By politico staff writer
The National Water Resources Management Agency (NWRMA) has met with heads of line ministries and agencies to discuss the Western Area Water Catchment Protection and Restoration.
With funds from the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the NWRMA in January 2020 conducted a study on the Western Area Catchment Assessment; a study that revealed issues of land tenure increase in deforestation, massive land encroachment, stone mining, undersized and dilapidated intake structures in some catchment areas and catchment areas left unprotected.
The meeting between the NWRMA and the heads of the relevant institutions, which was convened on July 9, was meant to discuss proper regulation, management and sustainable use of the country’s water resources, with the goal of ensuring that the environment is protected.
In his statement, the Minister of the Environment, Dr. Foday Jaward, stressed that owing to the important nature of the issue, two Ministerial Committees on Lands and Water Resources were set up to look into it. He added that with the study done by CRS, the work of the committee should be expedited with the required funding.
Dr. Dennis Sandy, Minister of Lands, Housing and Country Planning, expressed his Ministry’s commitment to the process, noting that his Ministry had identified areas of engagement within the peninsular.
He said the study done by the CRS suggested the recruitment of ex-service men as guards on the protected areas and also erecting of giant colored walls as a demarcation point.
Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Water Resources, Phillip K. Lansana, said that collaboration and coordination was required to map out the roles and responsibilities of each ministry in restoring the catchment areas. Mr Lansana called for special attention to be paid to selected catchment areas within the peninsular to be protected, noting that doing so would guarantee enough water supplies for Freetown.
The Western Area catchment is being threatened by an increase in the population, coupled with high demand for land for the construction of new settlements or extension of existing settlements. This has put excessive pressure on land and forests, leading to widespread clearing of forested areas previously used as recharge for the construction of water supply facilities. In addition, climate change may increase hydrological variability making it more difficult to meet increasing water supply demands. These combined effects of encroachment and climate change have posed an increasing pollution and scarcity of both surface and ground water resources for different uses.
This has threatened the achievement of Goal Six (6) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which covers access to safe drinking water, and help in promoting a healthy environment.
The National Water Resources Management Agency (NWRMA) was formed by Act No. 5 of 2017. It was one of the recommendations of the National Water and Sanitation Policy of 2010. The Agency has broad functions of regulating, utilizing, protecting, developing, conserving, control, and management of water resources in Sierra Leone.
The study suggests that all catchment areas within the Western Area should be delineated and protected.
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