitably found that even if they received the same information,
Marxan will always be more successful at choosing the most efficient protected areas. This
exercise served to show how software like Marxan and PriortizR can be incredible tools in SCP,
helping policymakers determine where to focus their efforts for maximum outcomes.

Liberia’s first ELSA map

Dr. Oscar Venter,
Lead Scientist, Mapping Nature for People and Planet, UNDP

Presentation

Dr. Oscar Venter, Lead Scientist for the project Mapping Nature for People and Planet, UNDP,
presented on the science and underlying process behind the creation of Liberia’s proof of
concept map. He built on presentations by Ervin to show how Systematic Conservation Planning
can provide the means to deliver on the vision for mapping essential life support areas. The ELSA
mapping process, as visually represented by Venter (Figure 3) starts with assessing national
policies that relate to the CBD, UNFCCC, and SDGs. By reviewing these policies, stakeholders can
identify preferential outcomes for the ELSA mapping process firmly based in national context,
such as national priorities related to freshwater provision or biodiversity preservation.

They can also make decisions on central nature-based actions in the country such as protection,
management, and/or restoration (PMR) that will be used to achieve these outcomes. Next, the
ELSA collaboration identifies robust, dynamic national, and global data layers that can map
Liberia’s preferential outcomes and chosen nature-based actions. Finally, through an expert
review to weight these data based on national priorities, the project can produce a map of
Liberia’s ELSAs that pinpoints the location where each nature-based action should be taken to
optimize delivery of national priorities.

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND VISION 14

At the core of this process is Liberia’s ELSA webtool (Oscar Venter was showing the webtool for
Uganda as an example), produced through the project, which can consolidate large amounts of
spatial data and incorporate national priorities to guide land use decisions. As there could be
infinite options for the configuration of conservation, protection, and management areas in
Liberia, the webtool uses SCP-based software called PrioritizR to optimize the land use planning
process, helping scientists and policymakers to identify appropriate zones for action. Venter and
his team created a tool that can: directly support national policy commitments related to CBD,
UNFCCC, and SDGs; take action to protect the natural environment, manage systems, and restore
lands and ecosystems; and harness national expert opinions and stakeholder values, building into
the process multiple places for feedback.

In the second portion of the presentation, Venter gave a demo of the pilot version of Uganda’s
ELSA tool. On the left side of the webtool’s display (Figure 4) is the ELSA optimization panel
where users can define the parameters under which to produce maps of Uganda’s ELSAs. Users
can choose to either assign costs by area, whereby protected areas costs the same across the
country, or assign costs by the human footprint, which assumes that costs will be higher in areas
with a large human population and infrastructure. Next, users can choose to either “lock-in”
current protected areas, keeping them as protected in the models or start from scratch,
disregarding current protected areas’ boundaries. Finally, users need to enter what percentages
of Uganda’s land area should be dedicated to each PMR action.

In the center panel, users choose weights, assigning values to different input data layers based on
both quality of the dataset and importance of the outcome. Presented with different data layers
related to national targets on biodiversity, climate change, and sustainable development - such
as amphibian richness or crop suitability - national experts need to determine which features are
the most valuable to Uganda. For example, if crop suitability is more pertinent to Uganda’s goals
than amphibian richness, the user might weigh crop suitability as 2.00 and amphibian richness as
.50. If they are equal in priority, both could be weighted as 1.0. With this information, the
webtool can run the optimization and create preliminary maps (Figure 5) of Uganda’s ELSAs. The
ELSA analysis can either optimize by theme, creating separate maps for Uganda’s priorities
related to biodiversity (CBD), climate change (UNFCCC), and sustainable development (SDGs), or
can create an overall map to identify actions across all of these commitments. In addition, the
tool can create other informative maps, including a heat map showing where many of the
preferred outcomes overlap. As the ELSA process progresses, inputs from national participants
will refine the webtool to more accurately represent Uganda’s priorities.

SESSION 4: OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT VISION

The Recipe: Mapping Essential Life Support Areas

This session opened with a presentation by Marion Marigo on the ELSA "recipe", or workflow
that will guide the project in Liberia. She also provided a more detailed overview of the initial
work on the policy and data that will form the basis of the project.

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND VISION 15

Marion Marigo,
Capacity Building & Biodiversity Senior Officer, Global Programme on Nature for Development,
UNDP

Presentation

Marion Marigo described the workflow underpinning the project, using a cooking metaphor to
illustrate the diverse elements that go into creating an ELSA map. She asked participants to think
three key elements throughout the workshop and the project: (1) the flavors, or the key policy
targets that help frame Liberia’s national priorities; (2) the ingredients, or the global and national
data sets used as inputs to develop the ELSA map; and (3) the recipe, or the methods to identify
where nature-based actions can deliver on national priorities for nature, climate, and sustainable
development. She introduced participants to the 10-step ELSA process, providing practical
examples of each step (Figure 6).

She stressed that the workshop would draw on the expertise to key stakeholders to advance
specifically around steps 1, 2, and 5.

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND VISION 16

 Image by melvinmlansana from Pixabay
PART II: POLICY HACKATHON
Recording

Drawing on a rapid policy analysis conducted leading up to the workshop, participants convened
to review ten national policies, plans, and strategies (Box 4). These ten national documents were
analyzed due to their focus on biodiversity, sustainable development, climate change, addressed
through nature-based solutions, or “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural
or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively,
simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits,” as defined by IUCN. This
analysis demonstrated numerous synergies across these policies and plans, demonstrating that
inter-institutional collaboration and implementation based on a common road map could lead to
the achievement of multiple objectives.

During the policy hackathon, participants identified key mappable targets from the national
policies, objectives, and indicators that, together, can summarize Liberia’s environmental
priorities, providing the basis for Liberia’s ELSA map. During the policy hackathon, participants
worked to identify nature-based targets related to biodiversity and ecosystems, carbon
sequestration, and sustainable development (Sessions 1-3) for which spatial data was essential to
achieve. During the fourth and final session, they worked to identify synergies and prioritize the
top targets for consideration in the ELSA analysis.
Box 4:

POLICY HACKATHON KEY RESOURCES

Rapid Policy Analysis Presentation
Final List of Mappable Targets

PART II: POLICY HACKATHON 17

SESSION 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE POLICY HACKATHON
Presentation on the rapid policy analysis
Enrique Paniagua,
Policy Expert, UNDP Global Programme on Nature for Development

Presentation

Enrique Paniagua presented the results of the first rapid policy analysis of Liberia for the ELSA
project. For this analysis, all policy documents to be assessed were first identified with the
support of participants and other national partners. The first step of the analysis consisted of
understanding each document, to identify the ones containing aspirational nature-related
targets. The second step was to identify potentially mappablenature-based solutions objectives
and/or targets. A matrix was created to organize the documents and targets by macro themes
like climate change,, species and ecosystems, or sustainable development (food, water, and
jobs), to then classify them under sub-themes. According to Enrique, this exercise showed that
the most common (sub) themes present in the policies and plans analyzed included sustainable
agriculture, carbon, protected areas, forests, restoration, coastal management, urban greening
jobs and livelihoods, and species.

SESSION 2: CONSOLIDATION OF THE 10 PRIORITY POLICY

TARGETS FOR LIBERIA
Final list of priority policy targets for Liberia
Following the introduction, a group exercise was carried out to identify the 10 priority policy
commitments for Liberia. These are:

1. Develop and introduce a diverse range of integrated soil fertility management (IFSM)
techniques to farmers as a sustainable means of improving soil fertility, and intensifying
agricultural production. (National Policy and Response Strategy on Climate Change)
[category: sustainable agriculture]
2. Promote activities which enhance carbon density, such as reforestation, afforestation and
agroforestry initiatives across the country, which also brings benefits to reduce the stress and
pressure on natural forest and ecosystems. (National Policy and Response Strategy on
Climate Change) [category: carbon]
3. Promote consolidation of the protected area network by considering landscape approach
and ensuring that it consists of a large spectrum of forest types across various environmental
gradients to enhance connectivity between habitats and support species migration. (National
Policy and Response Strategy on Climate Change) [category: protected areas]
4. Restore 25% of priority degraded forests by 2030. (NDC) [category: forest]
5. Conserve all High Conservation Value-High Carbon Stock (HCV-HCS) forests within
agricultural, tree crop, and commercial forestry concessions, and site new concessions on
open/degraded land by 2030 (Link to Agriculture sector) (NDC & REDD Strategy) [category:
forest]

PART II: POLICY HACKATHON 18

6. Strengthen and/or implement reforestation and afforestation activities to increase
vegetation cover, improve ecosystem services in degraded areas, increase rural income, and
improve biodiversity richness, Identify and map for proper management water catchment
areas, valuable to communities, in the forests. (National Policy and Response Strategy on
Climate Change) [category: restoration]
7. Action of Target 2.1. Ensure restoration of at least 30 % of degraded wetlands (NBSAP)
[category: coastal management]
8. Increase urban resilience through use of blue-green infrastructure in the 5 cities of
Monrovia, Paynesville, Buchanan, Gompa & Gbarnga by increasing the volume of runoff/storm
water captured by at least 10% annually to 2030 and by increasing the number of rain garden
and cistern/rainwater harvesting installations in urban areas by 15% annually to 2030. (NDC)
[category: urban greening]
9. Promote and implement energy plantation schemes to minimize pressure on natural forest
and reduce energy stress. (National Policy and Response Strategy on Climate Change)
[category jobs & livelihoods]
10. Action of Target 2.5. Promote integrated management of invasive alien species (NBSAP)
[category: species]

The final matrix is available at this link.

Additional context on protection, restoration, and sustainable management

To provide additional context on protection, restoration and sustainable management, the

Wildlife Conservation and Protected area Management Law of Liberia from 2016 has been
reviewed. There it was identified a broad understanding of protected area categories and
purpose. Particularly some findings for each action can be highlighted:

Protection: Understood from the meaning of conservation that is defined as: “The
sustainable management and protection of ecosystems and habitats to achieve maximum
environmental, social, economic, and scientific benefits for present and future generations”.
(Wildlife Conservation and Protected area Management Law, page 7, 2016)

Restoration: In accordance with the Section 90 of the EPA ACT of 2003, the restoration
includes restoring land, including the replacement of soil, the replanting of trees and other
flora and outstanding geological, archaeological or historical features of the land or the area
contiguous to the land specified in the order.

Sustainable management: Particularly the Law includes a definition of sustainable use of

protected areas that can light the analysis. Multiple Sustainable Use Reserve (Protected area
with sustainable use of natural resources): Protected areas that conserve ecosystems and
habitats, together with associated cultural values and traditional natural resource
management systems. An area, set aside pursuant to Chapter 6 of this Act, to allow
sustainable ecosystem-based uses of Forest Resources, including subsistence uses but within
parameters which do not harm the health of the ecosystem.

PART II: POLICY HACKATHON 19

 Photo by Tyga Davis on Unsplash
PART III: DATA HACKATHON &
NEXT STEPS
Recording

In the final day of the hybrid consultation, the participating experts reviewed the top 10 policy
commitments chosen during the policy hackathon and identified national data sets that could be
used to represent each of these commitments in the final ELSA map.

SESSION 1: IDENTIFYING NATIONAL DATA ON

BIODIVERSITY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
Presentation on illustrative national data
Di Zhang,
Spatial Planning Analyst, UNDP Global Programme on Nature for Development

Presentation

Di Zhang presented the main objectives for the data hackathon to the participants. The 10
priority policy targets identified during the policy hackathon will be used to identify which data
are needed for the ELSA analysis. During this session, Berexford S. Jallah gave lightning talks to
present national data relevant to the ELSA analysis.

Presentation on national data

Berexford Jallah,
Head of the spatial data section, EPA

Berexford Jallah, presented a summary of available data in Liberia on land cover, land use,
protected areas, poverty index, and wetlands. He pointed out that the three main land use
activities in the country are forestry, mining and agriculture and that the related areas expect
degradation, and for this reason having datasets will help to do modelings.

PART III: DATA HACKATHON & NEXT STEPS 20

 Photo by Tim Johnson via Unsplash
Berexford explained that Libera has five designated protected areas and that corridors will be
developed to link them. He also described the household income and expenditure survey of 2016
which measures the poxerty index, and the wetland dataset that was produced in 2015 which
covers the country but mainly focuses in costal areas.

Miroslav Honzak,
Senior Director, Scenario Planning and Analysis, Moore Center for Science | Conservation
International

Miroslav Honzak presented a brief presentation of the project Mapping Natural Capital in Liberia
on identifying important natural areas. The project was developed in december 2016 by
Conservation International and Mirsolav showed some of the data layers related to nature and
development that were collected, for instance, boundaries, population, land cover,
deforestation, protected areas, biodiversity and priority areas. He concluded mentioning that
some of the information would help to complement the integration of ELSA.

Group discussion on data needs and identified gaps

Following the lightning presentations, participants discussed what data is needed to monitor the
10 priority policy targets identified above. The full results of the data hackathon are available
here.

During this discussion, the participants mentioned the following potential data sources:

General Policy
Target Proposed Priority
thematic Document Theme Types of data
No. Targets
category Name

Develop and Crop yield data

introduce a
diverse range
of integrated Spatially-Disaggregated Crop
soil fertility Production Statistics Data in
National management Africa South of the Sahara for
Policy and (IFSM) 2017
Human - DRR, Sustainable
1 Food, Water, Response techniques to
Strategy to farmers as a Agriculture
Jobs - gps coordinates of sampled
Climate sustainable rice and cassava farms
Change means of surveyed. Available @LISGIS
improving soil from 2008/2009 farm survey.
fertility, and - time series data (non-spatial)
intensifying of commodity production,
agricultural available from MoA/LISGIS
production.

PART III: DATA HACKATHON & NEXT STEPS 21

 General Policy
Target Proposed Priority
thematic Document Theme Types of data
No. Targets
category Name

Global data available

Promote
activities which
enhance SoilGrids — 2020 global gridded
carbon density, soil information has a layer on
such as soil organic carbon (0-30 cm)
reforestation, available here
afforestation
and
National Policy 2017 NCEO Above ground
agroforestry
Nature - and Response biomass for Africa (100 m)
initiatives
2 Species & Carbon
Strategy to across the
Ecosystems Climate country, which 2010 Global Harmonized Above
Change also brings and below ground biomass
benefits to carbon (300 m)
reduce the
stress and
pressure on 2000 WHRC Organic Soil Carbon
natural forest mangrove data (30 m)
and
ecosystems.
ESA products 2000, 2017, 2018
(100 m

Shapefiles of protected areas

available
Photo by Tom Podmore via Unsplash

CI (through GEF) identified

Promote conservation priorities with
consolidation of consideration of where the
the protected species may move under
area network by climate change. This is to avoid
considering investing in areas where species
landscape are now but may not be in the
approach and future. That product is available
National ensuring that it here.
Nature -
3 Policy and consists of a Carbon
Species &
Response large spectrum
Ecosystems shapefile on protected areas
Strategy to of forest types
using Liberia Forest Atlas, but
Climate across various
the updated shapefiles are at
Change environmental
the FDA GIS Department
gradients to
enhance
connectivity Connectivity & Conservation
between The Western Chimpanzee (Pan
habitats and troglodytes verus) habitat in
support species Liberia see here.
migration.

PART III: DATA HACKATHON & NEXT STEPS 22

 General Policy
Target Proposed Priority
thematic Document Theme Types of data
No. Targets
category Name

Modeling endangered mammal

species distributions
and forest connectivity across
the humid Upper Guinea
lowland rainforest of West
Africa available here.

The IUCN Red List of

Threatened Species available
here.

Hansen et al. Global Forest

Change Data available here.

Natural CI-NASA Partnership forest

Restore 25% of
4 Climate NDC Forests fragmentation maps 2000-2018
priority degraded
Solutions
forests by 2030
CI global data of 'irrecoverable
carbon', or carbon that if lost
could not be restored by 2050.

Forest concessions (FDA)

Conserve all High

Map of plantations (FDA)
Conservation
Value-High
Carbon Stock FDA has spatial data on
(HCV-HCS) community forestry and Forest
Natural forests within Management Contracts
5 Climate NDC & REDD agricultural, tree
Forests
Solutions Strategy crop, and Forest Management Contract
commercial (FMC)
forestry
concessions, and
Community Forestry
site new
concessions on
open/degraded National Forest Inventory (NFI)
land by 2030.
Forest concessions (FDA)

Strengthen Mapping Essential Natural

and/or Capital in Liberia (MENC
National implement Project) - maps of ecosystem
Nature - Policy and reforestation and services, see here.
6 Species & Response afforestation Restoration
Ecosystems Strategy to activities to
Under the Land Degradation
Climate increase
Neutrality Target setting
Change vegetation cover,
programme, areas were
improve
earmarked for LND
ecosystem
transformative projects.
PART III: DATA HACKATHON & NEXT STEPS 23
 General Policy
Target Proposed Priority
thematic Document Theme Types of data
No. Targets
category Name

services in The list of priority areas can be

degraded areas, obtained from Liberia's LDN
increase rural report
income, and
improve biodiversity FOLUR Project
richness, Identify
and map for proper
Reforestation Project
management water
catchment areas,
valuable to
communities, in the
forests.

NCA Ecosystem Map

The CI-NASA Partnership

mangrove extents 2000-2021
(30 m)

Ensure restoration Dignostic Mapping (Lake Piso)

Nature - of at least 30 % of
Coastal
7 Species & NBSAP degraded
Management Areas suitable for restoration of
Ecosystems wetlands
wetlands produced by CI (Miro
and Yichen)

EPA has shapefiles of Liberia's 5

Ramsar sites

Mangrove Cover Loss, 2008 -

2022

Increase urban Hydrobain Runoff Data

resilience through use
of blue-green Mapping Essential Natural
infrastructure in the 5 Capital in Liberia (MENC
cities of Monrovia, Project) - water provision and
Paynesville, Buchanan, flow regulation services, see
Gompa & Gbarnga by here.
increasing the volume
Human - DRR,
of runoff/stormwater Urban
8 Food & Water NDC There are available national
captured by at least Greening
Security, Jobs data on hydrology that can be
10% annually to 2030
and by increasing the obtained from Liberia
number of rain garden Hydrology Service
and cistern/rainwater
harvesting
installations in urban
areas by 15% annually
to 2030.

PART III: DATA HACKATHON & NEXT STEPS 24

 General Policy
Target Proposed Priority
thematic Document Theme Types of data
No. Targets
category Name

Biomass Energy

Promote and Recently deforested forest

National implement areas that have certain land use
Nature - Policy and energy plantation can be targeted using CI-NASA
9 Jobs &
Species & Response schemes to Partnership land cover data -
Livelihoods
Ecosystems Strategy to minimize similarly as modeled for
Climate pressure on identifying areas for wetland
Change natural forest and restoration done by CI (Miro
reduce energy and Yichen)
stress.

Spatial Analysis of Liberia’s

Transport Connectivity

Promote Alien Invasive species points

Nature - integrated
10 Species & NBSAP management of Species
Botanical Information and
Ecosystems invasive alien
Ecology Network available here
species

SESSION 2:TOOLS FOR ELSA SUPPORT AND NEXT STEPS IN

LIBERIA
UN Biodiversity Lab
Annie Virnig,
Strategic Advisor on Spatial Planning, UNDP Global Programme on Nature for Development

Presentation

In this two-part presentation, participants received an overview and demonstration of the UN

Biodiversity Lab. First, Annie Virnig, in a pre-recorded presentation, introduced the platform,
produced in a partnership between UNDP, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity through funding from the Global
Environment Facility (GEF). The goal of the UN Biodiversity Lab, launched in 2018, is to help
decision-makers develop data-driven and policy-driven solutions for sustainable development.
With over 130 of the world's best nature, climate, and sustainable development datasets, the
platform allows users to download and use national data their private national workspaces,
visualize global and national data, perform basic analysis, and create maps, all in a free and open
way that requires no prior GIS experience. The platform's public page is hosting more than 400
global data layers, and has almost 2000 registered users from 141 countries. As a key mechanism
to support countries in preparing their national biodiversity reports in accordance with the
Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Biodiversity Lab has helped increase the use of spatial
analysis in all countries supported by UNDP and GEF.

PART III: DATA HACKATHON & NEXT STEPS 25

It is also the main decision support system for two NASA-supported projects.

The second part of the presentation included a demonstration of some of the main features of
the UN Biodiversity Lab. In this part, presented by Di Zhang, participants learned how to connect
to the platform, display vector, polygon, and raster data, and use features such as the geospatial
intersection tool. Through this presentation, participants learned how, without any prior GIS
experience, they can make progress in the UN Biodiversity Lab, using its mapping capabilities to
create and implement targeted conservation and sustainable development policies.

Reflections on project progress

Marion Marigo,
Capacity Building & Biodiversity Senior Officer, Global Programme on Nature for Development,
UNDP

Presentation

To open the session, Marion Marigo reviewed the key steps in the ELSA process, and highlighted
the strides participants had made through their active participation in the workshop. The first
step of the ELSA process is to identify policy priorities, which was completed during the
workshop. From the discussions during the policy hackathon, participants collaboratively
identified 10 priority policy targets that they would like the ELSA analysis to help achieve in
Liberia.

The workshop also helped to make substantial progress on the second step of the ELSA process
around identifying global and national spatial data. During the data hackathon, participants
identified a wealth of national data that can be used to map Liberia’s 10 priority policy targets
from key custodians including the National Forest Authority, Environmental Protection Agency,
Forest Development Authority, Conservation International, UNDP Country Office, Liberia
Hydrological Services, Ministry of Mine and Energy, and Liberia Rural Renewable Energy Agency.
Moving forward, the consultant hired to support the project will work with the core team to
secure access to these data for the second iteration.

Steps 3 and 4 of the ELSA process are around creating heat maps that initially identify
opportunities for nature, climate change, and sustainable development in Liberia. An initial draft
of these opportunity maps were launched for the first time during the workshop, and the science
team will work to create a second iteration of these maps that reflect the policy priorities
identified during the workshop, and are created using national data sources.

The workshop supported strong advancements around the fifth step of the ELSA process,
defining where and how nature-based actions can be taken in the country. During the data
hackathon, participants identified that, in addition to the nature-based actions of protect,
manage, and restore in Liberia, the analysis should focus on the rehabilitation of lands to support
human well-being. This will also be incorporated into the second iteration of the analysis. Further
work to address the mapping of hard and soft constraints will be undertaken by the Project Core
Team and the science team.

PART III: DATA HACKATHON & NEXT STEPS 26

Marion Marigo highlighted that steps 6 to 8 of the ELSA process, around creating action maps,
will be made possible through the ELSA web tool based on the outputs of the workshop. The
science team will work with the national team to add new national data to the ELSA web tool,
including action around rehabilitation. The upcoming iteration of these maps will show where
nature-based actions to protect, manage, restore, and rehabilitate can result in the best
outcomes for our 10 policy targets. The future iterations of the maps will be created through an
interactive workshop in the first or second quarter of 2023.

Step 9 is around the implementation and monitoring of results. After the ELSA maps are finalized,
UNDP will work with project partners to explore how they can integrate these maps into projects
on the ground.

The tenth and final step of the process is around communication. Throughout this year and the
next, UNDP will work with the Project Core Team to showcase Liberia’s work in key international
venues and through articles and blogs. Marion Marigo emphasized the iterative nature of the
process, and the ability to continue to build on national expertise to refine the ELSA process to
meet Liberia’s unique national needs.

Next steps
The four-day consultation was a unique opportunity to engage diverse stakeholders from Liberia
and around the world in a dialogue on the use of spatial data for nature, climate, and sustainable
development. They also served as a key mechanism for building national capacity on how
systematic conservation planning approaches, nature-based actions, and mapping of critical life
support areas can support strategic and resource-efficient planning for ecosystem stewardship and
sustainable development in Liberia.

Input on the necessary spatial data and key policies gathered through the policy and data
hackathon will inform future action. UNDP, UNDP CO, and the EPA, will advance the project with
input from an international scientific advisory committee and, at critical stages in the process, the
project will share progress with the wider group, seeking advice from relevant ministries and
agencies in further consultations. These consultations for the Mapping Nature for People and
Planet in Liberia project served to introduce the ELSA project, define priorities, discover relevant
data layers, and build national capacity in spatial data.

Over the next six months, UNDP, UNDP CO, and the EPA will continue their collaboration to
produce and use a final ELSA map in Liberia.

The team will:

Build on feedback from the consultation participant survey to refine future consultations for
the project, Mapping Nature for People and Planet, and continue to integrate national
feedback into the Liberia ELSA process.

PART III: DATA HACKATHON & NEXT STEPS 27

Collaborate with Mr. Kulee Keculah, the national consultant hired to support the
implementation of the project in Liberia, as well as colleagues from EPA and national experts
on biodiversity, climate, and sustainable development. The team will liaise with him to
ensure access to data from various institutions.
Follow up on step 1 (identification of policy priorities) and step 2 (identification of global and
national data sets) of the ELSA process.
Create opportunity and action maps to reflect the policy priorities identified in the
consultation.
Create plans to begin Steps 9 and 10 on action, monitoring and implementation. The global
team will work with the core project team to identify national and global venues for
communicating the project's objectives and impacts.

PART III: DATA HACKATHON & NEXT STEPS 28

Thank you
It was an amazing combination of efforts that enabled us to hold our first remote Mapping
Nature for People and Planet workshop, coordinating across multiple time zones to facilitate
dynamic conversation on Liberia’s ELSAs. We would like to acknowledge the breadth of
individuals who contributed their time and expertise to this project. A huge thank you to all those
listed below and to the many others who made Mapping Nature for People and Planet in Liberia
possible.

Starting with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), who
provided the funds to undertake this project in Liberia.
Abraham Tumbey, Programme Coordinator at UNDP CO Liberia, who have provided valuable
guidance and insight to develop and implement this project in Liberia; Emmanuel Olatunji,
UNOPS consultant, who followed all the details of the organization of the workshop, took
notes and provided technical feedback, and Kulee Keculah, our spatial expert, who is
essential in collecting and consolidating the spatial data for this project.
We are grateful for the support at the highest level at UNDP and we thank Stephen
Rodrigues, Resident Representative in Liberia, for his support in the project, and a big thank
you to Louis Kuukpen, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP CO Liberia for having been
with us at the beginning of the consultation.
We are also immensely grateful for the support of the Environmental Protection Agengy,
with special thanks to Berexford Jallah, Hawa Walker, Z. Elijah Whapoe, Jefferson Nyandibo
and J. S. Datuama Cammue, from the EPA, who have supported this project in the past
weeks. And of course, we give our thanks as well to Randall M. Dobayou II, Deputy Executive
Director, EPA, for his presentation on the national vision on the first day.
We also want to acknowledge Jamison Ervin for creating this vision and inspiring us to
explore how it could serve Liberia, and to Oscar Venter, Scott Atkinson, Di Zhang, all spatial
experts, who have led the creation of rigorous scientific methods to make this possible.
Casandra Llosa and Marion Marigo, from UNDP, who have led the preparation and
facilitation of this consultation.
Annie Virnig, Enrique Paniagua, Julie Courtehoux, and Andres Rosas Ramirez, from UNDP, for
their support with the logistics and policy analysis.
Daniel Perez and Patrick Fernandew for their support in developing and updating the
workshop page.
The national presenters: Thomas L. Davis, Whymah M. Goyangator and Berexford Jallah.
And last but definitely not least, many thanks to all the participants for sharing their time and
knowledge to shape the project to meet Liberia’s needs.

Aknowledgement 29