To foster community and civil society involvement in the protection of wildlife (particularly birds) in Sierra Leone, the Government and NGOs have developed site support groups. Eleven important bird areas were identified in the country using international criteria. After a series of sensitization workshops and seminars, a group of young men and women emerged to protect each site. The capacity of the groups were also built to sensitize their communities on environmental issues, act as watchdogs for illegal environmental activities, and conduct simple monitoring activities. The site support groups are active in reporting environmental crimes to the Police, the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone, and the Wildlife Division. For example, after the establishment of a Chimpanzee Sanctuary, members of site support groups have reported locations of pet chimpanzees (particularly in the city), which has led to their confiscation and placement in the sanctuary. To date, there are 70 chimpanzees in the sanctuary.
This project to develop and implement site support groups was funded by the Global Environment Facility. The Forestry Division (of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Forestry), the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone, UNDP Sierra Leone, and Birdlife International were implementing partners.
For more information, contact cssl@sierratel.sl