Latest news with #AminataSankoh
IOL News
13-06-2025
- General
- IOL News
Sierra Leone's Forests Are Burning — But Communities Hold the Water
Nestled along the West African coast, Sierra Leone grapples with a largely unnoticed environmental emergency: rampant deforestation. Within the supposedly safeguarded Western Area Peninsula National Park (WAPNP), which also acts as a critical watershed for Freetown, the capital, trees are disappearing rapidly. Charcoal manufacturing, land seizure, and unchecked construction projects are devastating the nation's essential forests. From 2012 to the present, Sierra Leone has witnessed the loss or severe degradation of nearly a third – exceeding 5,600 hectares – of its crucial forest reserve. Alarmingly, the World Food Programme reports that 715 hectares of forest were destroyed in 2024 alone. To put this into perspective, this translates to the loss of 1,330 football fields of dense, biodiverse tropical forest within a single year. According to UNESCO, this forest area safeguards 80 to 90 percent of Sierra Leone's biodiversity, providing habitat for endangered species, essential tree cover, and the country's primary water catchment. This threat is immediate and tangible; it is not a future or theoretical concern. Its consequences will manifest as water scarcity, crop failures, heat waves, and floods. In Sierra Leone, a critical dilemma persists between immediate survival and long-term sustainability. Aminata Sankoh, a widowed mother of seven, exemplifies this struggle. Unable to sustain her family through low-paying construction jobs, she resorted to charcoal burning for income, a practice that provides for her children's education. Despite being illegal in protected forests, charcoal remains a primary cooking fuel for many due to frequent power cuts and high gas prices. For numerous Sierra Leoneans, charcoal production is essential for survival, though it comes at a significant environmental expense. This situation highlights a painful choice between meeting basic needs and preserving the natural world. Sierra Leone's situation, while not isolated, is exceptionally critical due to the rapid and extensive deforestation combined with inadequate law enforcement. Ranked 11th globally for climate vulnerability by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative, the nation experiences increasingly frequent and catastrophic flooding. The 2017 Freetown landslide, which claimed over 1,100 lives, vividly illustrates this connection, being a tragedy directly resulting from deforestation on the hills surrounding the capital. Despite widespread despair, a hopeful movement is emerging: grassroots, community-driven forest protection efforts. Led by the Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA), with support from the UNDP and the Global Environment Facility, these initiatives engage and equip local villagers as primary forest guardians. These groups conduct daily patrols, suppress fires, report illicit actions, and assist with reforestation. While still limited in scope, their impact has been groundbreaking for information gathering and prevention. Where government agencies – frequently underfunded, poorly compensated, and reportedly corrupt – have been ineffective, local communities are now taking charge. Employing local individuals with a modest $60 monthly stipend has proven significantly more effective in forest conservation than extensive official ranger patrols, as noted by Tommy Garnett, founder of EFA and seasoned expert in West African conservation. This method, which utilises the existing community structure, is not only budget-friendly but also aligns well with the local culture, leading to increased understanding and enforcement of regulations in forest areas. Challenges hinder conservation efforts. Community organisations frequently struggle against illegal charcoal producers, many driven by financial necessity, like Sankoh. Furthermore, organized entities, including land speculators, corrupt officials, and individuals involved in illegal cannabis cultivation within the forests, pose significant obstacles. Positive initiatives like the police's dedicated land and environmental crime unit and the commitment to protect 30% of Sierra Leone's land and sea by 2030 are encouraging. However, these promises necessitate tangible enforcement and strong political backing. Given that less than 30% of the population has consistent electricity and widespread poverty persists, policies must resonate with the daily experiences of its people. Energy poverty is intrinsically linked to deforestation in Sierra Leone. To effectively combat deforestation, immediate investment in decentralised renewable energy sources is essential. This includes the provision of solar cookstoves, biogas systems, and enhanced biomass technologies. Law enforcement alone will not deter the use of chainsaws and kilns unless cleaner, affordable cooking fuels are readily available. Additionally, resolving land tenure insecurity and promoting sustainable agricultural practices are vital in easing the strain on forest areas. The stakes extend beyond mere biodiversity; Sierra Leone's long-term stability is in jeopardy. Deforestation will lead to increased flooding, droughts, food shortages, and economic turmoil. The Western Area Peninsula is crucial, safeguarding Freetown's water and influencing local weather. Its loss will result in substantial humanitarian costs and decreased economic output, significantly exceeding any illicit charcoal profits. As environmentalist Joseph Rahall of Green Scenery cautioned, we have surpassed the emergency point. If the current path persists, our forests could vanish within a single generation, leaving nothing to conserve. However, the answer extends beyond simply punishing offenders; it demands a fundamental shift. When communities are treated as integral partners, and when livelihoods can thrive alongside environmental protection, genuine and lasting change becomes achievable. By Sesona Mdlokovana Associate at the BRICS+ Consulting Group UAE & African Specialist *The Views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL. ** MORE ARTICLES ON OUR WEBSITE ** Follow @brics_daily on X/Twitter & @brics_daily on Instagram for daily BRICS+ updates
Gulf Today
11-06-2025
- Gulf Today
Villagers step up to halt Sierra Leone deforestation
Lucie Peytermann, Agence France-Presse Deep inside a Sierra Leone national park, a mother of seven was about to set dozens of tree trunks ablaze to make charcoal. Producing the cheap fuel in this way is illegal in the protected rainforest near the capital of a country highly vulnerable to the ravages of climate change. But Aminata Sankoh, a widow who said she had no other choice for making a living, defiantly shrugged off a stern warning from a group of villagers who monitor the forests as part of a groundbreaking grassroots initiative. "You are saying you are not affected by this deforestation, that there will be tree planting — but it will affect your own great grandchildren!" chided group leader Caesar Senesie. The extent of the deforestation in the humid tropical forest and what remains of the primary forest is clear as far as the eye can see. Some has been taken over for marijuana plantations — Sierra Leone is battling drug problems — and land grabbing is also rife to satisfy demographic pressures. Nearly a third, or 5,600 hectares (13,837 acres) of the forest within the Western Area Peninsula National Park has been lost or severely degraded since 2012. Last year alone "intensive deforestation" led to the loss of 715 hectares, or the equivalent of 1,330 football pitches, according to the World Food Programme. UNESCO says the area is home to between 80 and 90 per cent of Sierra Leone's biodiversity. But charcoal is the only way for many Sierra Leoneans to cook in the face of power cuts and soaring energy prices. Finding the illicit charcoal producing sites means venturing deep into the forest by road and on foot, but an AFP team managed to visit the area. Groups of men fended off exhaustion as they carried out backbreaking work in stifling 35-degree Celsius (95-Fahrenheit) heat, stacking up tree trunks covered with stones. Near Sankoh, the widowed mother, a mound several metres wide began to smoke. The worn-out 45-year-old said her husband died four years ago and to feed her children and pay for their schooling, she took a job breaking stones on construction sites. But two years ago, she made a decision. "I used to break stone... but I am not doing it any longer because I was struggling a lot. So I decided to come to the forest and do charcoal burning," she said. Faced with the failures in protecting the forest as well as land seizures, units comprising 40 villagers have been set up. "Even at night, when we have a fire break out, I call my guys, we move straight away," Senesie, the group leader, said. "We, the community, are the solution to protect the forest," he added. Funded by the Global Environment Facility, the initiative was launched by the Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA) NGO, with support from the government and the United Nations Development Programme. People carry out illegal activities in the national park "because they can and believe that they will get away with it every time", Tommy Garnett, EFA founder and executive director, said. He blamed poverty, ignorance and greed for driving the deforestation. "This situation is destroying our natural heritage at an alarming rate," warned Garnett, who for 30 years has been involved in conservation projects in Sierra Leone and other west African countries. Sierra Leone is the 11th most vulnerable nation to the impact of climate change out of 191 countries ranked by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative. Faced with the inefficiency and the alleged corruption of some forest rangers — who, under-equipped and underpaid, sometimes turn a blind eye — campaigners are banking on involving the worst hit local communities. Garnett said that paying villagers an incentive of $60 a month to make daily patrols and collect evidence had shed more light on what was happening in the forest than a decade of official patrols. EFA has replanted 103,000 trees in the past year, with the goal of an additional 500,000 by 2028. A few kilometres (miles) away, another unit of villagers from the "Mile 13" settlement were doing their bit under Sulaiman Barrie, who angrily complained of recent forest fires in the vicinity. "This was never the Sierra Leone we knew... This was never the Mile 13 I knew when I was just a boy," an emotional and exhausted Barrie said, smoke from the fires still rising above the mountains behind him. "We are standing now in a protected area... where we have all sorts of animals," he said. The community must "step up and protect the forest", he insisted. The government has also taken steps, Tamba Dauda, director of surveys within the lands, housing and country planning ministry, said. "We are quite aware of the massive deforestation that is ongoing," he said, highlighting the establishment of a land and environmental crime unit within the police to pursue perpetrators. Despite such efforts, Joseph Rahall, founder of the NGO Green Scenery, warned that the forest's very survival was at stake. "We are beyond the emergency level," he said. "If we don't manage the Western Area Peninsula very well, in 10 to 15 years there will be no forest."
Hindustan Times
05-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Villagers step up to halt Sierra Leone deforestation
Deep inside a Sierra Leone national park, a mother of seven was about to set dozens of tree trunks ablaze to make charcoal. Producing the cheap fuel in this way is illegal in the protected rainforest near the capital of a country highly vulnerable to the ravages of climate change. But Aminata Sankoh, a widow who said she had no other choice for making a living, defiantly shrugged off a stern warning from a group of villagers who monitor the forests as part of a groundbreaking grassroots initiative. "You are saying you are not affected by this deforestation, that there will be tree planting but it will affect your own great grandchildren!" chided group leader Caesar Senesie. The extent of the deforestation in the humid tropical forest and what remains of the primary forest is clear as far as the eye can see. Some has been taken over for marijuana plantations Sierra Leone is battling drug problems and land grabbing is also rife to satisfy demographic pressures. Nearly a third, or 5,600 hectares of the forest within the Western Area Peninsula National Park has been lost or severely degraded since 2012. Last year alone "intensive deforestation" led to the loss of 715 hectares, or the equivalent of 1,330 football pitches, according to the World Food Programme. UNESCO says the area is home to between 80 and 90 percent of Sierra Leone's biodiversity. But charcoal is the only way for many Sierra Leoneans to cook in the face of power cuts and soaring energy prices. Finding the illicit charcoal producing sites requires venturing deep into the forest by road and on foot, but an AFP team managed to visit the area. Groups of men fended off exhaustion as they carried out backbreaking work in stifling 35-degree Celsius heat, stacking up tree trunks covered with stones. Near Sankoh, the widowed mother, a mound several metres wide began to smoke. The worn-out 45-year-old said her husband died four years ago and to feed her children and pay for their schooling, she took a job breaking stones on construction sites. But two years ago, she made a decision. "I used to break stone... but I am not doing it any longer because I was struggling a lot. So I decided to come to the forest and do charcoal burning," she told AFP. Faced with the failures in protecting the forest as well as land seizures, units comprising 40 villagers have been set up. "Even at night, when we have a fire break out, I call my guys, we move straight away," Senesie, the group leader, said. "We, the community, are the solution to protect the forest," he added. Funded by the Global Environment Facility, the initiative was launched by the Environmental Foundation for Africa NGO, with support from the government and the United Nations Development Programme. People carry out illegal activities in the national park "because they can and believe that they will get away with it every time", Tommy Garnett, EFA founder and executive director, said. He blamed poverty, ignorance and greed for driving the deforestation. "This situation is destroying our natural heritage at an alarming rate," warned Garnett, who for 30 years has been involved in conservation projects in Sierra Leone and other west African countries. Sierra Leone is the 11th most vulnerable nation to the impact of climate change out of 191 countries ranked by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative. Faced with the inefficiency and the alleged corruption of some forest rangers who, under-equipped and underpaid, sometimes turn a blind eye campaigners are banking on involving the worst hit local communities. Garnett said that paying villagers an incentive of $60 a month to make daily patrols and collect evidence had shed more light on what was happening in the forest than a decade of official patrols. EFA has replanted 103,000 trees in the past year, with the goal of an additional 500,000 by 2028. A few kilometres away, another unit of villagers from the "Mile 13" settlement were doing their bit under Sulaiman Barrie, who angrily complained of recent forest fires in the vicinity. "This was never the Sierra Leone we knew... This was never the Mile 13 I knew when I was just a boy," an emotional and exhausted Barrie said, smoke from the fires still rising above the mountains behind him. "We are standing now in a protected area... where we have all sorts of animals," he said. The community must "step up and protect the forest", he insisted. The government has also taken steps, Tamba Dauda, director of surveys and land within the lands, housing and country planning ministry, said. "We are quite aware of the massive deforestation that is ongoing," he said, highlighting the establishment of a land and environmental crime unit within the police to pursue perpetrators. Despite such efforts, Joseph Rahall, founder of the NGO Green Scenery, warned that the forest's very survival was at stake. "We are beyond the emergency level," he said. "If we don't manage the Western Area Peninsula very well, in 10 to 15 years there will be no forest." lp/sjd/cw/kjm
