ENIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION - EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY!

Honoured to take part in a lively debate John Karefa-Smart ConstructiveParlour - Environmental Conservation is the Responsibility of the Government Alone - hosted by the esteemed Dauda Massaquoi and held today at a ram-packed Tacuguma Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Sierra Leone's premier wildlife conservation sanctuary.

Setting the scene everyone was in agreement that the impacts of environmental degradation are there for all to see, From plastics littering our beaches and oceans; logging and deforestation scarring the Peninsular and interior; sand-mining leading to coastal erosion of beautiful beaches including John Obey; more intense rains and severe flooding every rainy season and once in a generation environmental disasters like the 2017 mudslide. No wonder Sierra leone is ranked third most ulnerable nation to the dangerous impacts of climate change and languishes 169th in the international Environmental Protection Index.

I was happy to add my voice to those of distinguished environmental and climate activists and speakers, Bala Amarasekran, representing Wildlife Consrvation and recipient of the prestigious Order of the Rokel, Christiana MPA Gbondo, Fourah Bay College, studying peace and conflict and Melvin Sharty, MA of Global Affairs from the University of Notre Dame.

While it’s true that under international law it is the Government’s legal duty to deliver the Paris Accords to tackle global warming and climate change and it’s also true that Governments, nationally and locally, have a key role to play in addressing environmental degradation, setting the framework and rules to create a favourable environment it is even more true that we all have a role to play.

Every community. Every family. And every individual. And we must all play our part and with some urgency if we are to save our planet and save ourselves.

For example, national government could announce a ban on single use plastics choking our gutters and oceans with enough lead in time and tax breaks to encourage Salone entrepreneurs to innovate and invest in sustainable packaging made from local materials or for soft drink companies to bring back deposits on plastic bottles encouraging recycling.

Communities can invest in clean, green solar power that generates an income or set up local recycling schemes or plant trees. Farmers can switch to low-cost nature based fertilizers and pest controls.

Families and individuals must play their part too. For even though Salone is rich in natural resources it’s people are impoverished so the usual advice for citizens of developed nations to cut down on air travel, buy an electric car really don’t apply. But everyone could stop littering, that costs nothing. And everyone could stop burning their dirty releasing all sorts of toxic chemicals hazardous to our health. That costs nothing. Everyone could switch to low-cost cook-stoves that burn less charcoal. That would save money. And if anyone’s lucky enough to have electricity they could switch off the lights when they’re not in the room. And our diaspora friends and family could stop shipping polluting cars that fail their emissions tests and old fridges and TVs that aren’t energy efficient. And everyone, government, communities and individuals can stop cutting down the trees that provide the very oxygen we breathe.

Many thanks to the Sierra Leone Debating Council, the Sierra Leone We Want team for the platform provided to raise awareness and the management of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary for use of the venue.

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