If the community people in the Number 2 River could have been whispered the way the Sierra Leone Police behave when they are executing their duties, some of them shouldn’t have ventured to even advised them to go through the village headman when they were on a mission to destroy a beautiful house constructed by one Mr. Alpha Fofana who has spent most of his life in foreign land and decided to come back to his route country to carryout investment.

Community people say, over thirty years ago, they have never witnessed such terrible situation in this rural community lying deep west of the Western Area Peninsular approximately about 50km from the central heart of the city.

Court bailiffs and a full force of hooligans hired from the Adunkia community backed by the Sierra Leone Police use all what they can to show the community they can do whatever they wish in the community and nothing will come out of it at the end of the day. Their mission was to executive a court order from the Master and Registrar and destroys the house of Mr. Fofana. In an interview with the police, they stated that the police presence at the mission was to secure the bailiff from a command they received from the AIG west while the youths were there to ensure they destroy all properties they met at the compound. The police delegation was headed by most senior police officers including Inspector Sesay, Sergeant Kelly and Sergeant Conteh all from the Adunkia Police station.

Standing by the community while they were doing carrying out their activities, I saw the youths with desperate minds and enthusiasm holding cutlasses, shovels, pickaxes, hammers to name a few which they used to destroy the locally made “pan bodi” house constructed by Mr. Fofana for security of the compound and also use those equipments to remove roof covers of the beautiful house in the community. I counted more than five leafs of zinc removed at the top of the building while the group destroyed the ceiling in the house and as well as glass windows.

While on the mission to destroy houses, a handful of the community came and pleaded with the fierce team not to destroy the house but go through the headman of the community who they wished should have leaded the team to the house owner before they can carry out anything or mission. They couldn’t just do that and feared that the community people might over power them. They started firing tear gas and using sticks to beat any person they caught while also using stones to scare away the youths they suspected or think might attack them. Upon this, prolonged battle, the youths started to throw stones in retaliation while the police also started firing their tear gas canisters. More than ten women including children, women and youths were burnt by the canisters. A girl child feared the police and nearly drowned at the sea while running away from them and the terrible sound of the canisters.

Many innocent people were caught by the police and taken to the Adunkia Police station. Some who went sympathize with their relatives were also whisked to the police cells forcefully without any regard for humanity. This is the common way of the police. They don’t have the patience to investigate and when on a mission to destroy any property, they will not spear anyone caught or seen at the scene. Even this writer had experienced such situation in the past where he was handcuffed innocently for what he never new off just he was seen taking pictures while they were unnecessarily executing their so-called mission.

Some of the police interviewed at the Adunkia Police station noted that they don’t know the reason why they were at the Number 2 River to destroy the house. Speaking on the root causes of the scene, the caretaker for Mr. Fofana’s compound of about 6 tan lots, Mr. Jacob Bell said Mr. Alpha Fofana commonly known as Rasta bought the land more than five years ago to one Abu Mansaray in the community. He said two years ago, a group of people came to him and inform him as caretaker that the land is owned by Madam Philomena Stady Jones who allegedly uses influence of her brother, a barrister at law to carry out this exercise in the community.  He said they wanted to survey the land but stopped them with the defense that the one who sold the land, Mr. Mansaray was not with them. He added that because of his resistance the people went away and later came with police who he allegedly use gun to threaten him but they still face resistance from him. He maintained that he was shocked to see two full trucks of police officers at their compound without even identification numbers as legally authorized people to execute a court order. “We don’t believe the police and the bailiff are sent from the court” he said in an interview.

At the scene very far away for fear of not experience the same scene I had few years back, after the mission I saw the police officers loading the zinc and glass windows they removed from the houses.

A security worker for the Senegalese construction company (CSE), Mohamed Bah who was habiting at the Panbodi destroyed by the bailiff and the youths said all his properties has been carted away either by the youths hired to execute their mission. He said his DVD laptop player he is using in this remote locality, his Le3, 000, 000 he reserved to buy a land and other belongings all went away.

To show that the team was throwing stones at the community people, there are many private houses around the compound of Mr. Fofana which glass windows were destroyed during the fracas while trying to drive them away from the scene fearing not to be overpowered by the community.

Like other humanitarians, the community people at the Number 2 River are not against the executing of any bailiff or court order but what they were against was the manner in which the police did. The secretary general for the community, Charles Kamara said the police or the bailiff could have meet the headman of the village or the village authorities who should have taken them to the compound if they were really sent from the court. “The purpose of electing local authorities in communities is for them to go through such leaders when they are carrying out any action or execution in the village locality” he said.

There have been many cases of land grabbing from key government authorities against the village people in Number 2 River. One such case the community people pointed was the one involving one Honorable who the community say lied to them for the purpose of carrying development but later learnt that the honorable is selling the land to other people.

The community is quietly busy and most family heads are full with activities in relocating their homes while some carpenters are busy removing the rooftops of buildings for relocation to other environmentally friendly settlements.

With a distance of about ten miles and approximately (16km) from the heart of the capital city of Freetown in the deep west, here lies the Lakka community hosting more than four thousand people. This community can no longer accommodate the people living along the beach because of the indiscriminate sand mining here. Within the Lakka settlement, there is the sugar Land community, the Bololo community, and the destroyed YMCA environment. More than 70 heavy duty trucks visit the Bololo community to collect sand, with each coming more than seven times during the day depending on the demand of sand for construction works.

The more sand is tipped in this community, the greater it affects other communities within and causes environmental destruction to settlements.

Previously, sand mining licenses were issued by the Ministry of Lands Country Planning and the Environment but the Local Government Act of 2004 has now delegated the licenses to the Western Area Rural District Council (WARDC). The WARDC gives out licenses and clearances to sand miners on a daily basis but it fails to put regulations in place to ensure the environment is protected in these communities. All problems that occur in the sand mining communities are not treated and solved by the Western Area Rural District Council neither the communities, but the blame apportioned to the Central Government for not taking action.

Under the functions of the Local Councils, section 20 subsection 2 (d) of the Local Government Act of 2004 allows the Local Councils to ‘be responsible for the development, improvement and management of human settlements and the environment in the locality;’. But some of the councillors are not au fait with this provision. The Chairman for the Western Area Rural District Council, Alhassan Cole said the WARDC only has the responsibility of collecting dues and giving clearances to sand miners and not that of protecting the environment. He said, “Protecting the environment is the responsibility of the Ministry of Lands Country Planning and the Environment and the newly formed Environment Protection Agency”.

The beaches are owned by the government of Sierra Leone thereby making the sand public property, and this has led to the mad rush for sand. There is presently a policy on the use of Sierra Leone’s natural resources but there is no specific policy on the use of the sand at the country’s natural beaches. Few years ago, the UK donor agency the Department for International Development (DFID) spent over $120,000 for a policy on sand and aggregate mining in Sierra Leone.

Lakka village was once a touristic community in the 1990s. Foreign tourists including some Sierra Leonean natives constructed their houses here in other to get a taste of the beautiful attraction of the beaches. But these houses can no longer be seen except for the broken and extinct walls which can only be spotted upon careful look inside the waters. A look around the beach, the only destruction one can see is the broken houses and old walls left by residents after the destruction caused by sand mining. Big trees that used to protect the environment and give out carbon dioxide for man as well as Coconut trees and palm trees are not spared here. They have all been cut down.

Because of this continuous destruction of houses and lands being overcome by the sand, many people have relocated. Investigations within the community confirmed that Families such as the Fawaz – the owners of the Fawaz building materials, Resca Crowen Family, the Yazbeck family, Edward Kargbo family, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs to name a few have all been affected by the destruction at the Lakka community. Most of these families sold their lands and properties after suspecting that there was a problem. Ahmad Saad was one of the owners of houses at the Lakka Beach but after suspecting that there is looming destruction coming in the community, he sold the house to the Yazbeck Family who are presently battling to amend cracks in the walls of their house and fence. A member of the Yazbeck family cannot be traced for comment but a security worker at the home said “this house may likely face destruction in the shortest time if people do not stop to mine the sand at the Bololo community”. He added with optimism that the Yazbeck family house is going to fall very soon despite all the huge amount of money they are spending to protect the fence from falling.

In other to protect the wall, some house owners are implementing new ideas in creating stone walls. To be candid enough, these walls constructed through big piles of stones cannot prevent the houses and fences from collapse due to nature, especially when the sand is being taken away on a hourly basis in the community.

Resca Crowen was also living at the community but he was forced to migrate to another location soon after his house was destroyed by water two years ago. The place where his house was located is no more, only clean rocks and old cement pillars with water clapping high from all angles can be seen here. If one attempts to touch the remains of the house, that person will definitely drown.

The Headman for the Lakka Village Community, Teddy Macauley said houses fall down in the community on a regular basis. He told Standard Times Environment that uncontrolled sand mining is causing the destruction of many houses in their community. He said “if you want to prove me right, go and come here after one week and you will tell the rest of the situation here”. Mr. Macauley wants government to put stringent measures to protect their environment. “I want the government or any authority to put laws in place or enforce laws to stop or minimize sand mining in the community” he said.

The Village Headman wants sand mining to be done at Hamilton or other areas around the Peninsular which are not strategically attractive to tourists and huge population in the city. If such is not done, Mr. Macauley also suggests rotational sand mining of four months or less done at Lakka and the rest in other sand mining areas so that the sand will be allowed to patch-up.

The houses some of the evacuators left fell after they left, and those left to watch over the houses are trapped with the destruction. James Williams will never have anything good to say about the sand destruction in the community. Recently, a heavy wall fell on his right foot whilst carrying out cleaning exercises at the compound owned by one of the evacuators.

Madam Hana Moseray who stayed and secures the compound of Mr. Saad is also not giving a good account of the sand mining in the community. She said “the beach is destroyed because of the constant sand mining undertaken here”. She accuses the Chairman of the Western Area Rural District Council, Mr. Alhansan Cole of constantly engaging in selling the sand to builders without a break for an hour. She noted that “many times Mr. Cole has been warned to stop selling the sand in order to protect the community, but he continues not to listen”. Because of the less attention given by the Sierra Leone government to protect the community by putting regulations on sand mining, Madam Hana has already given up hope, saying “I am tired of this”.

Recently in this village, the government of Sierra Leone National Environment Protection Agency (EPASL) visited the community in order to advise community representatives about the environment for peaceful living. The EPA-SL Environment Officer attached at the Information Education and Communication department, Madam Fatmata Bakarr Sesay, has predicted more disasters waiting for the Lakka community and other sand mining communities. She told Standard Times Environment that “if proper actions are not taken to discourage or minimize sand mining, there will be more disasters in the communities”. She confirmed a belief people already hold for the community and said “the community will be lost in the near future if no steps are taken”.

Sand contributes about 99% to the housing and road construction in Sierra Leone. It is needed at all times for various types of construction works in the country, but the only thing needed is to set rules and regulation plus enforcement in order to protect the environment and communities around the beaches where sand mining is presently going on. If such is not done, there will be more relocation of communities at the Lakka villages.

This report is copyrighted and supported through the assistance of Standard Times Environment the Environment Protection Agency (EPA-SL) and the Sierra Leone Environment Journalists Association (SLEJA)

Investigations has now proved it that if proper care is taken to preserve the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve, there can be potential ecotourism at this site which is facing extinction since the late 90s and tend of the civil war.

Within the forest stretching from Waterloo unto the beautiful hills of Hamilton in the western area, there are many touristic potentials such as water destination points for the Guma Valley Water Company if its intends to create more avenues for the constant supply of water for the population in the capital city.  The hills also serve as an attraction for tourists coming into the country and other vital points of concern.

However, the Western Area Peninsular Forest overlooks the beautiful ocean from the heart of Freetown unto the creek in villages such as York, Number 2 River, Tokeh, Black Johnson, Tonbo, John Obay to name a few. All these communities are bounded and are around the forests as well as the Sierra Leone Rivers making the rivers and the forest attractive to tourists. In fact, John Obay, Tokeh and Number 2 River have been recorded as key points for tourists coming into Sierra Leone. Each year, many tourists come to these areas for excursion purposes.

However, these rivers and forest were once beautiful destinations that were loaded with incredibly diverse animal life. People would travel from all over the country to rest on the bans of the river and watch the western area Peninsular Forest see wild animals and get filled with appetite on the new ecotourism discovered.

Because of the fact that from the awareness that it creates there comes a movement for conservation. Without awareness, there will be no way to mount an effective conservation movement. It is not a ‘stretch’ to point out that the ecotourism movement has proven to be critically important in keeping the environmental movement alive in the world. Supporting the ecotourism movement is not just a leisure activity; it is a vital part of the safety of our society and the natural world.

Ecotourism is increasing in popularity across the world, but has significant practical value in developing countries where the needs of impoverished communities may conflict directly with the need to capitalize on the growing tourism industry. In many cases developers move in and designate certain areas as tourism hotspots without giving much thought to the impact that this will have on local communities. These communities may depend on the area for food and shelter, but their concerns are buried beneath the potential for financial revenue.

Ecotourism aims to create viable and sustainable tourism opportunities, and limit the impact that all related activities will have on the environment, while improving the lives of the local people living in the area such as what the WAPFOR project has done for the communities around the forest areas. Investigations has proved it right that ecotourism core principles includes minimizing industrial impact on the environment, building environmental and cultural awareness, empowering local communities, raising awareness of the political, environmental and social issues of the country concerned, and ensuring that the experience is positive for all parties, including visitors and host communities. The WAPFOR project also takes this to concern before they are sponsoring communities for ecotourism in the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve. The aim is to achieve sustainable and responsible tourism practices to the benefit of all and the detriment of none. One of the most important factors in the success of any ecotourism venture is knowledge.

The ultimate goal of ecotourism is to create a sustainable resource that protects both the people and the nature involved. Over 20 years ago, in 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development stated that sustained development implied, “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In 2002, the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism stated that responsible tourism should provide a more enjoyable experience for tourists through meaningful interaction with local people, and a greater understanding of cultural, social and environmental issues.

To show how the WAPFOR project is concerning for the communities within and around the forest, the WAPFOR project is sponsoring many ecotourism projects for destinations just as the one at the Alako ware-dam in York Village. It decided to do so in other to ensure that community people do not enter into the forest and cut down any tree at their own detriment. Last week, a group of environmentalist and community representatives visited the Alako ware-dam to get vital information about it. The ware-dam is supplying water for more than 1000 inhabitants in York and it was first constructed by CARE almost twenty years ago when the village was very small and now the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve Project decided to reconstruct it and provide storage facility for the community.

The Welt Hunger Hilfe Liaison officer, Marian Marrah spoke on the importance of the water especially the one at the Alako catchment which comes right inside from the forest and supply thousands of community people within the forested areas. She advised the community people not to plunder the environment and cut down any tree within the forest as it will reduce the flow of water for their daily use.

The hydro geologist at the department of geology at the Fouray Bay College, Dr. Mustapha Olagiday Thomas referred to the ware-dam as a gravity scheme undertaken by the WAPFOR project. He advised for the proper treatment of the water as it may have possibility of being contaminated. He also advised community people not to drink the water until it is being colorized.

Dr. Thomas advised that there is a need for the community people to project the catchment area at all times for free flow of water supply in their community and added that the forest must always be intact. He noted that what supports the stream that was flowing with enough water is the underground water also known as base flow in the dry season. He recommended that there should be a task force comprising the community people and the project in other to ensure that the trees within the catchment areas are not cut down for wood or other purposes.

Just after touring the ware-dam from a distance of about two miles on top of the peninsular forest, the team decided to visit the water tank where the waters will be stored after the construction of the tank. The tank when completed will have the capacity to store about 12,756 UK gallons about 57,900 liters and it consist of 58 cubic meters. Mr. Thomas advised the community on how to manage the tank and the water well after the tank has been completed. He said they need to open the valve and allow water to come for some hours and after that lock the valve and perform some treatment before distributing to the general public for consumption. He noted that when distributing the treated water, they must always lock the valve supplying water from the top of the Alako hills in the forests.

Madam Doris Turner on behalf of the York community women thanked the management of WHH and WAPFOR for considering them in the community. She advised her colleague community women to take advantage of the offer and warned them not to misuse the tank. A youth within the community also appreciated the project and the offer given to them. He advised his colleague to always project the forest and their environment so that they can leave a healthy life.

We all need to come together and project the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve. To show how importance is the environment and the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve in the country, the WAPFOR Project Manager, Mr. Jochen Moninger though not a Sierra Leonean, but has planted trees in the western area forest so that those born in the country can emulate such and show concern towards the conservation of the Sierra Leonean forests and its watersheds.

Despite the tremendous efforts being done by the intethe power saw machines caught by forest guards at the forest reservernational community and spending millions of European currencies on livelihood and other related trainings for communities and people to desist forth from entering into

the power saw machines caught by forest guards at the forest reserve

the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve and its water shed, detractors on a daily basis are seeing these efforts as mere attempt of talking while they are persistently entering into the forest to carry out illegal activities such as brushing and logging of trees in the forest.

The European Union and the Welt Hunger Hilfe has contributed a total sum of €3.2 million on a project called “conservation of the Sierra Leonean Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve and its Watershed” which is expected to end sometimes in 2013. It could be recalled that recently the Vice President of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Alhajie Abubakarr Samsumana at the ceremony organized at Hamilton, launched the laying foundation demarcation boundary. As indicated by the project to provide livelihood and other alternative source of income for communities such as Bureh Town, John Obay, Mongegba to name a few, it has been done for these communities all lying around and within the main areas of the forest. For instance some of these communities were provided with honey bee rearing and preparations. Alternative livelihood on sustainable vegetable production for stone miners, wood cutters and charcoal burners was is being supported and provided for During Town, Baoma, Rokel Village, Kerry Town, Macdonald and many other communities within and around the western area peninsular. During some of the workshops and meetings organized in all of the communities around the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve, they agreed and made buy laws and punishment measures for anyone caught cutting a tree in the forest. As if some of these communities wanted to benefit from the livelihood and workshops, they are not heeding to the community regulations and bylaws they all signed few months ago. In other to catch perpetrators destroying the forest on a daily basis, forest guards and forest rangers were trained and given the authority and mandate to arrest anyone with his equipment such as power saw in the forest. Just few weeks ago, the dedicated forest guards were on a daily patrol on the forest when they arrested power saw believed to belong to Aiah Koroma in Mongegba. The power saw men after spotting the forest guards ran away and left over their belongings which were then taken to the project headquarters at Wilberforce for possible action. As if that is not just the end, a hand full of detractors were also on their daily activities of logging in the forest when they were scared away by the forest guards and forest rangers on Thursday 28th July at around 1:30pm within the same locality at Mongegba about five kilometers to the Tacugama chimpanzee reserve. One of the forest guard and forest ranger and assistant patrol officer, Anthony Koroma attached at the John Obay patrolling station when speaking to this Environment writer said the catching of the power saw on Thursday came as a result of their dedicated daily patrolling on the forest. The assistant patrol officer said that on their way coming, they overheard a loud noise of the power saw reaping boards, a distance in the forest and they decided to visit the scene. He added that he saw a team of fifteen people including laborers who were transporting the 2x12x24 inches boards from the forest and because they were dressed in green color similar to military uniforms, they decided to ran away and leave all their belongings behind. He said “we cannot able to pursue them for fear of not over power us because we were only three in number” adding that they possess the power saw and decided to take it to the headquarters of Welt Hunger Hilfe at Wilberforce for proper action against any person that may be caught. Although the project is trying hard to see they meet to some of the needs of the forest rangers and forest guards, the assistant patrol officer, Anthony Koroma pleaded for more support from the management of the WHH and WAPFoR for provision of more basic needs in other for them to able to effectively complement their works as security officers for the forest. He added that they wants disguising uniforms they must were during their work, logistics, stationeries, increment of their salaries, provision of key equipments, tents for patrolling in the forest and mobility like motorbikes at station and cluster levels. The forest guard also mentioned the riskiness of their job in the forest making instances that there are times when they approached people at the forest, they will overpower and confront them with threatening remarks. The Project Administrator for the conservation of the sierra Leonean Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve and its Watersheds, Kellie Marrah is not glad with the manner in which the people are treating the environment despite all efforts to train communities and provide them with alternative livelihood for their sustenance and avoid plundering the forest. He said they as administration are investigating for the owner of the power saw and hand that person over to the Sierra Leone Police for proper actions. Although it is not yet clear who is the owner of the power saw, Mr. Marrah made it known that the power saw is alleged to have been owned by one of the forest guards in these communities. r. Marrah also noted that people should see the WAPFoR project as a home project for all sierra Leoneans and the project had disbursed thousand of dollars on alternative livelihood and trainings for these communities who are also seen going to the forest and cut down trees for their livelihood. He added that he is not pleased seeing community people going to the forest again to cut trees or hamper the environment. He also noted that it is a big disappointment for Sierra Leone for the project funders to see people entering that forest again and cut down trees. Mr. Marrah encouraged all sierra Leoneans especially those around the forest to treat it as theirs and whatever benefit going to be reaped there at the end will be theirs and for the whole of Sierra Leone. A senior forester from the Forestry department at the Ministry of Forestry attached at the WAPFoR project, Augustine Paul Bogba said in the past there has been many complaint of people entering into the forest to cut down trees but thanked the project which has now minimized the act through sensitization and environmental education. When Mr. Bogba was commenting on the power saw caught at the Tacugama axis, he noted that the act of cutting down trees in the forest is bad and anyone caught should be properly dealt with. He made a commitment that they will always track down the perpetrators of this bad act to the environment. The Media Officer for ENFORAC and WHH, Ekuola Stevens said it is very appalling to see detractors of the environment cutting down trees in the peninsular forest despite warnings and education provided for them in the past and yet still they continue to deforest the reserve. She also added that it will be very bad for other donors after spending millions of Euros to effect a change in the country and later people try to desist from such and continue their bad practices in the forest. He warned the perpetrators and called for drastic actions to be taken to anyone caught doing this act. There are allegations that some of the officials at the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security are combining with some of these forest loggers to destroy the forest reserve which has the backing of the government of Sierra Leone. As I have been keeping saying, the only thing needed to keep the western area peninsular forest intact like it used to be in the past is to include the military in guarding it. The office of the president should provide MAC-P military officers who will then be patrolling in the forest on a daily basis so that perpetrators of the environment will be afraid to enter into it. We must all remember that sierra Leoneans or criminals are always afraid of the military and never do so for the police or security guards. If this is not done, my fear is for not the EU monies to be wasted in vain.

If all goes well as expected, the fishes and marine animals including the Manatee in the Yawri bay communities of Bumpe, Kagboro and Ribbi Chiefdoms in the Moyamba district Southern Sierra Leone will soon breathe a sigh of relief after the implementation a sustainable coastal zone management project that will ensure all good practices in the coastal waters by the community people. The sustainable coastal zone management project for these communities is being supported and funded by the Wetlands International for Africa. The Yawri Bay communities where the government of Sierra Leone and environment partners is presently concentrating starts from the western Area and extends to the Bumpe, Ribbi and Kagboro Chiefdoms. The primary source of living for the people in the communities is coastal fishing through which some have supported their families and children able to attend schools in the past years.

Kagboro Chiefdom PC Rev. Doris Caulker receiving the project certificate from Marine Minister

The three chiefdoms benefits from projects such as introduction to selective fishing, commercial boating, micro credit facilities, rice processing mill, fish processing oven and animal husbandry which the community people should use as an alternative and allow the fish in the waters to grow big and be able to source profit from them. The project entails protection of the fishes and the mangroves especially when it serves as a vital source of breeding for some sea animals. The sustainable coastal zone management project launching at the Tombo community on Tuesday 28^th June was witnessed by the community people, government representatives and other environmental stakeholders in the country. The National Coordinator for Wetlands International-Africa and the Regional Programme for Coastal Marine (PRCM), Sheik Sowa said after constant consultation with the communities on the best alternatives they should prefer instead of fishing, they asked them to highlight their needs which projects they were there to launch.

The Director of Fisheries at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Wotanga Anarobi said because of man’s bad fishing practices towards the rivers, there is no much catch in the past years and that if this situation continues to be practiced, there will be no better catch in the coming years.

A representative from the Institute of Marine Biology and Oceanography Professor Ernest T Ndomahina said their role is to carryout research on why fish are decreasing and increasing in the rivers and that from their findings, the amount of fishermen has increased and people cannot catch fish as expected adding that because of the high increase of fishermen, there will be a mad rush for the fish even the mangroves which are great source for the existence of fishes in the rivers and seas. Mr. Ndomahina said that all the projects going to be implemented at the coastal communities will serve as test cases which they demanded. He encouraged the community people to hold the project with the seriousness it deserve.

The Paramount Chief of Kagboro Chiefdom, PC Reverend Doris B Caulker thanked Wetlands International and the Regional Programme for Coastal Marine (PRCM) for the projects they have launched in their chiefdom. The Chiefdom Speaker for Bumpe Chiefdom, Samuel caulker also thanked Wetlands International for the clearing and dredging of their jetty which has now lesson the transport system to their headquarter town of Rotifunk. He called for assistance in planting more mangroves in their coastal waters.

The headman for the Tombo community, Allie J Bangura also thanked the Wetlands for their assistance and urges for the assistance not to only stop at sea but at the land also such as building of schools which is very importance to the development of any community and a nation.

A representative from Wetlands International in Senegal, Col. Abdoulaye Ndiaye said the Yawri Bay communities are very important to the socioeconomic development of the country and the sea animals such as the turtles and the Manatee. He emphasized on the need of the projects for the communities and further stated that the projects are a demonstration of success and beginning of more developmental projects for the communities in the future. He made known that the outcome of the projects will determine their continued assistance in these communities.

A member of the Ribbi chiefdom, Mohamed C Kamara said Wetlands has made them to construct a rice mill and carry out other agricultural activities in a way to avoid bad practices into the rivers. He said the environmental organization is also planning to produce salt producing system through solar panels instead of cutting down the mangroves and the trees along the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve.

The Sherbro tribal head Chief Alhajie Smith said they have asked Wetlands International to demarcate the coastal area just as was done for the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve so that people will be prevented to enter into the coastal waters and carryout illegal activities and that who so ever is found beyond the coastal demarcation will be properly dealt with.

A representative from Fogbo and once a manatee hunter and now a friend of it, Musa Jalloh said they used to kill the manatee because it was eating their rice but has now stopped from doing so because they now have the awareness to stop the hunting of the sea animal.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Dr. Soccoh Kabia said the piloted sustainable coastal zone management project for the Yawri Bay communities is the best coastal project he has ever seen in the country in that it aims at ensuring good practices in the waters. The fisheries sector presently provides 10% of the GDP and that if people manage and protect t the mangrove well, it will help greatly to the development of the communities and the country as a whole.

The Freetown Players International were at the project launching with a vibrant concert depicting the activities of the community people towards the environment and the coastal areas as well as also making recommendations on how they should follow new changes in the coastal waters.

As a result of a so-called independent report on the Addax bio-energy sugarcane to ethanol project in the Makeni region that was issued by the Bread for All in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Network on the Right to Food (SiLNoRF) and also the report of Standard Times environment urging the Environment Protection Agency to intervene and come out with facts about the issues raised, a full force delegation headed by the erudite EPA Executive Chairperson, Madam Haddijatou Jallow has visited the Addax operational areas and got first hand information from the community people. In other to ensure transparency on the environmental monitoring process at the sites, Madam Jallow requested the presence

a delegation headed by erudite EPA Chairperson, Haddijatou Jallow at the Addax site being escorted by Addax HSSE MAnager, Mr. Derek Higgo

of Standard Times Environment Reporter, Ishmael Kindama Dumbuya, EPA Deputy Director for field Extensions and Operations, Syl-Brains Kamara,  head of Network Movement for Justice and Development in Makeni, Joseph Pokawah and SiLNoRF representative Lansana Sowa. The monitoring mission took place on the Saturday 25^th of June 201.

Some of the key environmental issues and allegations in the report were that the right to water was hindered, the water bodies are disappearing as a result of the activities of Addax to name a few.

Although the delegation did not visited all the more than 70 communities within the Addax operational areas, but the monitoring delegation visited communities such as Lungi Akan and Romaru Village as well as the Addax office along the Magburaka Highway. The Lungi Akan community is composed of more than five hundred people. The community main source of livelihood is agricultural farming from their lands.

The EPA deputy Director for operations and field extensions, Mr. Kamara before briefing the community representatives on the essence of the visit and also highlighting some of the issues raised on the report, first called for the presence of elders, the youths and the women so that they can get independent and collective voices from the village on how Addax activities are affecting them. To avoid intimidation, addax representatives were excluded from the process.

Mr. Kamara said the role of the Environment Protection Agency is to monitor activities of companies coming into the country and force them to succumb to ethical and clean environmental activities adding that with the establishment of the EPA, companies are now thinking and working the Environment and Social Health Impact Assessment. He said as their aim is to collect first hand information about the activities of the addax bio-energy company, they were not there to destroy or cause any disagreement with addax and the villages but to look into grievances and able to settle them amicably through compromise and negotiations.

Madam Jallow urges the community people to also say out their grievances so that they can be heard especially when the country is now interconnected with advance means of communication while also stressing the need for settling dispute and grievances rather than causing problems for them.

To be candid enough, some of the community people condemned addax; some praised them while some also urge the bio-energy and ethanol company to do more for the people in their operational areas. Pa Brima serry Kamara land owner in Lungi Akan said that when the company came they told the community to give them land and once this is done they will reap the benefit of giving their land.

PA Serry Kamara accused the company that there is no employment for their children after at the earlier stage promised to offer job facility for their children. Although there may be some of the skilled labors to be hired by the company which the villages may not have, there is an agreement between the community and the Addax Company to always consult the company when they wanted workers. The community representatives unanimously agreed that despite Addax is helping them in some ways; the company still needs to offer them some of the essential services that will help in community development such as schools, community center, clinic, dug water well etc.

At the Romaru Village, there is no clean water to drink except the dilapidated hand pump constructed for them over ten years ago. According to the community people in the village, there source of water has been destroyed and they cannot get clean water from their streams because the company has polluted their sources of water.

The delegation after monitoring the villages and being satisfied with and seen some of the allegations made in the report then proceeded to the Addax office along the Magburaka highway.

There was a tough deliberation inside the Addax offices with the EPA Chairperson, Madam Jallow hitting on the interest of the country and the communities while the Addax Health Safety Social affairs and Environment Manager, Derek Higgo was desperately defending the company. Madam Jallow after presenting the findings of the delegation to the management and staff of Addax Bio-energy reminded the company on their role to meeting to the needs of the Community Development Action Plan in making sure that the villages or communities are developed with some kinds of social activities. Mr. Derek denied including the issue of building or providing schools or health clinics for the said communities and commented on the s2000 jobs they are going to provide for the communities and the $US4M year employment expenditure.

The Environmental and Social Management Plan set by the Addax in their ESHIA they shall “set standards and guidelines to ensure that surface water abstraction does not impact on the historical base flow of the river and to achieve ecological water requirements” and in the company Community and Skills Development Plan, “Management strategies to deal with the mitigation of negative social impacts and optimization of positive ones must be developed”. Their Community and Skills Development plan also need to deal primarily with managing social externalities, development programs, development opportunities and community livelihoods.

Madam Jallow spoke with all authority that although they must come to Freetown and check out their CDAF, the company must make sure that they do something for the benefit of the communities so that the company itself can have something to boast of in the future. She said that it was based on the license they gave the company that it able to source funding to operate in the country.

After thorough discussions and objective augments, promised to address the problems at the Maronko and the other villages. Madam Jallow called for the company to provide bore holes in all the villages the company is operating. Madam Jallow promised that the Environment Protection Agency will make another visit in the community and the company headquarters after a period of one month.

In an interview with Lansana Sowa, he said he has nothing against the company but the only thing is that the Addax Company needs constant monitoring for them to fulfill their obligations to the communities and the country. He said he holds no grudge against Addax adding that he is impressed with the outcome of their report for the fact it moved an agency like the EPA to investigate.

As issues of the environment are fast becoming topical and everyone’s concern, the journalists in Sierra Leone are vastly being equipped with the knowledge database to champion the course of environmental reporting in the country. recently, the Environment Protection Agency and environment partners like the United Nations Environment Programme.

environment journalists pose for cameraations Environment Programme and the WWF organized tow trainings that journalists benefitted such as the SEA training and the Oil and Gas operations in west Africa and Sierra Leone.

Just after those trainings, the Wetlands International has thought it fit to organize a cross border learning dialogue on climate change adaptation between some West African countries such as Ghana to dialogue with the Sierra Leonean environment journalists on vital topics that in the West African region. Over fifteen journalists in from various media houses benefitted from the environment crood learning dialogue. The three day dialogue on climate change and adaptation was organized at the Konah Lodge in Wilberforce from the 20^th on to the 22^nd of June 2011. The forum enhances journalists to report on the environment and be able to tackle and communicate climate change to the public accurately.

The key topics discussed at the forum includes responding to climate change through communities and ecosystems, introduction to climate change, impacts of climate change on people and ecosystems, functions, services and values of wetlands ecosystems, community based adaptation approaches, vulnerable communities and roles of communities and institutions, case studies on wetlands international Africa’s work on climate change adaptation from Mali, Guinea Bissuea and Senegal. Other topics also discussed at the forum were drivers of climate change, agriculture, biofuels and other drivers of wetland conservation.

The Wetlands International Communication officer, Fatima Sow taught participants on environmental reporting in West Africa and the role of the media especially the journalists. After thorough deliberations on the topics, the journalists were taken to field trips with the aim of visiting wetlands around Freetown in places such as Tombo, Fogbo and Rotifunk. Group works on challenges, constraints’ and needs do journalists experience when reporting on climate change, the environment and natural resources, media’s role in promoting local measures on climate change adaptation, global causes for local consequences and local causes for global consequences of climate change were also discussed and analyzed.

Wetlands international mission is to sustain and restore wetlands, their resources and biodiversity for future generations through research, information exchange and conservation activities worldwide.

The Senior Consultant for wetlands International, Mr. Samuel Kofi Nyame from Ghana said climate is the complex interactions between sunlight, land, air, water, ice etc, which determine the long-term average of the day to day ‘weather’ experienced in a given region. He also said that Climate Change therefore is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years and that it can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of weather events around an average (for example, greater or fewer extreme weather events) but noted that Climate change may be limited to a specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth. He noted that Climate change Adaptation is a way of adapting society and environment to changes that will occur in the future.

Many institutions have their ways of interpreting climate change adaptation. Mr. Nyame said the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines it as practical steps to protect countries and communities from the likely disruption and damage that will result from effects of climate change. The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines it as adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities while the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) defines it a process by which strategies to moderate, cope with and take advantage of the consequences of climatic events are enhanced, developed, and implemented.

When he was defining mitigation, Samuel Nyame said it is an intervention/action meant to alleviate, improve, lessen, reduce or buffer impact (s) to an ecosystem or community. He pointed many cause of climate change such as variations in the Earth’s orbital characteristics, atmospheric carbon dioxide variations, volcanic eruption and variations in solar output. He said Human induced influences in the environment such as burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) have increased the abundance of small particles in the atmosphere, land use changes, e.g., clearing land for logging, large scale constructions, settlements, ranching, and agriculture, also lead to carbon dioxide emissions (from decaying or burnt vegetation).

While commenting on the effects of climate change, Mr. Nyame said developing countries are most affected to climate change and that they are more prone hazards, less able to cope, large share of economy in climate sensitive sectors, disproportionate impacted, inequities are exacerbated, large net losses. He also noted that climate change decreased agricultural productivity, reduced water availability and water quality, increased risk of extreme weather types such as floods and droughts, decreased fisheries production and increase of diseases adding that climate change can only be adapted through human capital, financial capital, social capital, physical capital, natural capital and political capital.

Mr. Nyame stressed that “Climate change is already beginning to transform life on Earth, around the globe, seasons are shifting, temperatures are climbing and sea levels are rising. If we don’t act now, climate change will permanently alter the lands and waters we all depend upon for survival.”

While delivering lectures on wetlands, Mr. Nyame said a wetland is a shallow seasonally or permanently water logged or flooded area, which normally supports hydrophytes’ vegetation and pointed some of the examples of wertlands as defined by The Ramsar  Convention includes natural  systems such as marshes, floodplains, peatlands, rivers, lakes, salt marshes, mangroves, estuaries, sea grass beds, swamp forest and even coral reefs and artificial systems such as rice fields, reservoirs, fishponds and constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment are also covered by the definition. The categories of wetlands he said are marine, estuarine, riverine, lacustrine, palustrine and artificial wetlands.

The environmental reporting skills training for journalists in Sierra Leone is very much welcomed and it is then necessary for any environmental institution to come to the aid of journalists in Sierra Leone and train them for effective reporting and communication of environment in the country and the sub region.

An independent study report on the Addax bio-energy project in Makeni by two renowned researchers from Ghana has shown that the company is seriously lacking in terms of addressing their commitment to the people and the way they handle the environment in their operational areas. It could be recalled that addax is operating in two chiefdoms in the Bombali District and the bio-energy is a division of the Swiss based energy corporation which is developing a Greenfield integrated agricultural and renewable energy project in Sierra Leone to produce fuel ethanol and electricity.

In their report, the two researchers (Mike Anane and Cosmos Yao Abiwu) highlighted that the community people never set eyes on their legal representatives and that the community or land owners have little or no say in the negotiations regarding their land to be leased. It was revealed at a press conference in Family Kingdom that the community people were represented by the Member of Parliament for the communities called Hon. Martin Bangura who in turn allegedly contacted his bosom friend Frank Kargbo as legal representative for the communities. Frank Kargbo is presently the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

The independent report also exposes growing food insecurity in the communities of Makari Gbanti as well as water being an ever increasing problem for these communities. The report also highlighted that some water bodies have ceased to exist in the communities. While presenting the report, Mike Anane said some parts of the communities have to line up for water at the addax operational site and it means that there is a big problem caused by the company.

The researchers found that “many farmers in the project communities have already lost their access to fertile lands, though addax has provided community members with alternative farmlands and confined them to smaller lands, promises by Addax to plough and harrow the lands materialized too late in 2010. This led to very low yield on these fields and local communities reported to now face growing food insecurity and hunger.” Furthermore, the researchers observed that “water has become an ever increasing problem for the communities as lands leased by Addax are currently being prepared and even at this initial stage some water bodies such as the Kirbent and Domkoni streams near the Maronko Village in the Makarri Gabanti Chiefdom have ceased to exist.”

Dr. Beat Dietschy from Bread For All in Switzerland where the Addax is originated said “we are shocked that the landowners have given consent to Addax based on verbal promises which have not been realized. And we are concerned about some clauses in the contract. Moreover, the landowners have no copies of contracts and limited knowledge of their contents. We are alarmed by this situation that has a large potential for conflict.”

A lawyer who analyzed the Land Lease agreement said “the conferring of a right on addax to stop or alter a water course or restrict access to a water course may constitute an interference with the right to access water from domestic uses of those within or near project area.”

A representative from the community, Mr. Ali Bangura who is also spokesman for land owners committee said President Ernest Bai Koroma told them sometimes ago that poverty is going to be reduced in their community by the Addax Company but since then nothing has been realized.     Mr. Bangura also said that Addax did the same thing to them and promised them to reduce poverty in their village, build schools, construct bore holes or water wells, build hospitals because of the chemicals they will be using, employ their children or land owners to do the work etc. but they are dismay to see that the company had never fulfilled any of the promises they made to them.

Madam Zainab R Kamara from the community said they are not feeling good the way addax is operating with the women in the community. She said Addax told them they will remove them from poverty and suffering and promised to make their children be educated but they are not also fulfilling such promises. She promised that if such ugly situation continues, they will follow another line of action in the communities and take away their lands from the company.

Read excerpt of the independent executive report on addax activities below:

(Purpose and methodology

The propose of this research is to produce an Independent Study report on the impact of Addax Bioenergy sugarcane-to-ethanol project on local communities and the environment in the Chiefdoms of Makari Gbanti and Bombali Shebora in the Bombali District and in the Chiefdom Malal Mara in the Tonkolili District, in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The Study was conducted by two (2) independent senior researchers from Ghana during nine weeks (February-April 2011). The research was both quantitative and qualitative and several instruments were used including non-interview research, desk research, and field research with interviews in 12 affected villages. Addax Bioenergy representatives could not be interviewed by the researchers. The company however sent a written response to a list of questions sent by the researchers.

Description of the project

Addax Bioenergy is developing a Greenfield integrated agricultural and renewable energy project in Sierra Leone to produce fuel ethanol and electricity. It leased 57’000 ha of land for a period of 50 years and sugarcane plantations will over 10’100 ha, plus 2,000 ha developed as part of the project’s Farmer Development Programme (FDP) which Addax believes will impact positively on food availability as this surface will be divided into about 60 community fields to be established and sown by Addax and dedicated to staple food production (mainly price and cassava), to the benefit of the local population. 13,617 people live in areas affected by the project.

Legal Analysis

The study first refers to a Legal Analysis of the Land Lease Agreement (LLA). This analysis concludes that there is lack of clarity as to whether traditional land owners and chiefdom councils had access to effective legal advice in the preparation of the LLA, as their lawyers were paid by Addax. Moreover, a clause in the LLA conferring of a right on Addax to stop or alter a water course or restrict access to a water course may constitute an interference with the right to access  water for domestic uses of those within or near the project area as stipulated by The Water (Control and Supply) Act  1963. Furthermore, another clause of the LLA suggests that disputes have to be resolved by an arbitration tribunal in London, which may be too costly for the chiefdom councils. Besides, such a clause suggests a distrust of in-country dispute settlement mechanisms. The duration of the LLA (50 years) is seen as dispossessing a whole generation of people of their land, exposing them to the socio-economic challenges of landlessness in a culture where land ownership determines the status of a family to a large extent.

Negotiation process

According to Addax, a reputed law firm was selected by the communities to represent them in the land lease negotiations with Addax. Researchers found out that many land owners have not set eyes on their ‘legal representative’. During the negotiation process, Addax made juicy but unenforceable promises of the eradication of poverty, provision of development packages such as health facilities, school buildings community centers, jobs for all the youth, technical-vocational training, building of good roads, etc.  All these promises aroused the excitement of farmers and were responsible for their decision to give up their lands. The research shows that research show that communities had limited or no knowledge of the terms of the land Lease Agreement (LLA). Land owners have no copies of the LLA or had never seen one, except in 2 villages. Land owners have little or no say in the negotiations as regards the size of their lands to be leased and/or the compensation rates offered. Land owners have no copies of the land survey maps (indicating what lands belong to Addax and what still belong to the community). Claims that Addax secured the free prior and informed consent of communities for the takeover of their lands are very doubtful as it was gained through promises to the land owners and users. Moreover, community members told the research team that, during the consultation processes, they felt intimidated to question certain aspects of the project in the presence of a local politician.

Access to land and right to food

In the villages of the Pilot Phase Area, many farmers in communities have already lost their access to fertile lands, though   Addax has provided community members with alternative farmlands and confined them to smaller lands, promises by Addax to plough and harrow the lands materialized too late in 2010. This led to very low yield on these fields and local communities reported to now face growing food insecurity and hunger. Even as Addax pledges to use only “marginal’ land in the Chiefdoms, it is obvious from the field research that the company took large tracks of fertile and well-watered land. The bolilands have good access to water and are currently used for rice production, by thousands of small-scale farmers including women. The affected farmers said Addax had an oral agreement with them that no bolilands will be used for the plantations.

Access to water

Water has become an ever increasing problem for the communities as lands leased by Addax are currently being prepared and even at this initial state some water bodies have ceased to exist. E.g.  At the Maronko village in the Makari Gbanti Chiefdom, a serious water crisis had hit the village as a result of Addax destroying two perennial streams, namely “Kirbent’ and ‘Domkoni’.

Women’s rights

The women complained about the long distances that they now have to do on foot to look for water, firewood and medicinal herbs since their original fields for firewood and medicinal herbs have been cleared of vegetation.

Labour

Addax is promising four thousand (4,000) jobs (2,000 being permanent and 2,000 being casual workers). The Addax project will therefore mean reduction or diversion of these human resources from growing food by small scale farmers. People hired from the communities work as casual labourers and hardly worked longer than three months, the people are angry and feel betrayed. In almost all the villages visited, the majority of local people employed were fired after two or three months. Usually workers are also laid off when the planting season is over and that means having to wait till the next planting season to continue with life as a farmer. This situation unleashes frustration, poverty and hunger on the unemployed casual workers who have families to feed.

Resettlement

Close to the village of Mabilafu in the Chiefdom Malal Mara, the ethanol factory has to be constructed. In this village, the community told the research team that houses close to the Rokel River will have to be resettled. The uncertainties surrounding the involuntary physical resettlement, compensation and timeable of events is causing much anxiety as people who once depended on the land are now facing physical resettlement without information.

Grievance mechanism

Even though Addax gives a glowing account of the company’s grievance mechanism, the research found out that the existing grievance mechanism is a failure and communities in the Chiefdoms grappling with problems imposed on them by Addax feel helpless. The research team could witness the absence                                                                                 of an effective grievance or conflict resolution mechanism that could be accessed easily by community members and that could provide prompt and fair solutions to the problems unleashed on them by Addax’s operations.

Conflict potential

In all the communities, interview with fuming community members reveal a simmering conflict over land acquisition, the disruption of traditional sources of income, increasing poverty and failed promises by Addax.

Role and obligation of the State of Sierra Leone

Despite the increasing number of civil society statements and evidence-based reports from the affected communities expressing concern about the negative impacts of Addax operations, the research revealed that many State officials appeared largely uninformed about the situation in the communities. Sierra Leone is a State   Party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and is therefore obliged by international    law to respect, protect and fulfill the right to food and water of affected communities.

Recommendations

Addax Bioenergy should ensure an open and transparent participation of civil society and representatives of the affected communities in food security related decision making. It is important that Addax ensures that communities who are impacted by its activities can access grievance mechanisms that are fair, trusted and effective. Two clauses of the Land Leases Agreement grants Addax the powers to stop or alter the course of any water course. These clauses would have to be amended to prevent violations of community rights relating to water. Any loan agreement with Addax from any International Financial Institution (IFI) should include binding agreement on precautionary measures which will protect the sustainable access to land and safe water of the affected communities. The State of Sierra Leone has to ensure that citizens are effectively protected against the impact of Addax activities on the enjoyment of the right to water and food. The researchers recommend a multi-stakeholders, multinational structure that may offer the greatest potential to maximize impartiality, neutrality and trust in relation to the monitoring of the project.)

Children struggling to fetch water in the outskirts of freetown

Ishmael Kindama Dumbuya
Climate change or the unfriendly activities of human beings on earth and the environment may be the result of acute shortage of clean and safe drinking water in Sierra Leone and other parts of the continent, causing millions of people including children and women suffer on a daily basis. The situation of acute shortage of clean water has been experienced in the city and the provincial areas where less concentration is normally given to communities on the part of water and other social basic amenities. In Sierra Leone, the problems of acute shortage of clean and safe drinking water are not only occurring in the deprived communities in the provinces but those communities in the outskirt of the city as well.
Water is an essential commodity and the international community is putting more efforts to it to ensure human beings access safe and clean drinking water. On September 30th 2010, the UN Human Rights Council adopted by consensus Resolution 64/292 the human right to water and sanitation affirming that water and sanitation are human rights. During this historic meeting in Geneva, the UN affirmed by consensus that the right to water and sanitation is derived from the right to an adequate standard of living, which is contained in several international human rights treaties.
Standard times environmental reporter, Ishmael Kindama Dumbuya travels to communities surrounding the capital city of Freetown and those in the Kambia District and get a first hand information on how the urban, rural and children are struggling to get safe and clean drinking water for their families.
I first travel to Kambia District, a distance of about 150 miles. From Kambia Town, I proceed to rural communities in a village called 15 Mile in the Tonkoh Limba Chiefdom, exactly 15 miles distance from Kambia Town. The village stretches northwards of the chiefdom and it is about 3 miles from the beginning of the Chiefdom. Over 1000 people live here.
There is no community center in this village in case there is a need for social activities or community meetings and gatherings. I spend a night in here and electricity is not something to think about in the village. When a vehicle passes through the village at night, children and adults normally glad when they see the brightness of the vehicle. Absolutely, there is no development here and parents who love their children to attend school send them to other villages like Mile 14 and Sella Kafta before they can get basic primary education.
Like in other communities in the Tonkoh Limba Chiefdom and other parts of the country, there is no water borne pipes or dug water well in the village. The over one thousand people in this village (children, youths and women) must walk two and half miles to fetch water for their daily use. In the morning after a stressful night in a strange village, I proceeded to the community only source of water called Kamaworni with Madam Mabinty Kamara and a class nine year old school pupil.
The water well of about 50 metres round is surrounded by trees and the water level is low and one must go very close to fetch a bucket of water and be careful not to fell into the well. In normal cases, clean and safe drinking water is usually colourless, but this is not the situation here in Kamaworni water site. The community drinking water is colorful and if you are a stranger, you will not have the audacity to take a bucket of water and wash your feet. But the community people who are used to this because of no alternative will do that and drink with confidence. The clayed water is a host to toads, snakes and other water animals. If you are not used to see these things, you will be scared seeing snakes, toads and other animals dancing and playing in the water while children and women trying to fetch buckets of water for the day’s use. I saw stinky mud which was producing unfavorable smell from the water.
Mabinty Kamara who is married to a husband of this village and now 20 years since she came into the 15 Mile community said they have been facing with such situation of fetching filthy water for their homes. Madam Mabinty knows the water is filthy and not suitable for human beings to drink and do other domestic works. She said there is no alternative for them and “either we fetch clay water and allow it to sentiment for use or we do not get water for our homes at all costs”.
The drinking of the filthy water normally result to sicknesses for the community people and Madam Mabinty said “we do normally sick and because the God almighty is with us, some of these sicknesses are cured by the clay water after persistent drinking”.
Pa Ceray Sorie Kamara is one of the elders of the 15 Mile community. He also reflected on the past how they have been suffering from the village without clean and safe drinking water for themselves and their children. Pa Kamara said “we have been drinking this water for some time now and we are use to this. We will continue to use to the sad situation if there is no assistance from NGOs, the government of Sierra Leone or any philanthropist individual or institution”.
Pa Sorie is not in favour of his community being left from development by NGOs and the government especially on development concerning water and sanitation. He said “the NGOs like Action Aid in the past ignore them and pass through their community to go and dig community dug-water well taps in other villages. Pa Sorie adds “they pass us here as if we don’t want water wells. I don’t know if it is because the village is small and even the fact is the village is small, we are still people who need basic needs and clean water”.
After a stressful journey in 15 Mile Village in Kambia, I boarded a vehicle and back in Freetown for another assignment in the Tree Planting community in Leicester Road. The Tree Planting community is overlooking the capital city of Freetown. Madam Adama Fatima in the Tree Planting community in Freetown shares the same experience with Madam Mabinty Kamara who lives in the 15 Mile village.
Madam Adama also don’t use pipe-borne water for her home but will always take her bucket and looks towards a filthy water stream to fetch water for her children and for domestic purposes. She said they have been suffering at the community with no taps to easily fetch water and added that “any day I and my children must come to this filthy and static stream to fetch water.”
The Leicester Road community closer to the Western Area Peninsular Forest is also suffering from acute shortage of water. The watersheds which are the main sources for supplying water to the community and other parts of the city are dry-off because of massive cutting down of trees for settlement. About two years ago, the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) dished out funds over one hundred and fifty thousand Leones for community gravity water taps but these proposed taps never worked for the community. Probably, some of the community elders shared the money among themselves leaving a host of residents to continue struggling for the clean and safe drinking water.
Although there are no known plans set by Non-Governmental Organizations and possibly the government of Sierra Leone to undertake pipe-borne or dug water taps in various parts of the communities overlooking the city and the provincial communities, the Minister of Energy and Water Resources while planting trees recently at the Moku Hills in the Western Area Peninsular Forests Reserve said they recognize that people are suffering to get clean and safe drinking water. The Minister said as a responsible government, they will ensure they provide water for people in the country.
The only time the communities both in the provinces and some parts of the city can make use of clean and safe drinking water is during the mid of the raining season and if this situation is not corrected and assistance provided, communities in the provinces especially 15 Mile will continue to suffer and struggle to get clean and safe drinking water for their various uses.

As a way of contributing to national environmental development and raising the awareness across the country, the Vice President of the R

Vice Peninsular Samsumana planting the first tree at Moku Hill

epublic of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Alhajie Abubakarr Sidikie Samsumana on behalf of the government and the people of Sierra Leone planted the first tree to mark this year’s national tree planting day ceremony at the Moki Hills in Hamilton. The Vice President also took the opportunity to lay the foundation and laid the first pillar for the re-demarcation of the Western Are Peninsular Forest Reserve.

A total number of five hundred Gmelina-aborea trees were planted on the national tree planting day ceremony on Thursday 8^th June 2011 at the site. The re-demarcation exercise by the Officials from the Ministry of Forestry, Welt Hunger Hilfe and other partners is expected to end in October 2011. It is expected that after the re-demarcation, a full force of foresters and forest rangers will provide security for the protection of the forest.

It could be recalled that the project “conservation of the Western area Peninsular Forest Reserve and its watershed” was launched few years back by the President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma. The five year project in the western Area is funded by the European Union (80%) and the Welt Hunger Hilfe is the implementing agency and also contributing (20%) of the project.

The National Tree planting day ceremony and the laying of the first pillar foundation for the re-demarcation of the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve was witnessed by key representatives from the Ministry of Forestry, the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, the Environment Protection Agency and other environment stakeholders and Non Governmental Organizations.

In his statement before the official National tree planting day and pillar laying for the re-demarcation ceremony, the Vice President said the theme for this year which is “trees for life” shows an indication of the government of Sierra Leone setting priorities in protecting the environment and the forest in particular. The Vice President noted that over 60% of the Sierra Leone lands has been depleted and destroyed by human activities which he added that it is incumbent on the government of Sierra Leone to protect the forest and allow it not to be destroyed by bad people. The Vice President also added that his government is championing the maximization of trees for beneficial purposes through sound management system in the country.

Chief Alhajie Abubakarr Sam Sumana informed the people that the purpose of them visiting the Moku Hills in Hamilton shows the deep interest they have for the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve and the environment of Sierra Leone. The Vice President reflected that in the past the Guma Valley Water Company was supplying water for a population of 500 people in the city but with the increase in the population of the city, the company will not able to do such and that the only way to get water is through protecting the watersheds in the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve. He stressed that if the Western Area Peninsular forest is protected accordingly, water will be available in all parts of the city.

The Vice President thanked the European Union for providing the funds for the Conservation of the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve project. He said since the start of the project in the western Area, it has come out with a good result such as the new forest boundary re-demarcation he had launched. As a person and government who fighting for alternative energy in the country, the Vice President called on all Sierra Leoneans to help protect the Western Area Peninsular Forest and its implementation and ensure that the donors do not lose the credibility they have for the people of Sierra Leone.

The Minister of agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Dr. Sam Sesay said the Conservation of the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve project has identified 61 water points in the western area and out of this number, 4 has the capacity of producing more water than the Guma Valley dam. The Minister reflected on the setting up of the national tree planting day since June 1985. Commenting on the –re-demarcation ceremony, Dr. Sam Sesay said the first demarcation exercise for the Western Area known as the green belt was first made in 1922.

The Minister for Forestry cited on the importance of forest in the land adding that there is potential for electricity supply to the western Area communities if the forests are protected. He noted that if the trees are cut down from the forest, the filth will overflow the watersheds already identified as potentials for water supply for the city.

The Project Manager for Welt Hunger Hilfe, Jochen Moninger said he is happy for the commitment of the government of Sierra Leone towards protecting the peninsular forest and also the commitment of the Communities in setting by-laws to punish any defaulter found cutting down a tree in the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve.

The WHH Project Manager for the Conservation of the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve suggested to the Vice President and the government of Sierra Leone for the formation of a body to protect the forest in the country which body should composed of various environment stakeholders in the country. The funds for this body he added should be sourced other elsewhere other than the government of Sierra Leone. He said Sierra Leone still has two and half years to find sustainable solutions to protect the forest in the western area.

The Minister for Energy and water Resources said as a country that is grappling with development, environmental development must be ensured. He said deforestation of the forest must not be only to the people who go and cut down trees but also to those who buy the trees from them.

The Chairman for the Western Area Rural District Council, Alhassan Cole said the Western Area Peninsular Forest is seriously threatened by human activities such as logging of trees, the misguided conversion of some areas into dwelling settlements and the large artisanal as well as industrial stone mining. He noted that as deforestation is gaining grounds in the country, it is amounting to harsh climatic conditions and other undesirable consequences and that if the situation is not arrested, the survival of people will be tagged with a bigger question mark.

Mr. Cole added that in his community where the project is being implemented, the most common and frequently utilized energy sources are fuel wood and charcoal and the that the bulk of these come from the exploitation of preferred species from lowland rain forests, mangrove swamp forest and the lempira savanna in the north of the country. He added that about 85% of the Sierra Leonean population is dependent on the use of fuel wood and charcoal for domestic heating and cooking. The Chairman noted that on a daily basis, everyone can see many heavy-laden truckloads of fuel wood and charcoal being brought to the city from the western Area Peninsular Forest.

While speaking on the effects of the quarrying, Mr. Cole said cascading impact removal or weakening of a rock will generate a ripple environmental effect where it will undermine the nearby natural system which in turn responds by causing other impacts and that the loss of the vegetation is one important impact. Mr. Cole thanked the Sierra Leone government, the European Union, Welt Hunger Hilfe and other individuals for their efforts in the conservation of the Sierra Leone Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve project.