Like most costal countries in the sub region, Sierra Leone’s coastlines during the rainy season, are often under attack by aquatic alien and invasive species. The most common is the sargassum seaweed. Coastal communities are heavily dependent on fishing and fish mongering as a means of livelihood, however with the seaweed invasion, apparently all the enterprise of these communities are literally halted.
Director EPA, Sierra Leone, Momodu A. Bah, explained, “As a result of the seaweed invasion fishermen find it difficult to navigate the sea with their fishing boats as outboard engines stop working because the turbine of the engines are clogged with seaweed. Families who depend on fishing as a source of income subsequently find it difficult to provide for their dependents.
Furthermore, he explained sargassum seaweed makes Sierra Leone’s beaches ugly, which subsequently has an adverse effect on tourism. When the beaches are covered with ugly and smelly seaweed, visitors are turned off.
However, the adverse domino’s effect of sargassum seaweed invasion is not unique to Sierra Leone. In November 2015, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), Sierra Leone held a three-day consultative expert group meeting in respond to the need to address the seaweed problems. During this expert group meeting “a framework for regional action plan to address the impact of seaweed was developed…” EPA’s Plan Policy and Research, Assistant Deputy Director Samuel Kamara explained.He said, “the discussions were around the Abidjan Convention in collaboration with West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC) to retain a regional consultant for the management of seaweed in all affected countries in the Abidjan Convention areas. The regional strategy was then validated in 2016.”As a follow up to the regional strategy validation, the EPA, on Thursday, held a stakeholder workshop for the development of a National Implementation Plan (NIP) of the regional strategy.The objectives of the workshop, which was held at the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources Conference room, Youyi building in Freetown, was to review the Regional Strategy main component and then discuss what elements in the regional strategy can be domesticated in Sierra Leone. Also, “…we’ve identified institutions to implement various aspect of the strategy at national level. Then informed stakeholders on the progress and the current status of the action by government in the seaweed management.” “Our expected outcome would be a framework of the National Implementation Plan, which would be discussed and agree upon.”The Assistant Deputy Director also said, “we would determine what other considerations would be made in the implementation of a regional strategy, then we access the capacity of State institutions in carrying out the implementation of the strategy.” Finally adding that they would guide the development process of the NIP. In his presentation, EPA’s Paul Lamin, highlighted the ten strategic objectives of the regional objectives some of which were: early detection and rapid response, preventions and control to preserve and protect the marine environment.
By Ophaniel Gooding
Monday May 29, 2017.