Alicious Bessiama-Sierra Leone
Mangrove Restoration and Coastal Resilience – A Comparison with Sierra Leone
The case study “Restoring Hope Through Mangroves” from the Philippines highlights how communities use mangrove reforestation to protect coastlines from storm surges and flooding. In Sierra Leone, particularly along the Freetown Peninsula and other coastal regions, we face similar challenges. Natural hazards such as coastal flooding, erosion, and heavy rainfall are increasingly frequent, and climate change has amplified both their intensity and regularity.
The areas facing the greatest impacts are low-lying coastal communities and informal settlements, where infrastructure is weak and populations are densely packed. Fisherfolk, smallholder farmers, and women-headed households are among the most affected groups because their livelihoods depend directly on natural resources and they often have limited financial or institutional support to recover from disasters.
Locally, communities in Sierra Leone have begun planting mangroves along vulnerable shorelines, inspired by traditional knowledge and observing natural regeneration. People also raise homes on stilts, build small levees, and diversify livelihoods to reduce risk. NGOs and community groups, such as the Sunrise Movement Sierra Leone, provide technical guidance, organize reforestation campaigns, and conduct awareness programs. Government agencies, including local councils and the Ministry of Environment, support these initiatives through policy frameworks and occasional funding, though resources remain limited. International stakeholders and partners occasionally provide training, seedlings, and financial support to scale efforts.
The similarity with the Philippine case lies in the recognition that nature-based solutions, like mangrove restoration, are essential for resilience. The key difference is that while the Philippines benefits from long-term institutional programs and wider government backing, Sierra Leonean communities largely depend on grassroots, community-driven efforts, often filling gaps left by under-resourced government systems.