PRESENT PROJECT

Project Title: Good governance and Sensitization for Environmental Sustainability and Development in Sierra Leone

Total Budget: 30,000 Euro

Project Duration: 30 Dec, 2009- 31st December, 2010

Description of Project Area

This project is about the Western Area Forest Reserves (WAPFoR) in Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa. WAPFoR occupies a narrow chain of hills approximately 37km long and 14km wide, with a range of peaks, the highest being picket hill in south, which rises to about 900m. The reserve is probably the westernmost remnant of west Africa rainforest to the upper guinea forest block).

The area also forms the only remnant of moist closed forest remaining in western Sierra Leone. The hills between 150m and 900m are covered by moist forest and along the coast the forest vegetation is interrupted by laterite plains covered by natural grass lands. The reserve supports two major reservoirs (the Guma valley and Congo dams) that supply water to Freetown and other communities.

The climax vegetation of most of WAPFoR is rainforest of the hydrophilous coastal evergreen. Most of the forest is being extensively damaged by logging for timber, cutting of smaller trees for poles and fuelwood, granite mining and encroachment for housing development. The species targeted for timber production are; Terminilia ivoriensis, T. calapa, T. suberba, Chlorophora regia, Auisophylla laurena,Brachystergia leonesis and Terretia utilis. <<Read more>>
 

Project Title - Conservation of the Sierra Leonean Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve (WAPFoR) and its Watershed

Project background: The Western Area Peninsular of Sierra Leone, which is part of the Upper Guinean Forest Ecosystem, is home to roughly 1 to 1.5 million people (20% of the country’s total population), including the capital city of Freetown. The WAPFoR, occupying the centre of the peninsular, covers about 17,000 hectares of closed forest. The reserve was declared in 1916 and gazetted as a non-hunting forest in 1973. The reserve is one of the eight biodiversity hot-spots of the country and host 80-90% of Sierra Leone’s terrestrial biodiversity.

The water catchment area for Freetown and the peninsular is dependent on the Reserve, moderating the water supply in a climate with distinct and severe wet and dry seasons. The steep slopes, which prevail over the whole area, are easily eroded and washed out once deforested. Without the water retention and storage capacities of the tropical rain forest ecosystem, villages could face severe flooding.

Pressures from the neighbouring communities and the demand from Freetown for an expansion of the city’s perimeter are leading to encroachment on the Reserve area. Although formally demarcated under the 1972 Wildlife Act, inadequate enforcement by the government has been unsuccessful in preventing the continued exploitation of the forest.

Due to these pressures the overall area of the forest reserve has decreased by 32% since its constitution. The actual perimeter of the area covered by high forest does no longer correspond to the official demarcation of the WAPFR in wide areas and no physical demarcation (sign posts) of the Reserve’s boundaries exists. <<Read more>>