Mano River Union: Strategic Plan Review Moving Forward
In keeping with its mandate to promote peace, food security, and economic development, the Mano River Union (MRU) Secretariat is reviewing one of its key policy instruments, a five-year strategic plan for its member states. The review and revision...
A New Radio Drama Series Launched to Increase Resilience to Climate Change in Coastal Sierra Leone
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...
My name is Mercy Koomson, a Wildlife Manager at the Kotoka International Airport in Ghana, and a graduate of the 2018/2019 Master’s Program in Management and Conservation of Species in Trade, at the University of Andalucia. As one of...
My First CITES CoP Experience: The Realities of Decision Making
The 18th Conference of the Parties for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has just ended in Geneva Switzerland at the Palexpo international conference centre. The events took place from August...
My first ever CITES CoP as a Communicator, an Environmentalist, and a West African.
In Robert Cialdini’s (Ph.D) book, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”, he explains the power of reciprocation in advocacy, and brings the common saying, “One good deed deserves another” to life. He gives powerful examples of how people feel obliged...
Building Global Expertise: Celebrating the Successes of the ‘CITES Master’s Program’
“The world needs a dedicated network of experienced, knowledgeable and educated people to share their diverse views and negotiation skills to bring about positive outcomes for the world and for conservation” remarked Pamela Scruggs of the US Fish and...
Mangrove Restoration Training Motivates a Sierra Leone Coastal Community to Expand its Restoration Efforts
As rising sea levels threaten West Africa’s coasts, communities large and small are looking to mangrove restoration as an essential protective measure. However, getting a mangrove nursery off the ground requires three to six months of dedicated community inputs...
The Importance of Strong Local Leadership: Two Community Icons Push for Participation in Mangrove Restoration Project
In a small fishing community in Sierra Leone, Ibrahim Mansary and Saidu Kamara had a mission to complete. The Chairman (Ibrahim) and Secretary (Saidu) of the Mosam community’s Mangrove Restoration Committee were keen to re-stimulate a neglected effort to...
Africa’s Atlantic Coast Gets a Boost for Sustainable Management
The Plenipotentiaries to the Abidjan Convention met on July 2nd 2019 in Abidjan for what participants soundly agreed was a very successful gathering, taking unprecedented steps towards the conservation and sustainable management of marine and coastal ecosystems from Morocco...
Coastal Communities in Sierra Leone Make Strides to Protect and Restore Their Mangroves
The Sherbro River Estuary is one of four Sierra Leone coastal regions that was declared a Marine Protected Area in March 2012, recognizing the value of mangrove forests as critical to the success of the fisheries sector in the...