The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary (TCS), with support from the Government of Sierra Leone, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility on Saturday 27th June 2026 ended a four-day sensitization and community awareness campaign in eight communities in the Western Area Peninsula National Park.
Deforestation remains one of the most pressing environmental challenges affecting the Western Area Peninsula National Park and its surroundings which also affects rural communities whose livelihoods depend on forest resources. The Western Area Peninsula National Park has been cleared at an alarming rate for agriculture, logging, infrastructure development, stone mining and charcoal production. This has far-reaching consequences, including loss of biodiversity, climate change acceleration, soil degradation, disruption of water cycles, and threats to the livelihoods of indigenous and forest dependent communities.
Under the Sustainable and Integrated Landscape Management of the Western Area Peninsula (WAP) Project, eight communities; Markobeh, Robgelor, Tokeh, River Number Two Community, Sussex, Last Banking (Aberdeen), Barthurst and Charlotte Communities have been selected because they show signs of significant deforestation activities in recent years. Despite various efforts by government and non-governmental organizations, there remains a substantial gap in awareness and community participation in forest conservation efforts. The four-day campaign engaged and sensitized the eight communities on the impacts of deforestation and to encourage sustainable environmental practices through community-led actions.
The objective of the sensitization campaign was to raise awareness and enhance community engagement in the eight selected communities on the causes, consequences, and mitigation strategies of deforestation while the specific objectives were to educate community members on the environmental, social and economic impacts of deforestation, encourage the formation of local environmental protection groups, foster collaboration between community members, local authorities, and environmental stakeholders as well as foster collaboration between community members, local authorities and environmental stakeholders.
The engagements adopted a participatory and inclusive approach to community engagements and the methodology included collaboration with local leaders and Community Stakeholders to organize and mobilize participants, organized interactive workshops in each of the eight communities and using local languages and culturally relevant materials (posters and storytelling).
Topics included causes and effects of deforestation, climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable alternatives.
The expected results are increased awareness among at least 80% of the community members in all eight communities on deforestation and its impacts, reduction in activities contributing to deforestation as a result of behavior change as well as improved collaboration between community stakeholders and environmental agencies.
Furthermore, the awareness-raising campaign aims to create a ripple effect of environmental consciousness and responsibility starting at the grassroots level. By engaging and empowering the eight vulnerable communities around the Western Area Peninsula National Park, it seeks not only to mitigate deforestation but also to build a foundation for sustainable environmental stewardship for future generations.
