By Abbas Nazil
A capacity-building initiative on forest and mangrove monitoring in Liberia has reached a key milestone with the successful completion of its handoff training in Monrovia.
The Transformative Pilot on Forest and Mangroves Monitoring, supported by Environment and Climate Change Canada through NovaSphere, conducted the training under the coordination of Pilot Lead Coordinator J. Negatus Wright.
The handoff training marked the transition of advanced technical knowledge and operational tools to Liberian institutions responsible for environmental and forest governance.
The training was facilitated by J. Negatus Wright, an independent consultant, with technical support from the Spatial Informatics Group, widely known as SIG.
Over the life of the pilot, SIG has played a central role in strengthening the technical capacity of geospatial and GIS staff across key Liberian government agencies.
Beneficiary institutions include the Forestry Development Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Liberia Land Authority, and the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services.
The pilot introduced participants to modern spatial technologies such as Collect Earth Online and Google Earth Engine for monitoring forests, mangroves, and environmental change across Liberia.
In addition to technical training, the project provided critical equipment, including high-technology drones, computers, and GPS devices, to national and regional staff of the EPA and FDA.
Over the past two years, support from the Canadian government through NovaSphere has extended beyond Monrovia to Liberia’s regional counties.
More than 200 staff from participating ministries and agencies have received training and equipment support aimed at improving environmental monitoring and decision-making.
As part of continued technical advancement, SIG has developed a forest alert system to track deforestation in protected and proposed protected forest areas across Liberia.
The group has also produced forest cover mapping tools using Google Earth Engine scripts combined with Collect Earth Online.
The intensive training program was held at the University of Liberia’s main campus at the Climate Action Lab from December 8 to December 18, 2025.
More than 20 participants took part in the sessions, which combined advanced geospatial training with sector-specific breakout discussions.
The primary objective was to ensure that the capacities built during the pilot are fully embedded within national institutions and actively inform policy decisions and investments.
Technical teams from the EPA and FDA have already begun applying the acquired skills to map land use and land use change data.
These datasets will contribute directly to establishing Liberia’s Forest Reference Emission Level.
Participants expressed appreciation to NovaSphere and the Canadian government for equipping them with the tools and knowledge needed to effectively monitor Liberia’s forests.
The initiative aligns with Canada’s broader support for countries in West Africa and the Pacific Alliance to strengthen measurement, reporting, and verification of greenhouse gas emissions.
Through regional collaboration and capacity-building, the program supports countries in achieving their Nationally Determined Contributions under global climate commitments.
