By Lansana Fofana
FREETOWN, Jun 7 1999 (IPS)

Sierra Leonean environmentalists have expressed concern about the rapid decline in their country’s forest reserves.

Okere Adams, deputy minister of agriculture, forestry and the environment, says excessive harvesting of protected forests is more rampant in the Freetown Peninsula, near the capital Freetown.

“Despite frantic efforts by my ministry to contain the situation, illegal power-saw operators, aided and abetted by some service personnel, have continued to plunder the forest reserves,” he says.

Adams, together with thousands of other Sierra Leoneans, attended a tree planting ceremony at the ‘Parade Grounds Displaced Camp’ in central Freetown on Saturday.

The National Tree Planting was launched in 1985 by the government in collaboration with non-governmental organisations (ngos), donor agencies and community leaders.

Of the about five million trees that have been planted since 1995, only 40-60 percent have survived, according to sources at the Ministry of agriculture and forestry.

“We are always running at a deficit in environmental management. Hence the need to put our shoulders to the wheel to intensify tree planting for posterity,” says Adams.

A coalition of 26 youth groups, known as Agro Forestry and Community Development Association (AFCODA) have also initiated a greenbelt project, which has resulted in the planting of thousands of acres.

AFCODA’s executive chairman, Sheku Rogers told IPS: “Around the Sunset Valley area of west Freetown, we have planted 85,000 trees, covering a total of 206 acres.”

Since the invasion of Freetown by rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in January, the demand for firewood and charcoal has increased tremendously.

Thousands of families impoverished by the invasion have resorted to felling fuelwood for sale in the market, to supplement their income.

The ministry of agriculture and forestry recently produced a report indicating that water levels in Guma, Babadori and Congo dams, all in the Freetown Peninsula area, which provide the capital with water have reduced to their lowest levels.

This is having adverse effects on the suburbs of eastern and central Freetown, where pipe-borne water is lacking and there is an upsurge in water-borne diseases.

“Diarrhoea and dysentery are killing our people around Wellington in the extreme east of the town. I hope the authorities would step in to provide us tap water,” says a woman who attended Saturday’s ceremony.

Around the capital and its peninsula environment, patches of burnt and severely degraded forests could be spotted from Ogoo farm and Mambo areas, where illegal power-saw operators have been active.

There have been several instances of open war between the operators and forest conservators. Two weeks ago, a team of “forest police” were mercilessly beaten up by a group of illegal tree cutters.

Government says Parliament will soon pass a legislation spelling out stringent punishment for illegal tree-fellers.

The conflict in Sierra Leone erupted in 1991 when former army corporal Foday Sankoh launched a bush war to overthrow the government of then President Joseph Momoh.

Since then, more than 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict, while an estimated quarter of the country’s 4.5 million people are scattered as refugees in neighbouring countries.

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