Conservation

Sierra Leone is party to a number of international agreements including Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution and Wetlands.

The country has many issues which impact the environment in common with many African countries such as rapid population growth, harvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, slash-and-burn agriculture which has resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion, civil war depleting natural resources and overfishing.

The Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL) is an active organisation with a mission to promote conservation and management of natural resources for sustainable development in Sierra Leone. More information about its activities and achievements can be found at BirdLife International.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and its partner organisation in Sierra Leone, CSSL, and the Sierra Leone Government, will embark on a two-year pilot project with the aim of managing 75,000 hectares of the Gola forests for conservation, in cooperation with local communities.

The Gola rainforests, in south-eastern Sierra Leone, are the last remaining rainforests in the country. They are among the most important forests in West Africa for a range of magnificent, threatened birds and other wildlife. Further information about this work can be found at www.rspb.org.uk/sierraleone/.

Conservation News

21st June 2006: Gola spared from logging

Gola rainforest, one of Africa's top biodiversity sites, is to be managed to benefit local communities, rather than being logged, thanks to a ground-breaking project implemented by the Government of Sierra Leone in co-operation with two BirdLife Partners: the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL) and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK).

The 75,000 ha Important Bird Area (IBA) forest will be protected from legal and illegal logging. Local people from seven chiefdoms have been recruited by the project to patrol the reserve, and will have a key role in managing the project. The RSPB and CSSL are working with the Government to secure the logging rights to Gola, and are financing development projects such as the construction and repair of schools and other community buildings that will directly benefit up to 100,000 local people. A fund will be established to meet the cost of managing the forest for biodiversity for the long term, and to support continuing community development programmes.

His Excellency Alhaji Dr Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, President of Sierra Leone, commented: "This is a new approach in forest protection that will address not only the protection of the forest and its biodiversity, but will also provide sustainable benefit to the local community in perpetuity."

More than 270 bird species, including 14 globally threatened are found at Gola. They include Rufous Fishing-owl Scotopelia ussheri, Gola Malimbe Malimbus ballmanni (both Endangered), and the Green-tailed Bristlebill Bleda eximius and White-necked Picathartes Picathartes gymnocephalus (both Vulnerable), the latter a charismatic species recognised as a symbol of African conservation. Gola is also important for threatened mammals including pygmy hippopotamus, forest elephant and zebra duiker.

Source: BirdLife International News

Page last updated 23rd February 2007