By Kemo Cham
Knowledge about climate change in Sierra Leone has improved slightly in the last five years, albeit by a small margin, a new report shows.
The report by the non-profit Pan-African research network, Afrobarometer, indicates that almost half of the country’s population (49%), have heard about the phenomenon, representing an increase of 8-percentage-point since 2018.
The report published on Thursday, November 2, is part of Round 9 of the research organization’s surveys that focuses on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. It also shows that among those who are aware of climate change in the country, two-thirds (67%) say it is making life for them worse.
Sierra Leone, like much of Africa, contributes the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, yet the region bears the brunt of the devastating consequences of its impacts.
According to the Notre Dame-Global Adaptation Index (ND-GAIN), which measures climate vulnerability and adaptation readiness of countries, Sierra Leone ranked 166 out of 185 countries in 2021, the latest ranking of the Index. This means that the country has a very high vulnerability level and low readiness to confront the accelerating threat. And this is easily seen in the recurrence of disasters in the form of flooding, drought, mudslides and landslides, among others.
This is also captured in a 2022 African Development Bank report, which indicates that extreme heat and rising sea levels, recurrent storms, floods, droughts, coastal erosion, mudslides, and other climate disruptions threaten the country’s food security, aquatic life, biodiversity, and sustained livelihoods.
The Sierra Leone government, especially the present administration in the last five years, has increasingly directed its focus on environmental protection issues, especially climate change.
For the first time, a new ministry dedicated to the environment has presided over several reforms and introduction of new strategies around awareness raising and adaptation.
Nonetheless, environmental campaigners say a lot more is needed to not just increase awareness, but to also protect people from the impact of climate change.
This findings of this study by Afrobarometer is just the latest, designed to explore citizens’ experiences and perceptions of the phenomenon.
According to the data, most of those who have heard of the term climate change say it is worsening their quality of life. And although many people think the government is doing fair well about it, overwhelming majorities say that greater efforts are needed from not just the government but also business and industry, developed countries, and ordinary citizens to protect Sierra Leone from the climate crisis.
And the authors say despite the large disparity in the awareness level among citizens, the connection between education and awareness on the subject, as revealed by the study, points to an opportunity that should be exploited.
“Awareness of climate change increases dramatically with citizens’ levels of education and exposure to news media, suggesting possible pathways to build broader support for climate action,” the authors wrote, adding: “Among those who have heard of climate change, the call to action is clear.”
