Environment and Climate Reporting

New Narratives supports dozens of investigations into extractives industries and climate, land and water justice in West Africa each year. We shine a spotlight on the impacts on real people here on the frontlines of climate change. In Ghana our work has focused on the dramatic impacts of air pollution. In Liberia and Sierra Leone we have shone a spotlight on mining and oil industries as well as climate justice. We have highlighted the work of changemakers and supported the work of civil society organizations bringing transparency to these crucial sectors. See some of our work here. We thank our donors – the Clean Air Fund, American Jewish World Service, the Swedish and US embassies in Liberia, and German Development Cooperation – for supporting this work.

Residents and Experts Applaud Environment Agency for Noise Pollution Fine of Major Telecommunications Company

By Aria Deemie, climate, environment, and science reporter with New Narratives CONGO TOWN, Montserrado—Residents of the community housing Lonestar Cell MTN say they are “happy” for the recent $US15,000 fine imposed on the company by Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The fine, one of the first since the 2004 Environmental Protection and Management Law of Liberia came into effect,…

Aria Deemie
Frontpage Africa

$10 million Weather Warning System Delayed Four Years by EPA “Lack of Competence”, Inflated Salary Claims and Refusal to Follow Donor Rules, Says Report

By Aria Deemie with New Narratives VARNEY GOWAH TOWN, Montserrado – Kulah Tokpah arrives home from her farm, exhausted, her arms burdened with firewood for the meal she is preparing for men clearing her new plot of land. Her once fertile farm is now a patchwork of withered crops, cracked soil, and dead plants. Kulah…

Aria Deemie
Frontpage Africa

Radio: Growth in Rural Poverty and Inequality Risks Security, Warn Experts

In this compelling Okay FM/New Narratives radio report, we travel to Liberia’s rural hinterlands where rising poverty and deepening inequality aren’t just statistics but daily realities reshaping lives and threatening stability. From farmers forced to abandon their fields to families struggling to send their children to school, we hear from those grappling with the widening…

Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh
Okay FM

Radio: Deforestation is Leaving Rural Dwellers More Vulnerable to Increasingly Devastating Windstorms

In this Kool FM/New Narratives radio report, listeners travel to rural Liberia where the twin forces of deforestation and climate change are leaving communities dangerously exposed to more frequent and devastating windstorms. Across counties like Nimba and Rivercess, families who once relied on forests as natural barriers now find their homes and livelihoods laid bare…

Siaway T. Miapue
Kool FM

Negotiators Strike a Controversial $300 Billion Climate Finance Deal at COP29 as Carbon Trading is Approved

By Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh with New Narratives A day after the official end of this year’s United Nations COP29 gathering of countries committed to halting climate change, negotiators struck a last-minute deal for wealthy countries to help poorer countries like Liberia deal with global warming. The so-called “finance COP” held this year in Baku, Azerbajain,…

Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh
Frontpage Africa

As Climate Change Impacts Worsen, National Climate Summit Aims to Encourage a New, More Resilient Approach to Farming

ActionAid Liberia coordinator on climate change, Norwu meeting with stakeholders in Monrovia. By Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh With New Narratives Monrovia, Liberia — Stakeholders in Liberia’s agriculture sector are coming together this week for a three-day summit designed to kick start a new approach to the growing threat of climate change. The summit “Climate Financing for Agroecology and…

Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh
Frontpage Africa

Radio: This Year’s Rainy Season Was Worst in Memory But Experts Say Worse is to Come; Call for Massive Government Investment in Adaptation

We bring listeners to communities across Liberia reeling from what many describe as the worst rainy season in memory, with floodwaters submerging homes, forcing tens of thousands from their villages, and claiming lives as experts warn these disasters signal an even more volatile climate future. Through the voices of mothers, farmers, and local leaders on…

Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh
Frontpage Africa

This Year’s Rainy Season Was Worst in Memory But Experts Say Worse is to Come; Call for Massive Government Investment in Adaptation

By Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh with New Narratives ROBERTSPORT, Grand Cape Mount County – Francis Gray points to a small mound under a banana tree with a yellow flower planted on the top. The tiny grave holds the remains of his 19-month-old daughter, Linda. Linda was the center of Francis’ and her mother Amie Sheriff’s world…

Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh
Frontpage Africa

Forest Communities Angered by Exclusion from Carbon Credit Negotiations

By Joseph Daniels and Khushali Haji with New Narratives As the Government of Liberia plans ahead to sell off forests for carbon credit markets, forest communities worry about livelihoods. KPATAWEE, Bong County – Bennie Vio walks slowly, a sharp machete resting on his shoulder, observing the growth of the crops he and his family planted…

Joseph Daniels and Khushali Haji
Frontpage Africa

Unusual January Rains Signal Deepening Climate Crisis, Environmental Agency Warns

Summary By Aria Deemie, climate change reporter with New Narratives Liberia’s normally dry season has been disrupted by rainfall, flooding, and strong winds, raising fresh concerns about the country’s vulnerability to climate change and the growing risks to agriculture, infrastructure, and coastal communities. For generations, Liberia’s weather followed a predictable pattern, with rains beginning in…

Aria Deemie
Frontpage Africa

Video: A Successful Greenhouse Venture Offers Climate Promise for Devastated Farmers, but Aid Withdrawal Clouds the Sector

A new greenhouse farming venture in Liberia is offering a climate-smart lifeline to farmers facing devastating weather and crop losses, showing how controlled environments and modern techniques can protect harvests even as unpredictable rains batter fields, but the withdrawal of international aid now threatens the future growth of this promising solution for food security and…

Aria Deemie
Frontpage Africa

Ghana’s buses are filling with toxic fumes — and experts say passengers are paying the price

Adeeza’s breaths came in short, rapid bursts. As the bus rumbled from Bolgatanga toward Accra each inhalation felt like fire in her lungs. For the asthma patient, these moments signaled mortal danger — her body screaming that something was triggering her compromised respiratory system. Adeeza scanned the bus, desperately searching for the regular culprits. Strong…

Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith
A1 Radio 101.1

Residents pay price as Ofankor-Nsawam Highway project delays; health workers warn of rise in air-pollution related illnesses

The Ofankor-Pokuasi-Nsawam Highway was once a vital transportation artery for the local economy, but legal battles and government debt owed contractors have delayed the reconstruction by two years as surrounding communities face a range of problems. Key among them is their health. Experts warn the delayed project has become a major health hazard for over…

Prince Owusu Asiedu
Adom Online

Video: Lonestar Cell Sues EPA Over Noise Fine, Agency Confirms

Telecom giant Lonestar Cell MTN is taking Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency to court after challenging a $15,000 fine for noise pollution at its Congo Town generator site, a penalty the agency says followed scientific tests showing noise above national and WHO limits and years of complaints from neighbors, setting up a legal showdown that many…

Aria Deemie
Frontpage Africa

Video: What is COP30?

COP30 is the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Belém, Brazil, where nearly every nation on Earth gathered to negotiate how the world responds to the climate crisis, from strengthening climate action plans and securing finance for vulnerable communities to assessing progress since the Paris Agreement and pushing for solutions that matter for…

Aria Deemie
Frontpage Africa