Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change Hosts Stakeholders Engagement on the National F𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 I𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 in the Bombali District.
Comm Unit/MoECC
The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change has engaged Stakeholders including Paramount Chiefs, ONS RSLAF, SLP, Members of Parliament, Local Councils, Civil Society Organizations amongst others from Bombali, Falaba, Koinadugu, Tonkolili, and Kono Districts on Stakeholders Engagement on the National Forest Inventory-SL (NFI) at the Bombali District Council Hall in Makeni.
The key objectives are to increase awareness about the project “Support to Sustainable Forestry in Sierra Leone” through the conduct of NFI for stakeholders to buy-in, for Stakeholders to be well informed about NFI data collection within their region, for prompt visibility, accountability, and responsiveness in project implementation, enhance effective implementation of the project through strategic communication with key audiences, and to project activities documented, milestone and promote timely information sharing.
The Permanent Secretary, Elizabeth Hawa Ellie, gave the purpose of the engagement noting that the engagement was to inform revered Paramount Chiefs on the NFI implementation that is funded by #EuropeanUnion# (EU) with technical support from #FoodAgricultureOrganization# (FAO). She encouraged local authorities to support the data collection process, which has taken fifty years since the last survey was conducted on Sierra Leone’s forests.
The Chairman of the Council of Paramount Chiefs in Bombali District, PC Bai Bairoh Mabolleh Aushenni 111 underscored the importance of their participation to give overwhelming support to the NFI data collection process. He acknowledged deforestation and water pollution as major challenges in their Chiefdoms and looked forward to combat these threats through the roll out of the NFI activities. He noted that the assessment of the forests could leverage protection of wildlife and forest assets within their Chiefdoms.
FAO Country Representative, Saeed Abubakarr Bancie, acknowledged FAO’s commitment to the data collection process and further commended the Ministry for its unwavering commitment to protect the natural assets of Sierra Leone. He noted that the NFI is a pivotal step in the second generation transformation of Sierra Leone.
“Forests underpin our biodiversity, soil health, water quality, rainfall patterns, and climate regulation. They also have immense potential for supporting food security, reducing poverty, sustaining livelihoods, and mitigating global climate change”,,he affirmed.
Patrick Abu-Mattia, National Coordinator of the NFI, did a presentation on the mapping that is being carried out in clusters across the country.
The Chairman of the Oversight Committee on Environment and Climate Change in Parliament, Hon. Yusuf Mackrey, acknowledged the role of Parliament to formulate appropriate laws and play an oversight role that could contribute to sustainable growth and development for the people of Sierra Leone. He noted that the NFI project is timely and could contribute to enhancing climate change actions in the country. He disclosed that H.E President Bio is passionate about conserving and preserving the environment sustainably; hence the establishment of the Ministry as a stand-alone entity to protect the country’s natural assets. He encouraged stakeholders to support the process, especially Paramount Chiefs who are custodians of the forest assets.
Delivering the keynote statement, the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Jiwoh E. Abdulai called on local authorities to fully support the ongoing National Forest Inventory (NFI) exercise, stressing its importance for sustainable forest management and climate action.
He acknowledged that restoring the forest means securing water, providing shelter, improving smart agricultural practices, and providing long-term economic opportunities to sustain local livelihoods for rural communities.
The Minister entreated the Paramount Chiefs to cascade the information on NFI to their subordinates at the Chiefdom and community level whilst calling upon them to own the process. He affirmed that the NFI exercise would provide sustainable projects to support local livelihoods in communities. He emphasized that the contributions of stakeholders to the process would influence climate actions at the local, national and global level respectfully.
The engagement was climaxed by Chiefdom and District authorities making salient contributions and pledging their commitments for the commencement of the NFI data collection process in their various chiefdoms.