Global event was last weekend observed worldwide with focused on key Climate Change and couple of environmental issues ranging from deforestation, land degradation, bush burning including host of other earthly threats and climate problems.
Sierra Leone in the wake of the unpopular sale of Black Johnson by the government to the Government of the People’s Republic of China for a fishmeal factory, much was not sounded about this year’s commemoration of World Environment Day, even as the August 14th 2017 disaster remained fresh in the minds of so many people. The project itself apart from causing loss of jobs for local fishermen, poses serious environmental dangers to the community if not the entire western rural area.
A disaster that claimed so many lives and destroyed property worth billions of Leones and has been widely described as the worst ever after the senseless civil war and the Ebola outbreak. That is much was expected of government through the lime Ministry of Environment for this year’s commemoration to raise awareness about proper uses of land and tree planting amidst sporadic deforestation in the unpatriotic name of timber harvesting for the selfish benefits of Babadi Kamara and his boss, at the detriments of the suffering masses.
Moreover, the government whiles encouraging worst to continue with impunity despite efforts by the United Nations Climate Change office in New York to mitigate effect of the emerging disaster in the country, should have engage the country with activities relating to public awareness about the dangers of land degradation, Climate Change, deforestation and other damages to the environment with potentials to affect human lives and earth. That must have been the reasons for the establishment of the Ministry of Environment and the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate and monitor the conducts of activities with tendencies of affecting the environments.
These didn’t happen on Saturday 5th June, 2021 and only God knows what actually went wrong with funds set aside by government to run these ministry and its agencies. These instructions are fully aware of the activities of mining companies; timber harvesters and other environmentally hazard operations that are on-going in the country but hardly engage them for reasons best known to them.
Much is expected of them to have undertaken their public education and outreaching campaigns along all of these companies earning them the responsibilities to be fully involved in the preventive and awareness raising programmes.
As deforestation, land gradation, bush burning and other improper uses of the earth and forest continue unchecked under the watch of government agencies there is every need take action now to forestall looming troubles in future. Such must involve conservations society, the line ministry of Environment EPA and it partners making sure all actors strictly comply by the laid down rules to prevent the country from emerging disasters.
Taking into account the level of erosions that continue to hit Freetown and other parts of the country during the rains, shorts in rainfalls as forecasted by the Sierra Leone Metrological Agency, continue hot temperatures and poor crop yields due to human activities affecting the earth, something must be done now by the appropriate agencies to remedy the situation and avoid another mudslide.
As suggested by experts, reforestations through massive economic tree planting across the country, especially in areas affected by deforestation are highly needed all over the place to save the earth now than later.
