By Winnie Kamau
Freetown, Sierra Leone: The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a blow to the environment, with water pollution and reduced water levels. This have had adverse impact with rampant intervention of human beings with the environment globally.
This year’s World Environment Day was themed, ‘Reimagine. Recreate. Restore. Ecosystem Restoration’ looking at the restoration of ecosystems around the environment.
In Freetown, the World Environment Day celebration was organized by the Ministry of Environment and it’s partners at the Guma Dam at Mile 13 and the guest of honor was the Minister of Water Resources Philip K. Lansana.
The Minister noted that fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource which no living organism can survive “We call for the integration of the plans of the water sector players into the social and and economic policies at the national level” said Minister Lansana.
Adding “The environmental degradation emanating from deforestation is causing havoc of water supply quality and quantity at Fourah Bay College” he said.
He posited that rapid rate of deforestation ongoing at Mambo community will in the near future have serious consequences on the water supply to the Mambo and Hamilton communities as well as the recently touted Mambo Water Falls.
The Minister therefore called on the responsible Authorities and their partners to take immediate action to demarcate the Western Area Peninsular Forest Park and protect the environment from further degradation.
In his welcome Statement at the ceremony, the Managing Director of Guma Valley Water Company, Maada Kpenge said the Guma Dam is a blessing to the people of Freetown from God, but that it is under serious deforestation attack from the Number 2 River, Mambo, Hamilton and Mile 13 communities.
He said protecting the Guma Dam has been a herculean task and called on Government to implement the environment laws and to put boots on the ground to protect the environment.
“Freetown will become quite inhabitable if we are not able to protect the environment; not only in terms of water supply but other environmental disasters such as floods and mudslides”, said Maada.
World Environment Day is observed on June 5th every year to remind people about the importance of nature. The day is celebrated across the world to inform people that nature should not be taken for granted and must be respected for its values.
