About 2 Million Sierra Leoneans at Risk of Being Homeless

A recent report by France24 has estimated that about 2 million Sierra Leoneans are at risk of being homeless due to climate change.

The report which was aired in early February 2025, shed light on the devastating impact of climate change and the impact of rise of sea levels in coastal Sierra Leone. The rising sea-level in the past decade has dwarfed the Turtle Islands located in Southern Sierra Leone –reducing its population from over 2,000 to just 400.

Speaking to France24 resident of Nyangai one of the Islands in the archipelago, Fisherman Sulaiman Kabia said, “So many have left the Island and those remaining are too poor to leave.”

The situation is raising serious concerns for coastal communities as urban settlements like Bonthe and Freetown well in the mix of cities affected.

Mohamed Robinson, mayor of Bonthe spoke on the continuation of the perimeter for protecting his city’s coastline as the water encroaches every year. Construction of the perimeter wall, started few years ago, was purposed to protect about 1 kilometre of coastline in Bonthe but the project has since been abandoned due to lack of funds.

Freetown’s largest slum, Kroo Bay is also reported to be a high risk due to the rising sea-levels. Being no stranger to disasters, the shanty town hosts about 40,000 residents -making it the most overcrowded place in the Sierra Leonean capital.

“The growing population of the Bay became accelerated after the 10-year war when people ran from the Provinces to Freetown,” Abdulai Kabba, a community leader at Kroo Bay said. Kabba added that many people resident at the Bay due to the low cost for rent and its proximity to the city centre.

Today, the community is welcoming newcomers every year forcing them to encroach on land very close to the sea. France24 reported that the area has expanded to 400 metres directly into the water.

One of the residents, Mohamed Sesay told France24 that they worried about the rising sea-level recalling devastating events of the past during the wet season.

The Freetown City Council has banned construction in disaster prone areas but the race for construction is still visible as residents of the shanty town prepare for the inevitable.

The City’s Council are working to reduce the impact of climate change in the capital through the planting of trees.

In the past few years, the city successfully planted 1.2 million trees as a start of recovery the hectares of forest lost in the coastal city in the past four decades.