By George M.O. Williams
The Director of the Environment Protection Agency of Sierra Leone (EPA-SL), Sheku Mack Kanneh, has said that the only way Sierra Leone can tackle climate change vulnerability is through the availability of data that will be shared among relevant sector for them to plan, implement, evaluate and report issues of climate change adequately.
He added that Sierra Leone has been highlighted in several global reports as one of the most vulnerable countries in the world.
He made this statement during the final day of a 3-day Regional Dialogue on Climate Transparency at the Family Kingdom in Freetown. Similarly, dialogues were held in Port Loko, Makeni, Kenema, and Bo City.
The dialogues had been held to review and provide input into the national Green House Gas (GHG) guidelines (on Energy, IPPU, Waste, and AFOLU sectors) and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) implementation plan with indicators developed under the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) project.
The participants drawn from key sectors of Ministries Departments and Agencies were introduced to the understanding of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change inventory guidelines and four sectors of Energy and Transport, Industrial Product and Produce Use (IPPU), Waste, and Agriculture Forestry and Land Use (AFOLU). They were also exposed by a group of local and international consultants to the role of draft Sectoral Guidelines especially in enhancing Sierra Leone’s capacity for accurate Green House Gas (GHG) inventory reporting.
A representative of the Sierra Leone Meteorological Agency (SLMet), Ibrahim Success Kamara said that the dialogues reflected the challenges and progress Sierra Leone has made in the fight against climate change.
He also mentioned that there are many climate change indicators that put Sierra Leone at risk and added that the data that would be produced by the necessary authorities would help tackle her climate vulnerability.