The Activist Who Fought For Sierra Leone's First World Heritage Site
The 66-year-old and the conservation group he founded are the reason Tiwai, which was nearly destroyed during Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war, still exists.
"I feel very happy, relieved, hopeful," the environmentalist told AFP from the verdant island, ahead of the announcement.
The Gola-Tiwai complex, which also includes the nearby Gola Rainforest National Park, will be Sierra Leone's first UNESCO site.
UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay called Gola-Tiwai "a jewel of biodiversity, a sanctuary for rare species and a model of community management."
The wildlife and fauna in the two areas have been imperilled for years by threats such as deforestation.
Tiwai island, located in the Moa river, measures just 12 square kilometres (4.5 square miles) and has 11 species of primates -- including the endangered western chimpanzee, the king colobus monkey and the Diana monkey.
In 1992, Garnett, who has dedicated his life to environmental projects in west Africa, created the Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA).
In the early 2000s, he started working to save Tiwai. Today, the wildlife sanctuary is a gleaming success story for Sierra Leone.
Even as the country descended into civil war or was ravaged by Ebola in 2014, Garnett was able to stave off deforestation, poaching and other threats.
As well its primates, Tiwai has animals such as the pygmy hippopotamus and the critically endangered African forest elephant.
While Gola is the largest expanse of tropical rainforest in Sierra Leone, Tiwai, located to the south, serves as a centre for biodiversity research and a destination for ecotourism.
In order to achieve this for Tiwai, EFA had to convince local communities to abandon certain activities to protect the forest.
The tourism revenue in turn helps provide jobs, training and technical agricultural assistance.
During the civil war, the island's wildlife was almost decimated, but Garnett, his NGO and donors brought it back from the brink.
The centre's structures had become dilapidated, the ground covered in empty rifle cartridges and people began logging trees, Garnett said.
"We raised the alarm that this place was going," he said.
The environmentalist quickly found funding for reconstruction and raising awareness among local communities.
Since then, Garnett and his group have safeguarded the haven despite an onslaught of Ebola, Covid-19 and disastrous weather.
"Our lives and livelihoods and cultures and traditions are so inextricably linked to the forest that if the forest dies, a big part of us dies with it," he said.
An avid cyclist and yoga enthusiast, Garnett's warm, welcoming approach has easily won him allies.
"One of my first experiences in life was having a forest as backyard and recognizing the richness of it," he said.
Garnett was born in 1959 in the rural district of Kono in the country's east, and lived there until age 18.
After studying agriculture and development economics abroad, he returned home in the 1990s to reconnect with his family and help Sierra Leone during the war.
He began working in environmental protection after witnessing the conflict's destruction and its reliance on mineral resources and mining, particularly diamonds.
For 30 years, he and foundation colleagues have travelled the country confronting traffickers and conducting community meetings.
Over the past 20 years, EFA has planted more than two million trees in deforested areas across Sierra Leone, Garnett said, including 500,000 between 2020 and 2023.
The country's environment minister, Jiwoh Abdulai, told AFP he was "really excited and thrilled" about UNESCO's decision, adding that Garnett gave him a lot of "hope and optimism".
His contributions preserving nature are something "that the entire country is grateful for", he said. Residents on Tiwai Island had to give up some activities to protect the park that has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site AFP Tommy Garnett founded the Environmental Foundation for Africa whose work played a key role in Tiwai island becoming a UNESCO Heritage Site AFP Tiwai island, in the Moa river, is Sierra Leone's first entry on the UNESCO Heritage Site list AFP
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Int'l Business Times
a day ago
- Int'l Business Times
The Activist Who Fought For Sierra Leone's First World Heritage Site
Activist Tommy Garnett's decades of work paid off when Sierra Leone's Tiwai island -- a lush forest home to one of the world's highest concentrations of primates -- landed a spot Sunday on the UN cultural agency's World Heritage list. The 66-year-old and the conservation group he founded are the reason Tiwai, which was nearly destroyed during Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war, still exists. "I feel very happy, relieved, hopeful," the environmentalist told AFP from the verdant island, ahead of the announcement. The Gola-Tiwai complex, which also includes the nearby Gola Rainforest National Park, will be Sierra Leone's first UNESCO site. UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay called Gola-Tiwai "a jewel of biodiversity, a sanctuary for rare species and a model of community management." The wildlife and fauna in the two areas have been imperilled for years by threats such as deforestation. Tiwai island, located in the Moa river, measures just 12 square kilometres (4.5 square miles) and has 11 species of primates -- including the endangered western chimpanzee, the king colobus monkey and the Diana monkey. In 1992, Garnett, who has dedicated his life to environmental projects in west Africa, created the Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA). In the early 2000s, he started working to save Tiwai. Today, the wildlife sanctuary is a gleaming success story for Sierra Leone. Even as the country descended into civil war or was ravaged by Ebola in 2014, Garnett was able to stave off deforestation, poaching and other threats. As well its primates, Tiwai has animals such as the pygmy hippopotamus and the critically endangered African forest elephant. While Gola is the largest expanse of tropical rainforest in Sierra Leone, Tiwai, located to the south, serves as a centre for biodiversity research and a destination for ecotourism. In order to achieve this for Tiwai, EFA had to convince local communities to abandon certain activities to protect the forest. The tourism revenue in turn helps provide jobs, training and technical agricultural assistance. During the civil war, the island's wildlife was almost decimated, but Garnett, his NGO and donors brought it back from the brink. The centre's structures had become dilapidated, the ground covered in empty rifle cartridges and people began logging trees, Garnett said. "We raised the alarm that this place was going," he said. The environmentalist quickly found funding for reconstruction and raising awareness among local communities. Since then, Garnett and his group have safeguarded the haven despite an onslaught of Ebola, Covid-19 and disastrous weather. "Our lives and livelihoods and cultures and traditions are so inextricably linked to the forest that if the forest dies, a big part of us dies with it," he said. An avid cyclist and yoga enthusiast, Garnett's warm, welcoming approach has easily won him allies. "One of my first experiences in life was having a forest as backyard and recognizing the richness of it," he said. Garnett was born in 1959 in the rural district of Kono in the country's east, and lived there until age 18. After studying agriculture and development economics abroad, he returned home in the 1990s to reconnect with his family and help Sierra Leone during the war. He began working in environmental protection after witnessing the conflict's destruction and its reliance on mineral resources and mining, particularly diamonds. For 30 years, he and foundation colleagues have travelled the country confronting traffickers and conducting community meetings. Over the past 20 years, EFA has planted more than two million trees in deforested areas across Sierra Leone, Garnett said, including 500,000 between 2020 and 2023. The country's environment minister, Jiwoh Abdulai, told AFP he was "really excited and thrilled" about UNESCO's decision, adding that Garnett gave him a lot of "hope and optimism". His contributions preserving nature are something "that the entire country is grateful for", he said. Residents on Tiwai Island had to give up some activities to protect the park that has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site AFP Tommy Garnett founded the Environmental Foundation for Africa whose work played a key role in Tiwai island becoming a UNESCO Heritage Site AFP Tiwai island, in the Moa river, is Sierra Leone's first entry on the UNESCO Heritage Site list AFP
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2 days ago
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'Fairytale' Neuschwanstein Castle Becomes UNESCO Heritage Site
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2 days ago
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'Fairytale' Neuschwanstein castle becomes UNESCO heritage site
Three other royal residences, also constructed in the late 19th Century under the famously arts-obsessed King Ludwig II of Bavaria, were also added to the coveted list: Herrenchiemsee, Linderhof and Schachen. Neuschwanstein, perched on a rocky, 200m-high Alpine crag, is Germany's most visited castle, with almost 1.5 million people flocking there every year. "A fairytale comes true for our fairytale castles: We are #WorldHeritage!" Bavaria's governor, Markus Soeder, wrote on X after the announcement. Neuschwanstein combines an idealised medieval exterior with architectural techniques considered cutting-edge at the time. Its main rooms are adorned with paintings of German and Nordic legends, the same stories that inspired composer Richard Wagner, for whom Ludwig was a generous patron. Peter Seibert of the Bavarian Castles Administration (BSV) told AFP that the UNESCO listing "is a very great responsibility, but also recognition... for the work we have done so far in preservation". Philippe, a 52-year-old visitor from Canada, was surprised that the castle was not already a World Heritage Site. "We're lucky to still be able to experience this," he said, calling the listing "a very good idea". Herrenchiemsee meanwhile evokes a Versailles in miniature on a lake between Munich and Salzburg, an homage to absolute monarch Louis XIV of France, whom Ludwig admired. Indeed Ludwig nicknamed Herrencheimsee "Meicost-Ettal", an anagram of Louis XIV's alleged aphorism "L'Etat, c'est moit" ("I am the state"). Advertisement 'Part of Bavarian identity' The third site in the UNESCO listing is the small castle of Linderhof, completed in 1878, the only one to have been finished in Ludwig's lifetime. It mixes elements of French Baroque architecture from the reign of Louis XIV with touches of the Rococo style developed in southern Germany. Its park boasts an artificial cave inspired by Wagner's opera Tannhaeuser, 90 metres long and up to 14 metres high, which houses a grotto of Venus and was designed as a personal retreat for Ludwig. The electric lighting system used in the cave was state of the art at the time, with glass discs used to illuminate the grotto in different colours. The last of the four sites on the list is Schachen, a royal house in the style of a large Swiss chalet, where Ludwig liked to celebrate the saint's day of his namesake St Louis on August 25. Advertisement It is located at 1,800 metres above sea level, not far from Neuschwanstein. The four castles have become "part of Bavarian identity" says Seibert, "iconic and perfectly embedded in a beautiful landscape". Ironically, while Ludwig's architectural legacy is today a source of pride in Bavaria -- not to mention tourist revenue -- they were part of the reason for his own downfall. The ruinous construction costs of the lavish residences led the Bavarian government to depose him, declaring him insane. Interned in Berg Palace, he died shortly afterwards in mysterious circumstances at Lake Starnberg.
