By: Summner Komngbap
With
funds from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Advocacy
Initiative for Development – Sierra Leone (AID-SL) has engaged key stakeholders
in Kambia and Kono Districts on Adaptive Capacities of Climate Change on Water
Services.
This
was disclosed on Friday 4th July 2019 by the Executive Director of AID-SL,
Sylvanus Murray at his 17 Circular Road office in Freetown.
He
enlightened that since 2012, AID-SL has been working extensively with the UNDP
in enriching and transforming lives and communities in Sierra Leone, that in
April 2019, AID-SL successfully solicited funding from UNDP to implement an
engagement titled: ‘Awareness Raising on
Adaptive Capacities of Water Services to Climate Change” in both Kono and
Kambia Districts between April and July 2019 adding that AID/SL, in close
collaboration with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in both districts,
identified and mobilized the project communities, the beneficiaries.
Sylvanus
Murray further revealed that the full implementation of the project activities
started with two inception meetings organized and held in Kono and Kambia
Districts recalling that in Kono, the meeting was held at the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office at Bona Street in Koidu City while that for
Kambia took place at the District Resource Centre, Kambia Town targeting sixty
(60) key stakeholders, (30) thirty from each District with participants drawn
from the Local Councils, Traditional Leadership (Chiefs), Government
Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), WASH-Net members, NGOs in WASH,
youths, women, EPA, ONS, ordinary citizens, CSOs and activists.
The
well-attended meetings were chaired by the Chairman, Council of Paramount
Chiefs, Kono District, Emmanuel T. Foryor and the Deputy Chief Administrator,
Kambia District, respectively.
The
objective of the event was to increase stakeholders’ knowledge about the
project details including activities and its designed objectives, ensure
effective project monitoring and quality compliance while copies of the project
set objectives, activities and expected comes were distributed to all the
participants with stakeholders firmly pledging, on behalf of their
institutions, to support the awareness-raising drive on the issues and effects
of climate change on water services.
Furthermore,
during the implementation of project activities, two focus group discussions
were held with project beneficiaries to thoroughly discuss the causes, effects,
perpetrators and prone communities and seriously affected communities to
climate change and its consequence
on
water services within the two Districts during which it was discussed, agreed
and noted that the effects of climate change are visible and experienced in the
communities and the districts and therefore requires serious and immediate
attention by the district stakeholders.
Few
climate change effects and causes discussed were continuous deforestation activities
even within reserved forest areas, indiscriminate mining activities, water and
air pollution while seriously affected communities identified in Kono were
Kombayendeh in Lei Chiefdom, Tama forest in Sandor Chiefdom and Kwidadu and
Chenedu in Gbense Chiefdom and Konta and Kenema communities in Khoninaka
Chiefdom, Kambia District. The focus group discussions increased stakeholders’
knowledge on climate change and its hazards on the environment as well as the
country’s water services.
Also,
four dialogue fora between duty bearers and right holders were organized in
both districts. The engagements created a level playing field for the two
groups to discuss the effects of climate change on water service/points. Furthermore, the fora were participatory,
inclusive, interactive and result-oriented.
The
Kambia District Council Chairman, Mohamed Yayah Bangura expressed gratitude to
UNDP for providing funds to AID/SL for the activities in his district noting
that this was his first opportunity to engage in climate change project
face-to-face with people in the district underscoring that climate change has
resulted to a lot of suffering for his people as almost yearly, the roofs of
houses are blown off, poor harvests as a result of the change in the weather pattern,
water shortages etc. and promised to work with other stakeholders to put and
enforce bye-laws on tree-felling, charcoal-burning and timber-logging although
he acknowledged the enormity of the task ahead.
At
the end of each meeting, participants adopted resolutions and actions with
responsible persons in the awareness-raising drive to mitigate the effects of
climate change on water services at all levels.
The
resolutions adopted at the District level are that stakeholders should develop
community bye-laws on the cutting down of trees, identify and develop chiefdom
reserve forests, that Councils should develop climate change strategy and
plans, that Councils should also identify and organize coordination meetings
for partners working on climate change, undertake robust monitoring exercise of
deforestation activities, popularize national documents on climate change at
community levels and that communities and stakeholders must embark on regular
tree planting exercises.
At
the national level, stakeholders unanimously agreed that Government, through
Parliament, should develop policies, laws, national strategy and plan on
climate change mitigation, simplify and make available approved documents
relating to climate change, ensure enforcement of the policies and laws and that Government should ensure that
politicians are not involved in timber-logging.
Increasing
stakeholders’ awareness on climate change issues on water points in Kambia and
Kono, AID-SL has lined up the following ongoing activities: regular radio
discussion and phoning programmes with panelists identified and drawned from
Local Councils, MDAs and CSOs to discuss, key amongst many, is the impact of
climate change on water resources.
Also,
two drama groups were contracted to perform skits on the effects of climate
change on our water services in both districts, especially in disaster-prone
communities while AID-SL will continue its routine follow-up exercises in the
communities to ensure compliance as well as note change and case stories.
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