As a Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Sierra Leone is committed to conserving biological diversity, ensuring the sustainable use of its components, and promoting the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.

The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) is the country’s main instrument for implementing the Convention at the national level. In line with these commitments, the Government of Sierra Leone, through the Environment Protection Agency (EPA-SL), is updating the NBSAP 2026-2035 and preparing the 7th National Report, with support from UNEP projects (including the Umbrella Programme), the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, and technical assistance from Kanko Limited, a consulting firm with regional presence in West Africa.

To ensure broad-based participation and reflect realities across Sierra Leone’s geo-political regions, EPA-SL organized regional validation and stakeholder consultation workshops between 11-25 November 2025 in the Western, Northwest, Northern, Southern, and Eastern regions. These sessions enabled participants to review and provide feedback on the draft NBSAP before its finalization—ensuring it is comprehensive, effective, and aligned with national and international priorities.

The workshops brought together a diverse range of stakeholders, including government ministries, academia, civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and the private sector, supporting a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.

Across regions, participants identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to biodiversity conservation. Common cross-regional themes included:

• Strengths: existing policies and institutions, active private sector organizations, diverse ecosystems, strong collaboration, capacity for public awareness
• Weaknesses: limited NBSAP awareness, weak enforcement, insufficient action
• Opportunities: national and international partnerships, strong policy frameworks, ecosystem service income potential, research and capacity-building prospects
• Threats: sand mining, charcoal production, logging, slash-and-burn agriculture, deforestation, wildfires, uncontrolled settlements

Participants also assessed the 23 national targets to determine which were most relevant to each region. Using a structured ranking and mapping exercise, they reviewed existing actions, proposed actions, lead institutions, and alignment with both national and global targets.

The consultants worked with stakeholders to identify gaps in current biodiversity initiatives at regional level, assess limitations, and refine proposed actions and indicators for the updated NBSAP. They also identified several potential pipeline projects with cross-regional benefits and examined options for mobilizing resources through domestic and international funding mechanisms, including submission to the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s MatchMaking Mechanism.

Participants will now provide additional inputs to support development of a regional action plan that will guide effective implementation of the updated NBSAP and the 7th National Report. The consultants will incorporate feedback and share a revised draft before presenting it at the National Validation Workshop in Freetown in January 2026.

Learn more about Sierra Leone and the progress of other country members on our Recent News page. Curious about the Facilitator Programme? Learn more about its critical role in accelerating NBSAPs here.