New CTF Chairman Outlines Plans To Strengthen Biodiversity Protection
Aaron Parker The newly appointed Executive Chairman of the Conservation Trust Fund (CTF), Ahmid C. Jalloh, and his senior management team have held a courtesy meeting with the Director General of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), John Vandy Rogers, to strengthen collaboration between the two institutions.
The September 9, 2026 engagement at NDMA headquarters in Hill Station, Freetown, focused on biodiversity protection, data sharing, enforcement, data collection and resource mobilisation.
Jalloh said CTF is harmonising its policy documents to strengthen the Fund’s legal and institutional framework. He also disclosed plans to introduce biodiversity offset mapping in key protected areas, including Yawri Bay, the Western Area Peninsula and the Sierra Leone River Estuary, to improve the management and protection of environmentally sensitive areas.
He stressed that CTF would not issue biodiversity offset certificates for structures being constructed within protected areas, emphasising the need to prevent development activities from undermining Sierra Leone’s biodiversity and environmental assets.
Responding, NDMA Director General John Vandy Rogers congratulated Jalloh on his appointment and reaffirmed NDMA’s commitment to working with CTF on disaster risk reduction, environmental protection and resilience building, particularly through the sharing of data and technical information.
NDMA Deputy Director General Sulaiman B. Sowa called for the discussions to be translated into practical and sustained cooperation, saying the partnership could benefit Sierra Leone’s environment, communities and wider resilience agenda.