Sierra Leone's forests are disappearing rapidly

NESTLED along the West African coast, Sierra Leone grapples with a largely unnoticed environmental emergency: rampant deforestation.

- 

Within the supposedly safe-guarded Western Area Peninsula National Park (WAPNP), which also acts as a critical watershed for Freetown, the capital, trees are disappearing rapidly. Charcoal manufacturing, land seizure, and unchecked construction projects are devastating the nation’s essential forests.

From 2012 to the present, Sierra Leone has witnessed the loss or severe degradation of nearly a third - exceeding 5 600 hectares of its crucial forest reserve. Alarmingly, the World Food Programme reports that 715 hectares of forest were destroyed in 2024 alone.

This translates to the loss of 1 330 football fields of dense, biodiverse tropical forest within a single year. According to Unesco, this forest area safeguards 80 to 90% of Sierra Leone's biodiversity, providing habitat for endangered species, essential tree cover, and the country’s primary water catchment. This threat is immediate and tangible; it is not a future or theoretical concern. Its consequences will manifest as water scarcity, crop failures, heat waves, and floods.