Increasing Coastal Resilience to Climate Change

By Darius Barrolle, Senior Communications Specialist   After 4 years of tireless efforts by the National Protected Areas Authority (NPAA) of Sierra Leone and the USAID-funded West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC) program to strengthen local institutions for improved management of coastal Sierra Leone’s vast marine ecosystems, the Sherbro River Estuary (SRE) Co-Management…

By Fatmata Katta   Behavior change communication (BCC) products such as radio dramas can be powerful tools to increase people’s knowledge and change their perceptions, attitudes and behaviors around social and environmental issues. To ensure the effectiveness of BCC products, however, it’s important to involve targeted communities in the production process and secure their ownership…

The results are in for WA BiCC’s Earth Day Ghana 2020 Video Contests, organized in partnership with the Ghana Wildlife Division, A Rocha Ghana and Kali Etch! Altogether, WA BiCC received 70 submissions, all showcasing students’ creativity, smarts, and passion for protecting our planet. Check out the first-, second- and third-place winners and their videos!…

By Fatmata Katta   For those charged with helping their countries both adapt to and combat climate change, understanding and being able to leverage climate information is critical. This is particularly true for Sierra Leone, recognized as the third most vulnerable country in the world to the effects of climate change. Thus, WA BiCC and…

By Darius Barrolle   Radio dramas are a part of Sierra Leone’s rich culture; hence, it is no surprise that “Watasay Ston,” a new radio drama series and form of entertainment-education, has quickly emerged as one of the most popular in the country. One reason behind its success is that all stakeholders, including the government,…

By Fatmata Katta   Sierra Leone marked this year’s World Wetlands Day celebration with the launch of its Climate Change Adaptation Plan (CCAP), a document that WA BiCC played a key role in developing. The CCAP sets the framework for an adaptation plan that is geared towards increasing the resilience of coastal communities across Sierra…

By Fatmata Katta   Sierra Leone’s Sherbro River Estuary (SRE) is rich in biodiversity, including turtles, manatees, sharks and crocodiles. Designated as one of the country’s four marine protected areas, the region is also reported to host about 58% of Sierra Leone’s total mangroves, and other coastal habitats in the region include beautiful sandy beaches,…

By Zebedee Njisuh, WA BiCC Landscape Manager The recent field mapping exercise of the Sherbro River Estuary (SRE) marked a fresh approach to field mapping in Sierra Leone; one that recognized community members as important stakeholders to environmental sustainability. The mapping activity is a collaborative effort among USAID’s West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA…

Written by Francis Reffell   When my team arrived in Bonthe Municipality, it felt like we’d landed in a rustic paradise, rife with the vestiges of its past colonial influence. Severely damaged infrastructure, caused by either abandonment or the civil war, littered the landscape. Despite my curiosity about the area, my team, composed of Seinya,…

Perhaps it was on the news, in an online campaign, or in a textbook. Whichever the case may be, it is unlikely you last learned about climate change while tuning in to your favorite radio drama. But residents of coastal communities in Sierra Leone can now experience this unique opportunity, thanks to the launch of…