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The Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Land Alliance, John Paul Bai, has raised alarm over the increasing environmental degradation in the Western Area Peninsula National Park, citing activities such as land grabbing, charcoal burning, quarrying, sand mining, and marijuana cultivation as primary drivers of climate change in the region. Bai made these remarks during a youth conference on climate change, biodiversity, and conservation held on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at CCSL Kingharman Road, Freetown.
Bai emphasized that these destructive activities, exacerbated by weak law enforcement and corruption, are threatening the ecological balance of the park and extending their impact beyond its borders. “The degradation of the Western Area Peninsula National Park is not just a park issue—it is a Freetown issue,” he stated, adding that the region’s water supply is at risk, and the potential for disasters such as floods and landslides is increasing.
He pointed to Sierra Leone’s poor urban planning and the construction of houses in disaster-prone areas as further contributing factors, which he warned are pushing the country “to the brink of collapse.”
The Western Area Peninsula National Park, home to critically endangered species like the Western chimpanzee—Sierra Leone’s national animal—has been severely affected by urbanization and agricultural expansion. The park’s forests, which provide 90% of Freetown’s water supply, are being degraded at an alarming rate, leading to threats against the city’s watershed.
Bai urged the youth to take a stand against environmental destruction, declaring, “Enough of brutalizing biodiversity, enough of killing ourselves with carbon, and treating nature like a toilet.”
He also highlighted the widespread destruction of mangroves along the coast, particularly in Aberdeen Creek, Jui, Orugu Bridge, Wellington, and Sudan’s Bay. He noted that mangrove cutting is largely unregulated, with the resource perceived as inexhaustible despite evidence of its depletion.
The Sierra Leone Land Alliance is calling for urgent coordinated action to halt these harmful practices and prevent further environmental degradation. Bai concluded by stressing the need for stricter policies and enforcement to preserve the country’s natural resources and protect against future disasters.
