By Foday Kamara
Published in the Nature Newspaper, Sierra Leone
28th February 2025
As part of heightening awareness of carbon credit as a source for revenue generation, on Wednesday 26th February, 2025, Namati and Invest Salone held a consultative meeting with stakeholders at the Freetown City Council Building to deliberate on the development of a robust carbon credit strategy for Sierra Leone. The engagement, held on the 3rd floor of the council building, brought together policymakers, environmental experts, Paramount Chiefs, civil society organizations and private sector representatives to explore opportunities within the carbon credit market. The engagement aimed to build awareness and foster collaboration among key players in the environmental and financial sectors to position Sierra Leone as a competitive participant in the global carbon credit trading system.
Discussions centered around policy frameworks, regulatory measures, and investment opportunities that could drive sustainable development while addressing climate change. Speaking at the event, the Director of Namati Sierra Leone, Sonkita Conteh, emphasized the importance of a well-structured carbon credit strategy in mitigating environmental degradation and promoting green economic growth.
“Sierra Leone has vast potential in the carbon credit market and through collaborative efforts, we can develop a framework that ensures transparency, sustainability, and economic benefits for our communities”
the Director stated. Speaking on behalf of his community people in Pujehan District, the Paramount Chief Member of the Parliament PC Saffa M. Tamu thanked Namati and development partners for engaging stakeholders on the importance of carbon credit trading and also organizations embarking on Forest Restoration and Palm tree plantation exercise which to him have created a lot of benefit to the various chiefdoms within Pujehan District by creating employment opportunities and large-scale Agricultural activity. He further emphasized that the proceeds generated from carbon credit, seven (7) chiefdoms normally receive the sum of $20,000 United States Dollars from the various companies working in his chiefdom and other chiefdoms in Pujehan District. He also continued that scholarships and other benefits have been realized by the community people. He ended by pleading to Namati and Invest Salone to create such engagement with landowners in the provinces to sensitize them about the importance of forest restoration for carbon production without causing harm to the environment.
Invest Salone underscored the role of the private sector in leveraging carbon financing to boost eco-friendly investments. “By creating an enabling environment for carbon trading, we can attract investors and contribute to the country’s broader climate resilience agenda”, says the Representative of Invest Salone. Stakeholders at the engagement discussed the need for clear policies, capacity-building initiatives, and mechanisms to ensure that carbon credit projects benefit local communities while aligning with global environmental standards. The event concluded with a call for continued dialogue and coordinated action to develop a carbon credit framework that supports Sierra Leone’s commitment to sustainable development and climate action.