Project Detail

Sustainable Approach to Consolidating Ecological Restoration through ecosystem adaptation of the Botanic Reserve at the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone

The Fourah Bay College (FBC) Botanic reserve is located on the plateau of Mount Aureol (one of the lowest mountain ranges at the Western Area Peninsula Forest (WAPF), about five kilometer south of the centre of the capital Freetown. It is a 81 ha extension of the Western Area Peninsula Forest (WAPF), which has been put under the management of the Fourah Bay College (FBC), University of Sierra Leone (USL) and is being used as a natural laboratory for research and studies in the University. The WAPF is the westernmost isolated patches of rain forest in Sierra Leone and is the only forest reserve found on a mountain close to the coast in West Africa.

In 2021 Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP) funded a rehabilitation project titled Ecological Restoration through ecosystem-based adaption of the Botanic Reserve at the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, which was designed to complement and take forward initial efforts, promote greater collaboration between the college authorities and local communities in conserving the reserve and its biodiversity. The project led the achievement of key outcomes, including the following:

1) Comprehensive survey of the biodiversity of the reserve, resulting in the discovery of five (5) species of fauna and seven (7) species flora of global conservation significance (listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2021).
2) Planting of up to 15,000 plants comprising 25 species of indigenous trees, and creating a sustainable system of tree planting to replace dead seedlings and cover more grounds.
3) Establishing a strong FBC-local community relationship, where the local women gardeners are guided on sustainable gardening in the midst reforestation efforts, sustaining water supply mechanism to the adjacent communities, whilst at the same time controlling indiscriminate encroachment and exploitation
4) Establishing a long-term institutional mechanism, through the formation of a student-based organization called Biological Sciences Society for Environment and Development (BioSSED), with the aim to sustain the successes of the project, fill in the gaps, and build a cohort of young enthusiasts who will drive pro-environment decision making in future. Over 200 students and alumni are now members of BioSSED.

5) A book chapter written for publication on the The Role of Botanic Reserve in Plant Diversity Conservation in Sierra Leone in collaboration with other academics at Njala University, with a significant portion of the data coming from the outputs of the 2021 GEF-SGP support. The chapter has been accepted by the publishers and is awaiting publication on the series Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

In this proposed second phase of the project, the intention is to consolidate the successes of the initial intervention, expand on the initial work of the living herbarium (mainly with wild fruits and medicinal plants) and create an ecological learning center for the student organization. Much of the additional training, nursery and tree planting, and monitoring will be carried out in collaboration with local community volunteers whilst up to six (6) students will anchor their dissertation writing on the ecological learning center and digitization of the data on both the living and specimen herbarium, with the main goal of publishing the data and making it available to all and sundry.

The main outcomes of the proposed project include:
(i)Completion of the rehabilitation of the botanical reserve, including the establishment of a monitoring system to sustain protection of springs and catchment and increase biodiversity.
(ii)Establish and digitalize a generational ecological living laboratory for teaching, learning and general botanic purposes.
(iii)Consolidate training of local women gardeners on calculative conservation practices, with the purpose of sustaining their livelihoods in the midst of sound ecological restoration.
(iv)Peer reviewed papers, on biodiversity, for which data has already been obtained from the first phase of the project will be published in a recognized journal.

Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Department of Biological Sciences, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone

Country:

Sierra Leone

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity

Operational Phase:

OP7 Y3 (July 22-June 23)

Grant Amount:

US$ 20,000.00

Co-Financing Cash:

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 13,605.00

Project Number:

SLE/SGP/OP7/Y3/STAR/BD/1/11/2022/45

Start Date:

12/2022

End Date:

12/2023

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

During consultative meetings, radio and newspaper presenters will be invited to cover the entire event. At each deliverable, a project report will be send to UNDP and all stakeholders involved in the project. At the end of the project, one day will be allocated for presentation of results to the general public (public hearing) and a day for field visit. Final report will be documented and copies disseminated to all stakeholders, uploaded on the University website. Promotional materials such as T shirt and caps, hand bands will be distributed to participants. Our report will demonstrate standard quality that will be worth replicating by other GEF-SGP implementers and other project in Sierra Leone and elsewhere. In fact a couple of the thematic reports will be developed into sound scientific articles and published in peer review recognized journals. In the 2021 GEF-SGP project support, we prepared a drone coverage for the entire FBC Mount Aureal premises including the Botanic Reserve. This drone video was disseminated to the authorities and it is being used to recover encroached lands and to target surveillance actions to sensitive areas. The documentation to be produced during the implementation of this second round of project will be disseminated to target audiences to create the significant impact.

Inovative Financial Mechanisms

Knowledge management will follow these objectives: 1.Hold consultative meetings with representatives of the surrounding communities and resource users on issues relating to the control of encroachment acceptability of the project, and implementation strategies, including the involvement of community volunteers. 2.Ensure that all data collected are computerized and/or digitalized to ensure that it can be retrieved and used in future. 3.All computerized and digitalized data will be kept secure in the Department?s herbarium facilities; the future plan is to have these data made available through the internet. 4.Training for nursery establishment and seedling plantation will be based on extending the opportunity to others and ensuring gender disparity in involvement.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Since the consultative meetings with communities will entail collaborative and participatory development of strategies to ensure sustainable management of resources, we will ask communities of their alternative needs. But we intend to nursed fast growing trees species like Acacia, Malena, Terminilia and supply at least ten individual trees to each household in the community for charcoal production. We also intend in the future to train communities on integrated sustainable agriculture with small community poultries and piggeries. This will empower the community, boost their income as most members will be able to take care of education and healthcare of their families.

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

Since the inception of the 2021 GEF-SGP funded project, the Depart has always involved the local communities in its implementation plans. Although the department has technical field staff, some community volunteers had been and will be hired to involve in the training, nursery preparation and planting of seedlings. We will train and involve student volunteers (especially those living within local communities) will be trained on biodiversity survey, nursery management, seeding transplanting and monitoring of saplings in the field. This will be a better approach of knowledge transfer and data collection, input and management.

Gender Focus

The University is a centre of learning and the department trains students of all genders, and so we will make sure that the project?s activities are consistent with the on gender equality policy of the University and the College, which emphasizes on addressing all gender issues with fairness and openness. In fact, many the community volunteers were both males and females in comparable proportion and the gardeners, whilst the technicians are all men, thus a strong gender balance in the beneficiaries and operatives of the project.

Capacity - Building Component

The department has six academic staff who are professionals in their own right, and have the relevant expertise in various subject areas related to biodiversity and conservation. In addition, there are seven technical and field staff with expertise in fauna and fauna identification, nursery development and seedlings replanting.

Notable Community Participation

The project target beneficiaries will be students of the department of biological sciences, communities and the cross section of the public. At the start of the project, relevant community members will be invited for a meeting with authorities of the University, Head of Department of Biological sciences, lecturers, technical staff and students. This will be the major stakeholders where project designs, planning and ideas will be discussed. This will strengthen stakeholders to move on project objectives.

Policy Impact

This project is intended to increase water supply in the city of Freetown, safeguard the watershed and springs, increase biodiversity of the reserve, training young professionals and students and collaborate with surrounding communities. The government in the future may understand the value of this and create policies geared toward the green belt strategy that was rectified by the government a few years ago. Collaborative strategies between communities surrounding state properties can be laid down as a policy and will be backed by data from this project. Water, sanitation and biodiversity policy can be drawn from this project and included in the country National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan (NBSAP)

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Indicators

Biophysical

Hectares of globally significant biodiversity area protected or sustainably managed by project 81

Empowerment

Number of CBOs / NGOs participated / involved in SGP project 150

Livehood

Number of households who have benefited* from SGP project 5000

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