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.

How Dirty Air Is Quietly Damaging Hearts in Ghana

Dirty air is quietly damaging the hearts of millions of Ghanaians. When we think about air pollution, we often picture coughing, asthma, or smoggy skies. But what is far more dangerous and far less visible — is how polluted air is silently attacking the heart and blood vessels. Jennifer Ambolley reports in this social media…

Jennifer Ambolley
Video

Experts say missing engine part in most Ghanaian vehicles polluting air, sickening people

Experts are warning that many vehicles in Ghana are operating without catalytic converters—an essential engine component that reduces harmful exhaust emissions—contributing significantly to air pollution and serious health risks. Without this device, vehicles release toxic gases directly into the atmosphere, worsening air quality and increasing cases of respiratory illnesses, especially among drivers, roadside traders, commuters,…

Mahmud Mahammed-Nurudeen
Video

Liberia’s Wetlands Under Threat as EPA Sounds Alarm on World Wetlands Day

By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, New Narrative Climate and Enviromental Reporter Summary ·  Liberia’s wetlands are rapidly disappearing due to illegal settlements, weak enforcement of environmental laws, and public neglect, with the Mesurado Wetlands in Greater Monrovia among the hardest hit, environmental authorities warned during World Wetlands Day. ·  EPA officials revealed severe ecological damage, including…

Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Frontpage Africa

Ofankor – Nsawam Road: Dust, Diseases and Deaths

Communities along the Ofankor–Nsawam road are facing serious health risks as dust from road construction contributes to rising respiratory illnesses and other diseases among residents. Prince Owusu Asiedu reports in this social media Video. Ofankor-Nsawam road: Dust, diseases and deaths This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Clean Air Reporting Project. Funds…

Prince Owusu Asiedu
Video

Residents pay the price as the Ofankor-Pokuasi-Nsawam highway reconstruction runs two years late

Residents along the Ofankor–Pokuasi–Nsawam highway are paying the price for a reconstruction project that is two years behind schedule, with prolonged disruption to daily life and local livelihoods. Prince Owusu Asiedu reports in this social media Video. To read more about this story click this link: https://www.adomonline.com/residents-pay-price-as-ofankor-nsawam-highway-project-delays-health-workers-warn-of-rise-in-air-pollution-related-illnesses/ Nsawam Ofankor road dust This story was a…

Prince Owusu Asiedu
Video

Agbogbloshie pollution resurges as Accra Metropolitan Assembly, communities launch model clean-air response

Communities in and around Accra’s Agbogbloshie are launching a model clean-air response with support from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to confront a resurgence of dangerous air pollution that harms health and could serve as a blueprint for other cities. New Narratives’ Joyce Gyekye reports from Agbogbloshie for GBC online. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o7vFx3ONIA-o3dk-51tBueVmUyEE-Xkd/view?usp=share_link This story was a collaboration…

Joyce Gyekye
Radio

Liberia’s Civil Society Demands Fiscal Reform and Climate Justice Ahead of Global Finance Summit

By Aria Deemie, climate, environment, and science reporter with New Narratives As Liberia prepares for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, a vital United Nations-led global summit focused on mobilizing resources to fund sustainable development, later this year, civil society leaders has mounted a bold challenge to the status quo — demanding transparency, tax justice,…

Aria Deemie
Frontpage Africa

A Proposed U.S. Remittance Tax Could Hit Liberian Families Hard– Few know it’s coming but experts warn the impact could be profound.

By Aria Deemie with New Narratives In a quiet office on the outskirts of Monrovia, Isaac Success Yomah manages a stream of transactions from Liberians collecting money sent by loved ones abroad, mostly from the United States. It’s steady business, and for many of his customers, essential. But a provision in President Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill“ put…

Aria Deemie
Frontpage Africa

EPA Shuts Liberian-Chinese Mining Company, Seizes Equipment Over Alleged Illegal Operations; Issues Ultimatums to Others

By Aria Deemie, climate, environment and science reporter with New Narratives Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has shut down and seized the equipment of a Liberian-Chinese mining company over alleged illegal operations and given 7-day ultimatums to a number of others, including a fully Chinese owned company. Scott Investment is co-owned by Gao Freng, a Chinese national,…

Aria Deemie
Frontpage Africa

“We Have No Choice”: As Farms Fail, Rural Dwellers Turn to Charcoal Production in Renewed Threat to Liberia’s Forests and Global Climate Commitments

By Aria Deemie, climate and environment reporter with New Narratives Summary: SENJEH DISTRICT, Bomi County, Liberia — Sweat beads on Charles McGill’s brow as he lifts a cutlass and slams it into a log, the forest crackling with midday heat. At 89, he should be resting. Instead, he’s helping fuel Liberia’s booming charcoal trade, one of…

Aria Deemie
Frontpage Africa

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

Forest Communities Angered by Exclusion from Carbon Credit Negotiations

In this powerful Okayfm/New Narratives radio feature, we go to the heart of Liberia’s forested communities, where families who depend on the land for food and survival are voicing anger and fear over being left out of national carbon credit negotiations. As the government prepares to tap into global carbon markets and sell the forests’…

Joseph Daniels
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
Radio