A Green Leone!

Deforestation, land Grabbing and destruction

Between 2002 and 2024, 43 kilohectares (or sixteen percent) of Sierra Leone’s primary wet forests were destroyed by agricultural, industrial, and urban development projects. The Bo District, located in southern Sierra Leone, is one of many regions being ravaged by increasing deforestation, illegal land grabbing, and the complete destruction of wetlands. The destruction of these forests, which once comprised 60 percent of Sierra Leone’s land area, has not only had disastrous consequences for the climate and local ecosystems by disrupting rainfall patterns and biodiversity, but has also caused food shortages among rural communities. As a result, women and children, in particular, are forced to travel further to collect wood, medicinal plants, and other materials and, consequently, have less time to spend on education or income-generating activities.

Green Leone

In 2021, student activists from Bo Town founded Green Leone to protect vulnerable communities, fight for land rights, and resist environmental degradation in Sierra Leone. Since then, the activists have organized a climate strike with over 300 participants, prevented an illegal logging agreement, and launched a training program for climate activists from rural areas.

With support from Het Actiefonds, Green Leone launched a community-led protest campaign in 2025 to force the government to intervene. With over 100 participating activists, youth organizations, and affected farmers, the activists marched to the local office of the Ministry of Land, Spatial Planning, and the Environment and delivered a petition with over 1,000 signatures. They also reported live on social media, contacted local radio stations, and staged street theater performances to dramatize the consequences of climate inaction. The campaign not only raised public awareness of deforestation and its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities, but also led to government officials declaring their commitment to revise and enforce environmental laws more rigorously.

A Youth Climate Watch Network

But Green Leone’s fight in Bo District does not end here. Building on the campaign’s success, the protestors intend to establish a ‘Youth Climate Watch Network’ to monitor and report illegal cases of deforestation and wetland degradation in the Bo District. The activists also aim to be involved more formally in the development of future policy by the municipality and the Ministry of Climate. Het Actiefonds is proud to have supported this action and stands in solidarity with Green Leone’s further commitments to protect Sierra Leone’s natural environment and its vulnerable communities.