Paynesville City, February 18, 2026-The Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia has validated Liberia’s first National Report on the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing in a move described as a major step toward protecting the country’s biodiversity and ensuring communities benefit from its use.

The validation exercise was held on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, at the Liberia Learning Center in Paynesville City, bringing together government officials, environmental experts, community leaders, consultants, and development partners.

Delivering the opening statement, the Executive Director of the EPA, Dr. Emmanuel King Urey Yarkpawolo, said the process marks a turning point in how Liberia manages its natural resources.

He said the report goes beyond documentation and reflects a national effort to ensure fairness in the use of Liberia’s rich biological and genetic resources. According to him, Liberia’s forests, wetlands, rivers, mangroves, and coastal ecosystems continue to support livelihoods, food security, and traditional medicine while also holding scientific and economic value.

Dr. Yarkpawolo noted that for many years, countries like Liberia and local communities have not received fair recognition or benefits when their resources and traditional knowledge were used. He said the Nagoya Protocol provides the legal framework to correct this imbalance by ensuring fair and equitable sharing of benefits.

“Access and Benefit Sharing is not only an environmental issue but also touches on social, economic, cultural, and governance matters, adding that it strengthens national sovereignty while promoting responsible research and investment”, He emphasized.

The EPA Executive Director said the First National Report highlights progress made, including policy development, institutional coordination, stakeholder awareness, and initial steps toward establishing systems for prior informed consent and mutually agreed terms.

At the same time, he acknowledged that challenges remain, including the need to finalize legal frameworks, strengthen community awareness, and build effective monitoring and compliance systems.

Dr. Yarkpawolo called on all stakeholders, including government institutions, academia, the private sector, and community leaders, to work together to ensure the success of Access and Benefit Sharing in Liberia.

He stressed that the process must be inclusive and based on collaboration, noting that no single institution can achieve the goals of the Nagoya Protocol alone.

Providing further background, Frances B. Seydou, Director of Intersectoral Coordination at the EPA and National Focal Point for the Nagoya Protocol, explained that the protocol is an international agreement under the Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, and entered into force in 2014.

She said the agreement was developed in response to the growing global use of genetic resources and the need to ensure fairness and equity, especially for countries and communities that protect biodiversity.

“The protocol also recognizes national sovereignty over biological resources and seeks to protect traditional knowledge”, Mrs. Seydou added.

According to her, the main objective of the Nagoya Protocol is to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits, regulate access to genetic resources, promote transparency, and support conservation and sustainable use.

Mrs. Seydou noted that Liberia, as a Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity since 1995, has committed to conserving biodiversity, promoting sustainable use, and ensuring fair benefit sharing.

She added that Liberia’s obligations include developing national ABS laws, establishing institutional frameworks, protecting traditional knowledge, and reporting progress to the CBD Secretariat.

She explained that the First National ABS Report assesses Liberia’s implementation efforts by reviewing laws and institutions, identifying gaps and challenges, and documenting progress made so far.

She described the report as important in measuring national progress, guiding policy and legal reforms, enhancing transparency, and mobilizing international support.

Mrs. Seydou also pointed out key challenges affecting implementation, including limited awareness, low technical capacity, weak coordination among institutions, and inadequate monitoring systems.

Despite these challenges, she said there are opportunities for Liberia to strengthen its legal framework, build capacity, increase community participation, and promote partnerships that will support effective implementation.

The EPA says inputs gathered from the validation workshop will be used to finalize the report, which will guide Liberia’s next steps in protecting biodiversity while ensuring that benefits from genetic resources reach the communities that preserve them.