Tuesday, 12th August 2025
SPECIAL EDITION
Key Highlights
By: Zacharia Jalloh, Ministry of Information and Civic Education
In providing updates to the public, Outreach Officer Mohamed Jaward Nyallay announced the groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah, and Daniel Obst, President and CEO of AFS Intercultural Programs. The agreement aims to “provide cross-cultural training, leadership development, and exchange programs that will build global competencies, nurture social entrepreneurship, and inspire civic engagement at home and abroad.” Mr. Nyallay noted that the signing ceremony took place during a side event at the 30th AFS Youth Assembly in New York on 10th August 2025.
The Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Jiwoh Abdulai, recalled that in March 2025, the Ministry launched the Protect Sierra Leone Program, aimed at safeguarding the nation’s biodiversity through sustainable conservation practices, habitat restoration, and community engagement. He reported that, building on this initiative, the Ministry, alongside its partners—has now launched the Nature Nourishes Project, which focuses on empowering local communities near wetlands and forests to take ownership of protecting these natural ecosystems. Minister Abdulai stated that the project is funded by the European Union and will target communities surrounding major protected areas.
A key point in his presentation was the major drivers of deforestation, which include timber logging, building encroachment, illegal mining, stone mining, and charcoal burning—all of which severely impact the environment and threaten clean drinking water. Minister Abdulai specifically called on residents of the Western Area to take responsibility for protecting the environment, particularly water catchment areas, to ensure the survival of local communities. He also urged citizens to avoid building near the Tacugama Sanctuary for their own safety and the protection of the sanctuary.
Minister Abdulai provided a summary of forest cover loss across the country from May 2024 to April 2025:
– Western Area Peninsula National Park: 713 hectares lost.
– Outamba Kilimi: 2,152 hectares lost
– Loma Mountain National Park: 840 hectares lost.
– Gola Rainforest National Park: 2,152 hectares lost
– Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary: 0 hectare loss.
The Country Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, Yvonne Forsen, reminded the public that Thursday, 14th August, marks the 8th anniversary of the Freetown landslide disaster. Since then, deforestation has increased rapidly. Forsen stressed that to prevent future landslides, floods, and long-term effects like water shortages and rising temperatures, Sierra Leone must take urgent action to protect the environment. She highlighted that the Nature Nourishes Project will impact 90 chiefdoms, helping communities:
– Restore forests and water catchment areas,
– Provide alternative livelihoods,
– Develop Chiefdom Land Use Plans to manage forests and wetlands sustainably,
– Train local guards, and
– Promote eco-tourism and climate-smart farming.
She emphasized that line ministries must align with the project for its successful implementation.
Paramount Chief and Member of Parliament for Moyamba District, Hon. Mima Kajue, shared her chiefdom’s local initiatives to protect the environment. She explained that her community has abandoned charcoal burning, a decision they proposed and fully supported. As an alternative livelihood, they have turned to swamp rice farming and cultivated 100 hectares of cashew plantations to support youth employment. With assistance from Njala University, many youths have been trained in farming skills and now earn a sustainable living. PC Kajue stated that this serves as a model for environmental protection that other regions could follow.
Holger Rommen, Team Lead for Infrastructure and Rural Development at the European Union, acknowledged the alarming deforestation rates in Sierra Leone and their devastating impact on communities. However, he emphasized that Sierra Leone, like many nations, is committed to slowing climate change and biodiversity loss while mitigating their effects. He confirmed that the EU’s funding of Le250 million aims to support communities in protecting their ecosystems.
