Ministry Of The Environment & Climate Change

09/09/2026

MoECC and MAFS take GEF Project to District Stakeholders

Following the national engagement of stakeholders on the Global Environment Facility (GEF) held last month in Freetown, today, MoECC has taken the project to stakeholders in the southeast as part of the consultation meetings to implement the project.

Speaking at the engagement in Bo, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jiwoh Emmanuel Abdulai, said GEF is here to restore the damage caused to the environment, which is also impacting food security and the economic growth of Sierra Leoneans.

The event gathered local authorities, farmers, agriculture officers, and Councils to discuss the project and suggest how the Ministry will implement GEF for its success. The Paramount Chiefs clearly stated that most forest reserves have been taken back by landowners, and the government should be deliberate in ensuring proper arrangements are made to regain the lands.

In response, Jiwoh said protecting the lands is not only the responsibility of the government but also that of the communities. “Deforestation is impacting us directly,” he said.

The stakeholders were divided into groups, where the GEF project was thoroughly explained to them, and they were encouraged to take ownership of the project and find proper solutions to eradicating climate issues in their communities.

Their feedback was collected for incorporation, and similar consultation meetings will be held in the North and Northwest in the following days.

27/08/2026

Rocation to New Office Address and Redirection of Correspondence

27/08/2026

SIERRA LEONE CALLS FOR INCREASED INVESTMENT IN LAND RESTORATION AT UNCCD COP 17

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - During the Ministerial Dialogue on Land Finance at , the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jiwoh Emmanuel Abdulai underscored the critical importance of mobilizing sufficient financial resources for land restoration. Speaking to delegates, the Minister urgently highlighted that across Africa, land serves as a monumental economic and environmental asset and its degradation threatens livelihoods, food security and social stability. The Minister described Sierra Leone’s relationship to these pressures as direct and lived-in noting that the country’s forests, rivers and coastline function as everyday infrastructure for millions of Sierra Leoneans rather than distant environmental concerns.

The Minister further highlighted the Nation’s concrete steps taken in 2025 by launching a four year strategic national plan called - “Protect Sierra Leone” built around protecting biodiversity, scaling up community forests and managing marine resources and reducing deforestation while at the same time restoring degraded lands. Complementing this also, the Food Systems Resilience Program is assiduously working to build sustainable livelihoods for smallholders farmers through integrated land management. Under this program, farmers especially youth and women are receiving training in climate-smart agricultural practices along seed capital to help them move from shifting cultivation, a practice that accelerates deforestation. The program also supports community-led restoration of degraded lands using native species, consonant with value chain support to reduce post harvest losses.

However, despite these domestic momentum, the Minister pointed out that the biggest obstacle remains finance in scaling up these solutions. According to UNCCD estimates, $355 billion is needed annually for global land restoration, yet the current investments fall short by nearly $278 billion. The cost of inaction is approximately $878 billion annually which far exceeds the investment gap.

The Minister therefore urgently called on International Financial Institutions to mainstream land finance into their strategies, ensure predictable funding, simplify access and develop de-risking instruments to attract private investments.

”Investing in healthy land is investing in resilience and prosperity”,* the Minister told delegates. *”For Sierra Leone, restoring land is restoring Hope”.

The dialogue essentially forms part of a broader push at COP17 agenda to align governments, financial institutions and private partners in examining how to close the global land restoration financing gap ahead of the UNCCD’s 2030 land degradation neutrality targets.

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26/08/2026

Relocation of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change to New Office Address and Redirection of Correspondence.

15/08/2026

*MoECC and MAFS Hold Stakeholders Meeting to Mark the Start of GEF*

*Radisson Blu, Freetown, Thursday, 13 August 2026* — The Global Environment Facility (GEF), under the Food System Resilience Program (FSRP), has held a National Stakeholders Meeting to officially mark the start of a project aimed at promoting nature-based approaches to strengthen food systems in Sierra Leone.

The one-day meeting, directly implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and other stakeholders, brought together more than 70 participants from government institutions, the private sector, farmers’ organisations and development partners to understand their roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the GEF project.

Delivering the keynote address, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jiwoh Abdulai, said the project seeks to bring nature-based solutions closer to farmers while strengthening the country’s food systems.

He stressed that environmental protection must be everyone’s effort to improve food security, noting that the country cannot afford to lose sight of nature because environmental degradation directly affects agricultural production and livelihoods.

“We should be deliberate in investing in initiatives that will provide economic growth for communities while restoring nature,” Minister Abdulai emphasised.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security I, Dr. Isata Kamanda, underscored the importance of the GEF initiative in advancing the Government’s Feed Salone agenda.

She noted that protecting the environment is fundamental to building resilient and productive food systems.

“When we protect the environment, we build food systems,” Dr. Kamanda stated.

The project is expected to strengthen collaboration among key stakeholders while supporting farmers to adopt sustainable and nature-based approaches that contribute to food security, environmental restoration and climate resilience.

13/08/2026

Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Hosted Stakeholders on Climate Legislation

13/08/2026

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Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Hosted Stakeholders on Climate Legislation Bill

11/08/2026

*Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change Sets to have a Climate Change Law.*

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has conducted a stakeholder engagement on 11th August, 2026, at the New Brookfields Hotel which brought together Members of Parliament, Paramount Chiefs, Directors and Staff of relevant government institutions, Development Partners, representatives of CSOs, NGOs, Private Sector and other stakeholders.

The proposed legislation is expected to strengthen the coordination of climate-related policies and programmes, clarify institutional responsibilities and establish a more structured framework for climate action, adaptation and resilience.

The Government of Sierra Leone has intensified efforts to establish a comprehensive legal framework for addressing climate change, with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jiwoh Emmanuel Abdulai, stressing the need for legislation that reflects the realities, priorities and aspirations of communities across the country.

Speaking at a stakeholder engagement on the proposed climate change legislation, Minister Abdulai described the initiative as a critical step towards strengthening Sierra Leone’s response to the growing social, economic and environmental impacts of climate change.

He said the proposed legislation would establish a clear guide for the country’s response to climate change while strengthening coordination among government institutions, local authorities, development partners, civil society organisations,
the private sector and communities.

“The impact of climate change in our society is real, and we are here as part of the process of putting in place the ground rules for how we respond to climate change,” the Minister stated.

He emphasized that the development of the proposed legislation is an inclusive consultation process designed to ensure that citizens and key stakeholders have meaningful opportunities to contribute to the formulation of the law.

According to the Minister, the Government has taken the consultation process to districts across the country, engaging local authorities, community leaders and citizens to gather their views, concerns and recommendations.

Minister Abdulai said the extensive consultations are intended to ensure that the proposed legislation is grounded in the experiences and realities of Sierra Leoneans, particularly communities increasingly exposed to climate-related risks, including flooding, coastal erosion, land degradation, deforestation and other environmental challenges.

He noted that climate change required a coordinated national response involving Parliament, government institutions, development partners, regional bodies, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations and the private sector.

The Minister therefore called for continued collaboration among stakeholders as the country works towards developing legislation capable of providing a strong legal and institutional foundation for climate action.

Minister Abdulai stressed that the participation of such a broad range of stakeholders is essential to ensuring that the proposed law enjoys broad national ownership and effectively responds to the country’s climate vulnerabilities.

Minister Abdulai’s call for broad-based participation comes as the Government advances efforts towards finalising a dedicated legal framework that could shape Sierra Leone’s climate policy and institutional response for years to come.

He urged stakeholders to remain actively engaged throughout the legislative process, stressing that the success of the initiative would depend not only on the enactment of the law, but also on collective ownership, effective coordination and implementation.

10/08/2026

12/07/2026

The Minister of the Environment and Climate Change launches the project titled: "Enhancing Sustainable Land Management and Biodiversity Conservation for Koinadugu and Falaba Districts."

The Sierra Leone Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Jiwoh Emmanuel Abdulai has on the 7th July, 2026, launched the project titled: 'Enhancing Sustainable Land Management and Biodiversity Conservation through Innovative Financing for Integrated Climate Resilience in Koinadugu and Falaba Districts' in Sierra Leone, with funding support from UNDP/GEF. The launching took place at the two day project inception meeting with key stakeholders including MDAs, UNDP, Security Sector, Revered Paramount Chiefs, women and other Community Stakeholders at the Koinadugu District Council Hall.

The purpose of the meeting was to engage all partners and stakeholders on the project goals, components, expected results and theory of change, validate work plan and implementation arrangements, confirm safeguards, gender inclusion, knowledge management and communication and monitoring and evaluation plans amongst others.

Speaking at the project inception meeting, the Host Paramount Chief, PC Gbawuru Mansaray III of Wara Wara Yagala Chiefdom in Koinadugu District, called on the Minister to support local farmers with tree planting activities. He assured that the communities would serve as strong partners to embrace and implement the project sustainably.

The UNDP Programme Specialist, Amara Salami Kanu acknowledged that the project is funded by UNDP /GEF and implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. He noted that the project is a community driven initiative which would focus on restoring degraded areas around Loma mountain Lake Sonfon and orher depleted forest reserves. He noted that the project would also consider innovative financing which would help community people, especially women, artisinal miners and other farmers to stop destroying the forests. "This project is aligned with the Ecosystem Restoration Integrated Program which is the vision of the United Nation Decade Action on Ecosystem Restoration and the Global Conservation programme which requires update into these platforms so that they will track on progress, weather restoration, policy reforms, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement which have to be reported to these platforms which the project is aligned to", he maintained. He said UNDP is concerned about environmental social safeguards in order for stakeholders to be aware and contribute to identify and refine the risks at disclosure level, and also to be aware about the mitigation actions towards the identified risks on environmental compliance.

The Programme Specialist emphasized for community actions to make the project sustainable to protect all protected areas within the two Districts.

The project Coordinator, Mrs. Boi- Baindu Robin said the project requires collaborative efforts among stakeholders as they have been affected by climate change. She said the inception meeting is to officially launch the project for the beneficiary communities. She disclosed that there are many opportunities which the communities would benefit from. She said the project will be implemented with community led approach.

The Head of Falaba District Women Network, Mrs. Fatmata Baby Turay considered climate actions as women driven actions. Sequel to this, she underscored the significance of supporting women to adopt Climate-Smart farming practices such as tree planting and other sustainable alternatives activities to sustain their livelihoods.

She said women are now integrating to lead climate actions within their communities in Falaba District due largely to the climate impact on their livelihoods. She on behalf of her female colleagues appealled for more support for women inclusion to climate projects, and strengthen capacity-building trainings that would enhance their livelihoods sustainability.

Delivering the Keynote statement, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Mr. Jiwoh Emmanuel Abdulai informed the stakeholders that the Ministry remained committed to not only formulating policies but to source funding to address environmental challenges at community level. He noted that the project is to help prevent early disaster and to protect the forest sustainably so that it could provide the needed services like water, food, and improve agriculture to sustain livelihoods within the two districts.

The Minister said government has considered these Districts as the favourite beneficiaries to the project due to the rate at which their forest covers and wetlands have been seriously depleted. He maintained that as the districts host some of the protected areas notably Wara Wara mountain, Loma mountain, Lake Sonfon and other protected areas, he called on stakeholders to embrace the project so that future generations would also benefit from their natural resources. He reemphasized that the project would be a community driven one with active community participation.

The Minister acknowledged the roles of the Paramount Chiefs as partners in development who should take precautionary measures to protect the forests against indiscriminate logging. He disclosed that the transformative step undertaken by the Ministry is to grant concession areas for sustainable logging. He noted that the project is about how the Ministry and its partners would work together, whilst looking forward to having community bye -laws in place for community led actions to manage the forest resource effectively. He continued that this approach would leverage economic growth and livelihoods sustainability through carbon credit opportunities. Sequel to this, he said the Ministry is undertaking field assessments to fully understand the current status of the country's forest through the implementation of the National Forest Inventory project.

He entreated all stakeholders to cherish and own the project with the goal of restoring the degraded areas in Koinadugu and Falaba Districts.

Compiled by: Samuel Konkofa Koroma, The Knowledge Management and Communication Expert, and Lahai Kpaka Senior Information Officer MoECC.