Deforestation in Sierra Leone
Deforestation in Sierra Leone
Location:The Western Peninsula Forest close to Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, West Africa.
Background information:
The Sierra Leone civil war (1991-2002) led to large numbers of people migrating from rural areas where there was violence to the relative safety of the capital city Freetown on the coast. These people were mainly poor subsistence farmers and so when they arrived in Freetown they looked to the forested area around the city to provide a living. The clearing of trees for housing and farmland, as well as the chopping of wood to sell for a living has put increasing strain on the forests near the most densely populated area of the country.This has increased flood risk during the rainy season and endangered many local wildlife populations such as the chimpanzees.
Main issues and themes:
Through the video students are introduced to Sierra Leone, how its civil war led to rural-urban migration which in turn has led to deforestation near the capital Freetown. Key issues include:
- How war can lead to environmental damage
- Rural to urban migration
- Deforestation vs. poverty – where does the priority lie and who makes the choice?
- Rainforest deforestation
- The impacts of deforestation
Possible enquiry questions:
There are many different directions to take a lesson that makes use of this video. Some questions to get students thinking critically after the video may include:
- Should the forests in Sierra Leone be protected, or should poor migrants be allowed to chop down wood to sell?
- What could be done to protect the forests and help the poor migrants at the same time?
- In Sierra Leone a war forced people towards the capital city, but why are millions of people moving from rural to urban areas in other countries all around the world?
- What impacts are other conflicts around the world having on the environment?
- What are some of the indirect risks to people in LEDCs of widespread deforestation?
Starter activities
The following starters may help get students engaged on a particular issue addressed in the video.
- Show some pictures of deforestation and some of life in Sierra Leone (e.g. poor housing, tough jobs) and use them to start a discussion on whether deforestation or poverty is the most important issue here.
- Show some pictures of products obtained by deforestation of forests around the world (e.g. things containing palm oil, wood, rubber, soya etc) and asks how we are connected to deforestation by what we buy.
Suggestions for main lesson activities:
The video throws up a number of different issues and could be incorporated into a variety of main lesson activities. Here are just a few examples:
- Look at other areas of deforestation around the world (e.g. Amazon rainforest, Indonesia). What are the main causes of deforestation in each place and how does the situation differ from Sierra Leone?
- Annotate a diagram, or create a poster showing the causes and impacts of deforestation.
- Look at another case study of rural-urban migration. What are the different push and pull factors compared with Sierra Leone. How does the reality of city life differ from the imagined life when people leave rural areas?
- Write a letter as a migrant in Sierra Leone explaining why you left the countryside to come to the city, why you cut down the trees, what your life is like and what your hopes are for the future.
Relevant additional resources:
- Western Peninsula forest
- Deforestation in Sierra Leone article
- Background to the Sierra Leone civil war
Other related Atlantic Rising resources:
Atlantic Rising itself has a number of additional resources from the expedition that are related to and could support a lesson (or lessons) based on this video. These include:
- BBC radio piece:Saving Sierra Leone’s rainforest
- Film:Deforestation in Sierra Leone
- Case study:A market solution to deforestation in Liberia
- Photo gallery: Sierra Leone’s last rainforest