With shared climate challenges and similar adaptation goals, a high-level delegation from Liberia visited Nigeria through a “South-South Knowledge Exchange” initiative to harness both countries' collective experiences and expertise in implementing Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)+ related projects/ programs as a mechanism for combatting climate change.

The Knowledge Exchange commenced with the arrival of the Liberian delegation on Monday, January 27, 2025, in Abuja, Nigeria. The delegation, headed by Madam Nora G. Bowier, Deputy Managing Director for Conservation, Community, and Carbon at the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), included technicians from the FDA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Honorable Ernest M. Manseah, a member of the House’s Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment of the National Legislature of Liberia. A Technical team from Fauna & Flora Liberia, a conservation Partner of the FDA, accompanied the delegation.

The Federal Ministry of the Environment of Nigeria hosted the delegation through its Department of Forestry, and over four days, the delegation had valuable exchanges with several climate change stakeholders in Nigeria, including the REDD+ Technical Team at the Department of Forestry, representatives from the Department of Climate Change of the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Senate Committee on Climate Change and Ecology of the Federal Assembly of Nigeria, and the Chairperson of House's Committee on Climate Change and Global Warming of the Federal Assembly of Nigeria.

The National Director of the Department of Forestry & Coordinator for Nigeria's REDD+ Program and his Technical Team shared about the Nigerian REDD+ experience with the delegation. Nigeria implements REDD+ programs in seven (7) of its thirty (36) states, including Cross Rivers and Nasarawa. The Nigerian Team explained its REDD+ architecture including its Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) System and its Safeguard Information System. The Liberia Delegation provided an overview of the status of the Liberian REDD+ program, emphasizing progress and its drive to increase the vibrancy of its program as a means of accessing climate finance. The Nigerian Team explained its climate change governance framework, emphasizing the enactment of a Climate Law, which is currently being operationalized through the Nigerian Climate Change Council (NCCC), a high level body created by the Climate Law and headed by the President of Nigeria. Nigerian lawmakers further emphasized the significance of the Climate Change Law to Nigeria during a meeting with the Senate & House’s Committees on Climate Change of the Federal Assembly of Nigeria, where lawmakers interacted with the Team and expressed the willingness to further interact with legislators of Liberia given that the Liberia Team expressed their government’s intention of presenting a Climate Bill to the Liberian Legislature for enactment. The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Climate Change & Ecology of the Federal Assembly of Nigeria expressed that “Africans need to find a common solution to the fight against climate change, and take actions at the national and sub-national levels to mitigate the impacts”. The Team also met with the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of the Environment, who heralded the importance of their REDD+ program and the passage of their Climate Change Law.

The Team visited Marhai Forest Reserve in Wamba Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, one of the REDD+ states, to see the progress of the program and interact with the local forest-dependent people. Dr. Elias Gyobe Napoleon, the Nasarawa State REDD+ Project Coordinator, led the delegation on the field visit to the Nasarawa REDD+ project, where the delegation interacted with the locals and toured livelihood interventions under the program. Madam Nora Garmai Bowier, head of the Liberian delegation, expressed deep appreciation to the Nigerian Team and the communities around the Reserve, commenting that “the visit was enriching and has contributed valuable experience that will help combat climate change through forest initiatives like REDD+”.

Liberia is a largely forested country with its forests recognized as critical to climate mitigation, with massive potential for attracting climate financing. Through the FDA and EPA, the Government of Liberia has taken several actions to attract climate financing while conserving forests through initiatives like REDD+. However, to fully achieve this, stakeholders have recognized the need for a rule-based framework that will govern Liberia's climate program. The visit to Nigeria gave the Liberian delegation an insightful experience to drive this process. The delegation departed Nigeria for Ghana to learn about the Ghanaian experience.