THE ENVIRONMENT Environmental Problems Affecting Sierra Leone....Time To Act Posted by Ishmael Kindama Dumbuya on Aug 23, 2009, 13:05

Illegal Cutting Of Trees On The Freetown Hillside Has Lead To Landslide

Sierra Leone suffers from many environmental problems including deforestation, degradation and fragmentation, the loss of soil fertility, a dramatic decline and loss of biodiversity, air pollution, and water pollution. These problems hinder Sierra Leone from making progress with regard to economic development. Due to the fact that these issues are not fully understood, many Sierra Leoneans have been delayed in solving the problems.

Deforestation is “the clearing and destruction of forests to harvest wood for consumption, clear land for agricultural uses, and make way for expanding settlement frontiers” According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), forested land was transformed into agricultural land at an increasing rates from 1981 to the present situation. According to scholars, these changes made up to twenty-five percent of the changes in forest cover during this time.

Given the extensive loss of forest in recent years, African governments are trying to address the problem. The Sierra Leone government through the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and the Environment has adopted a policy of planting trees and preserving vegetation that is natural to the provinces. Over ten hectares of land have already been allocated in each district.  Very recently also, precisely in June 5^th 2009, the Ministry embarked on planting trees and greening of Freetown project.

Degradation is “the temporary or permanent deterioration in the density or structure of vegetation cover or species composition, resulting from the removal of plants and trees important in the life cycle of other species, from erosion, and from other adverse changes in the local environment” Degradation is caused by selective logging and by not replanting artificial or regenerating natural forests. The rate of deforestation in the country is growing at an alarming rate especially in the Gola Forest until when the Government of Sierra Leone through the effort of H.E Ernest Bai Koroma banned the logging of trees and hunting at the this forest.

Loads of Charcoal Used For Cooking...Destroyed The Tropical Forest

Wetlands are used for wood, hunting, fishing, land for crops and pasture, and help with recharging and flood control. Wetlands also provide habitats for migratory birds and other organisms. Degradation of these wetlands is not due to population growth of poverty, but to modern development.

Degradation occurs only where actions lead to damaging alterations to the soil system and to plant cover. The damage to the soil system comes from erosion or from physical and chemical changes in the soil itself. In dry-land areas, erosion by wind or water is a severe problem because the soil is naturally thin. The soil’s slow rate of development makes mending the soil complicated.

Slums Like Kroobay In Freetown Suffers The Consequences When Its Raining

Whereas fragmentation arises from road construction and similar human intrusions in forest areas; it leaves forest edges vulnerable to increased degradation through changes in micro-climates, loss of native species and the invasion of alien species, and further disturbances by human beings. Degradation and fragmentation makes up much larger area than did deforestation. They also have a greater impact on the diversity of animals and plant life.

The non-stop burning of forests, mostly by people trying to clear land for hunting, is hurting the fertility of soils in many parts of Africa including Sierra Leone. Many people in rural areas purposefully burn the dry grasses in fields used for planting, but some of these fires are also set by people not thinking while tossing burning cigarettes into the dry grass creating what is known as savannah.

Biodiversity is “the total variety of plant and animal species in a particular place; also known as biological diversity”. During mining, tons of the earth’s land is scooped up in order to get to the ore. This process causes the land to lose its biodiversity as is presently seen happening at the Kono diamond areas and the excavation of the land by the CSE construction company at the Rogberay-Pamlap highway in the northern part of the country. The loss of forestland is reducing the level of biodiversity in Sierra Leone.

These problems can also be found in water sources. Because of the use of toxic chemicals by several mining companies, the bodies of water that provide Sierra Leoneans with drinking water are being destroyed. Insufficient actions to guard against deforestation, land devastation, and the release of toxic materials into water bodies and the environment from the alluvial and blast mining are leading to the extermination of some species of plants and animals.

The White-Necked Picathartes Bird Almost In Extinct In Sierra Leone's Rain Forest

Plant life is destroyed, streams are polluted with hazardous chemicals or are destroyed, and animals have to leave their natural habitat to safe areas just likely when in recent times the LUC in Bo district confirmed at a press conference organized by the ministry of Information and Communication in Bo town that they have killed more than sixteen buffalos in the district.

Even with agreements like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES), the hunting of elephants, rhinoceroses, monkeys chimpanzees alligators to name but a few is still a key dilemma in the country. The most serious of all is the loss of bird biodiversity because pollution is destroying their habitats and humans are tracing them in their habitats.

Food sources for many people in Sierra Leone and elsewhere including protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins result from biodiversity. Communities that are located near water bodies, rely on the diversity of these waters for fishing as well as using the water for recreational activities. There is a strong need to protect Sierra Leone’s biodiversity from extinction as various economic activities continue to be a threat.

Some parts in the country are growing perhaps at an alarming rate. With this growth, there comes pollution.

Poverty stricken citizens particularly in the urban population are most negatively impacted by poor air, water, and land quality. The causes of air pollution are multiple. Because many households are using charcoal or wood for energy and in Sierra Leone unlike Ghana, ninety nine percent of the population in the country uses charcoal for cooking and other related activities and this makes the amount of carbon dioxide produced in the cities has been on the rise. The people that live in Freetown are exposed to indoor and outdoor air pollution that can cause many different health problems. The indoor pollution partly comes from the increased use of wood and charcoal in cooking.

Access to water that is clean is a problem throughout Sierra Leone. Water is polluted mostly by human waste. Diseases like typhoid, cholera, and diarrhea come from contaminated water. Water pollution is the reason for many infant mortality rates and health problems of people of all ages. The city has just undergone a crucial period of water shortage recently when a major pipe get burst until the national water agency, the Guma Valley Water Company restored it to normal use.

I have found out that the environmental problems in Sierra Leone are tougher than I would have ever thought of. These problems are extending from so many diverse reasons and origins. These problems hinder Sierra Leone from making progress with regard to economic development. Due to the fact that these issues are not fully understood, many Sierra Leoneans have been delayed in solving the problems. So there is presently a need for finding ways in which these problems can be solved.