Whilst illegal loggers are threatening Sierra Leone’s few remaining forests, including the Outamba-Kilimi National Park, a turf war is being waged between key Government departments tasked with tackling such issues, according to NGO Global Witness. Global Witness has called for new President Ernest Bai Koroma to bring much needed direction and law enforcement to Sierra Leone’s forest sector in order to prevent further destruction. “The previous President, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, shifted responsibility for environment and forestry from the Ministries of Lands and Agriculture, respectively, to the newly created National Commission of Environment and Forestry (NaCEF),” the organisation said. “Many believed this decision was taken because these two Ministries – and related Governmental agencies – were ineffective in stopping widespread logging operations.”  Over the past few years there have been rumours of corruption within the Ministries, however, in a recent speech Koroma linked environment and forestry with their old ministries, which have taken this as a cue to reclaim these portfolios, together with NaCEF’s $6 million of international funding. “It is critical that an urgent decision on the future of NaCEF is made given the recent upsurge in illegal logging, much of which is reported to have been carried out by Chinese loggers,” Global Witness stated.

The situation has become so severe that earlier this month the Government banned timber exports amidst fears that environmental degradation may force forest-dependent communities to move from their land. A coherent and effective Government response is unlikely until this decision has been reached, according to the NGO. Chris Squire, Executive Commissioner, NaCEF: “The Appraisal Mission for a Global Environment Facility (GEF) project to improve biodiversity management on five Protected Areas (PAs), and raise two of these PAs to the level of National Parks has been postponed four times in the last couple of months because the World Bank says the current institutional arrangements do not make it clear who is the counterpart institution in-country.  “Other projects under negotiation are also being held in abeyance on similar grounds.  We risk jeopardizing benefits intended for the country as a whole.” Patrick Alley, Director of Global Witness: “It’s good that the Government of Sierra Leone has banned timber exports, but the critical thing is to stop the illegal logging taking place at all. “On top of that, it is critical that President Koroma clarifies which arm of his Government is responsible for forests and environment, and gets them to act quickly to bring the illegal logging under control.”