Towards an Integrated Coastal and Marine Protection Regulation and its beneficial impact for Sierra Leone

Ishmael Kindama Dumbuya, ,

By Ishmael Kindama Dumbuya

Ocean pollution comes from different sources including residential, industrial and agricultural wastes, chemicals and invasive organisms, floating plastics, oil spills, trash, hazardous wastes, toxic materials among others. By nature, much of the wastes introduced in the marine environment will wash up on the coast thereby polluting everything it meets. This is a big challenge for all nations on the planet and our mother country is not isolated but we must take actions. 

Sierra Leone does not currently have a comprehensive coastal zone protection law to properly regulate human activities and to enhance the protection and conservation of vulnerable coastal and marine areas in the country. At the same time, according to Dr. Bondi Gevao, Executive Chairman of the Environment Protection Agency, “the pressure from human activities and the urgent need to protect and manage these coastal and marine environments, the Environment Protection Agency of Sierra Leone (EPASL) requested financial support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop an integrated coastal and marine protection regulations for the country”. This is a path towards the right direction that will socio-economically improve Sierra Leone’s coastal communities and enhance effective marine protection. 

  • Dr. Bondi Gevao, Executive Chairman of the Environment Protection Agency at the high table

Sierra Leone became a party to the Abidjan Convention in 2005 (the Convention on Cooperation for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment in the West, Central and Southern Africa Region) and in 2017, signed the four additional protocols to the convention. The four additional protocols are the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Protocol, the Protocol on the environmental norms and standards of offshore oil and gas activities, the Protocol for Sustainable mangrove management and the Protocol on pollution prevention from land-based sources and activities. 

According to the principles of international law, state parties to a convention, treaty or protocol must ensure that its domestic or national laws are consistent with what is required by the convention or protocol.  This can be achieved through the incorporation of specific provisions of the protocol into any existing or new law. 

In the effort to domesticate the four protocols which have already been ratified by the parliament of Sierra Leone, the Agency organised an Expert Group meeting on 10th August 2021 to examine the ratified protocols and to evaluate options for integrating the protocols into the draft coastal and marine regulation. 

 “The EPA is of the view that, the potential impacts of unmanaged coastal zone and its resources has serious consequences on the environment, economic, social and human health. Therefore, there is an urgent call for a more comprehensive, coordinated and integrated sustainable management of our coastal zone” said Dr. Bondi Gevao, the EPASL boss at the official opening ceremony of the Expert Group Meeting

Assistant Director, Natural Resources Management at the EPASL, Paul Lamin making a presentation during the expert meeting

The Ministry of the Environment reiterates its stance towards marine protection in the country. “As a Ministry responsible for the environment, we recognise the importance of our maritime territorial zone as one of the most productive marine areas in the sub-region of West Africa” said Prof. Foday Moriba Jaward, Minister of the Environment. “The abundant living and non-living marine resources and the ocean being a natural heritage of great scientific, cultural, educational, social, recreational and economic value, it is my firm believe that developing coastal and marine regulations would not have come at a suitable time than now” the Minister re-echoed.

At the expert group meeting, key elements were subject of discussion for incorporation into the draft regulation. These include, conservation and protection of seagrass beds and meadows, sustainable management of mangroves, sustainable management of the environment impact of oil and gas activities, strategies for improved management of wetlands and vulnerable areas, sustainable beach sand mining, protection of the marine environment from land-based sources and activities and managing alien and invasive species. 

Also, the new marine and coastal regulation will ensure the effective and efficient protection of the Ramsar convention designated  site, ensure marine spatial planning becomes legal ocean governance tool, ensure special management areas (including islands, vulnerable areas, barrier islands, coastal sand cliffs), proper waste handling and management onboard vessels (mineral ore export vessels, fishing vessels, exploration or drilling vessels), and to deal with issues of coastal infrastructural development (Oil refineries, jetties, hotels, bridges, roads, ports, homes, industrial or processing plants, shipyards, mariners etc.). The regulation would also address issues of marine dredging and shore land reclamation and physical alterations and destruction of habitats for infrastructural development in coastal areas.

In addition, the coastal and marine regulation is expected to identify activities in the coastal and marine environment that requires Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Where necessary, certain human activities in the coastal landscape will be restricted or prohibited by the provisions of the regulation, authorizations will be made as a requirement for certain human activities in the marine and coastal environment, standards that promote sustainable use of coastal and marine resources will become enforceable norms, penalties will be prescribed for marine pollution from various sources including discharge of sewage, discharge of industrial wastewater, discharge of heated wastewater into the sea, dumping of garbage and discharge of oil-polluted water from oil tankers etc. 

Participants pose for a photo with the Minister of the Environment and the Executive Director of the EPASL after opening statements during the expert meeting

The regulation is also expected to prescribe enforcement actions through sanctions, fees, compensations, penalties, fines for infractions, legal powers to prosecute will be supported and vested in competent authorities, powers to designate special management areas will be entrusted in competent authorities and guidelines and standards emanating from this regulation or the parent Act will be made legally binding.

In summary, the coastal marine protection Regulation is expected to integrate the precautionary principle where preventive measures should be taken when there are reasonable grounds for concern that certain human activities may cause risks to human health and harm living resources and marine ecosystems. This is the would-be marine law that Sierra Leoneans should embrace and contribute towards its formulation as well as implementation for a better future. 

Published by Ishmael Kindama Dumbuya

Ishmael Kindama Dumbuya has been working for the Standard Times Newspaper in Sierra Leone since 2006. He covers general news stories and but mostly those concerning the environment and tourism. During his work at the Standard Times Newspaper as an environmental reporter, Ishmael normally goes out for news on the environment and tourism, conducting interviews from various stakeholders especially those that make the news, writing articles on developmental issues and those on the environment. Ishmael Kindama Dumbuya had won the 2010 Environmental Reporting Award issued by the Independent Media Commission. He has also won the 2011 Tourism reporting award by the same institution. During the course of reporting on general news and the environment, Ishmael had made impact tremendously by making the government of Sierra Leone to construct hand water tanks in various communities. At the Leicester Road community, because he reported a story on the shortage of stream water and the lack of pipe bore water in that community. The success of it was that a local NGO dug and constructed 20 water pumps for that community. As an environment reporter, Ishmael is working with the environmental stakeholders in Sierra Leone to ensure the environment is restored of its lost potentials.

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