The Environment Protection Agency and the National Protected Area Authority have signed a Memorandum of Agreement to work together on the Abidjan Convention small grant project, “Strengthening Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Conservation through Effective Marine Protected Area Management in Sierra Leone.”The Environment Protection Agency and the National Protected Area Authority have signed a Memorandum of Agreement to work together on the Abidjan Convention small grant project, “Strengthening Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Conservation through Effective Marine Protected Area Management in Sierra Leone.”
The signing ceremony was held on October 25th, this year, at the EPA Headquarters between the heads of the two institutions.
The MOA’s aims are mandate-driven, including managing and reducing threats to local marine species and establishing and implementing conservation and management strategies to safeguard and enhance Marine Protected Area Governance in the Scarcies and Sierra Leone River Estuaries.
The EPA will provide supervisory roles and direction to achieve the project goals and objectives, as well as provide updates to related national and international stakeholders and partners, including the Abidjan Convention Secretariat.
The NPAA will re-demarcate the boundaries of the Scarcies River Estuary and the Sierra Leone River Estuary Marine Protected Areas (MPA), develop a participatory co-management plan, and collaborate with the EPA to provide environmental training to MPA managers.
Both institutions will present a work plan and requisite financial reports for operations, form a bilateral coordination committee (BCC) to manage the implementation of the MOA’s objectives, and keep the relevant institutions and partners informed.
The anticipated outcomes will include creating a co-management plan, an active awareness-raising campaign, mapping two MPAs, and environmental training.
Conclusively, the MOA complements the Marine Spatial Planning initiative, which promotes ocean innovation and marine resource management, as well as the Transformation Strategy’s Partnerships, Engagement, and Finance enabler.