By: Aminata Sesay
The Environmental Protection Agency of Sierra Leone (EPA-SL) is leading a major collaborative effort to redefine how natural resources around the Western Area Peninsula National Park are managed, financed, and protected. Through an inclusive multi-stakeholder consultation process, the Agency and its partners are developing a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) Framework aimed at strengthening water security for Freetown particularly through enhanced protection of the Congo Dam catchment.
While restoration work around the dam is ongoing, the centrepiece of this initiative is the establishment of a governance model that enables institutions and communities to jointly share responsibility and benefits for safeguarding one of Sierra Leone’s most critical water sources.
EPA-SL is working closely with what project leaders describe as key “permanent institutions” whose mandates intersect with land, water, and environmental management. These include the Ministries of Agriculture, Fisheries, Mines, Planning and Economic Development (MOPEP), and the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA).
“We cannot make decisions about this landscape without involving all relevant institutions,” an EPA official emphasized, stressing that water security is a cross-cutting issue requiring long-term coordination rather than short-term interventions.
Through joint planning sessions, technical reviews, and field assessments, these institutions are contributing to a framework that clarifies roles, eliminates duplication, and ensures that catchment protection remains a national priority.
Although the initiative is driven at the institutional level, the PES framework places local communities at the centre of the conservation model. The system is designed to reward residents who maintain forest cover, stabilize slopes, and protect rivers feeding the Congo Dam recognizing their role as frontline stewards of the landscape.
“Since the country depends on the water that flows from these forests, those protecting the forests must also benefit,” an EPA representative said.
Community consultations in Bathurst and surrounding areas ensured that local concerns, insights, and traditional knowledge informed the PES design. Through baseline studies and group discussions, residents helped identify pressures on the catchment and proposed practical approaches for sustainable management.
In addition to restoration activities, project experts have produced technical manuals, delivered training, and guided communities on sustainable land-use practices laying the foundation for a long-term financing model.
The PES document outlines pathways for regulated compensation, improved coordination across the water sector, and a shift from donor-dependent projects to nationally driven systems for funding catchment conservation.
EPA-SL has also confirmed that the restoration model and governance structure will be formally handed over to the Ministry of Environment to ensure continued oversight and institutionalization.
Stakeholders believe the evolving collaborative framework rooted in community engagement, cross-sectoral planning, and transparent benefit-sharing will strengthen protection of the Congo Dam catchment against threats such as deforestation, soil degradation, and declining dry-season water levels.
With sustained cooperation among government agencies and local communities, the Western Area Peninsula forests are expected to continue providing the essential ecosystem services that keep Freetown’s water system resilient, reliable, and productive.