The Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA) has congratulated the winner of the 2019 Goldman Environmental Prize.
The Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Liberia EPA, Dr. Nathaniel T. Blama, Sr. in a statement issued in Monrovia on May 2, 2019 extended gratitude to Environmental lawyer and activist, Alfred Brownell for snatching the world prestigious environmental award.
Brownell, Lead Campaigner at Green Advocates was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize, the world’s most prestigious honor for the half-dozen grassroots environmental activists who receive it annually on Monday, April 29, 2019.
The prize was established in San Francisco by Richard and Rhoda Goldman, founders of the Goldman Fund, which for six decades donated $700 million to nonprofit organizations that were trying to make the world a better and safer place.
Dr. Blama said that the agency is proud of Brownell’s achievement and contributions to the country’s environment and rain forest.
The organizers said Brownell was selected based on his campaign to halt clear-cutting of tropical forests after the Liberian government signed concessions with the palm oil company Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL).
Under the deal, the company was given a 65-year lease on 220,000 hectares (543,600 acres) in Sinoe County, including land used by forest communities.
GVL is owned by the US-based Verdant Fund LP, whose sole investor is the Singapore-listed Golden Agri-Resources.
But, Dr. Blama hopes that Brownell’s recognition will shine light on challenges the country faces in protecting its environment and tropical rain forest amidst the enormous effects of climate change in Liberia.