Mano River Union committed to trans-boundary conservation

Mano River Union Executive Secretary Ambassador Abraham Boure has assured member nations of the organisation that the MRU Secretariat is poised to perform a coordinating role in the interest of Sub- regional environmental developmental and other terms.

The ambassador was addressing a three day workshop to incorporate Sierra Leonean policy makers into the natural resource management of the Mano River Union at the Mano River Union Secretariat, Delco House in Freetown.

The sustainable and thriving environments for West Africa Rural Development, (STEWARD), is an international programme of the US forest Service which is being supported by USAID to organize such workshop throughout the Mano River Union.

Jordan Kimball, who coordinates the STEWARD programme, said the meeting of technical partners and policy makers was to develop their work plan into a regional development tool.

Eddie Benya of USAID said the past two years has been spent in rotation among the Mano River Union State’ line ministries to focus on policy and harmonize a natural resource management work plan for the Sub- Region.

Kailie Bangura of the Sierra Leone wildlife Division spoke of the trans-boundary initiative of the Otamba Kilimi Natural Park on the Sierra Leone-Guinea Border.

Amara Nelwa of the Jane Goodall Initiative working in Thambaka and Dembelia-Sinkunia chiefdoms said chimpanzees are their flagship specie drawing attention to the overall necessity to wild life conservation.

Serge Ngendakumana of the International Center for Research and Agro Forestry said their landscape management and implementation of livelihood program has providing a vital basis for trans-boundary forest management.

Boubacar Thiam of CEPSL/PAGE spoke about participatory forest management from the perspective of creating an enabling policy while Raffieu Dialloh spoke on regional focal point from the Guinea water, forest and Fauna Agency.

Gola Forest Programme Management John Moriba made a presentation on their efforts to upgrade the Gola Forest a to national park status and to enhance the $ 13 Million endowment fund target for the Gola Forest.

US Geographer Gray Tappen presented a series of photographs from forty years old US-Geographical and satellite imagery comparisons, illustrating the extent of forest loss in West Africa.

Policy weakness and best practices highlighted by the STEWARD technical partners were be presented to environmental policy makers in Sierra Leone, notably the ministries responsible for Lands and Environment, Agriculture and Forests, water and Energy Supply. This is the first step towards the validation of a sub-Regional MRU work plan in Sierra Leone.

Similar policy evolution and validation will be conducted throughout the MRU, but Sierra Leone is first, having been accredited as the most advanced in its own Natural Resource Management Policy Review.

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