In Sierra Leone, the Tiwai Reserve and the Gola Rainforest National Park, known for their primates, have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list. This marks the first time a site from this West African country has received such recognition.

Tiwai Island

The Tiwai Reserve and Gola Rainforest National Park in Sierra Leone have been officially added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, making them the first sites in the country to receive this distinction. The recognition follows decades of rehabilitation efforts led by environmental activist Tommy Garnett and his NGO, the Environmental Foundation for Africa, who worked with local communities to restore the island after the civil war and promote sustainable practices.

The reserve, once devastated by conflict and environmental degradation, now serves as a haven for biodiversity, hosting one of the world's densest populations of primates. The UNESCO designation is expected to draw increased attention and support from various sectors, further enhancing conservation efforts in the region.

Sierra Leone’s Tiwai Reserve joins UNESCO World Heritage list

When Tommy Garnett first set foot on Tiwai in March 2000, the island was entirely ravaged by Sierra Leone's brutal civil war. Faced with widespread destruction of biodiversity, the environmental activist decided to take matters into his own hands. All the structures were dilapidated. The island was covered in empty rifle cartridge shells. They had started logging the trees on the island. We had come here to take pictures and then we ended up having to go and you know raise the alarm that this place was going. This marked the start of Garnett's decades-long struggle to rehabilitate Tiwai. Backed by his NGO, the Environmental Foundation for Africa, he worked with local actors to end harmful environmental practices such as hunting and chopping wood for fuel, promising instead to reinvest the benefits generated by ecotourism into the community. Today, the island has become a haven of biodiversity, its lush forests hosting one of the world's densest populations of primates. And on Sunday, Garnett's efforts were granted much delayed recognition as Tiwai officially became the first site in Sierra Leone to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Having a first World Heritage Site in Sierra Leone is bound to attract the kind of attention from everybody, government, civil society, private sector, education and that also means that the lifeblood of this place will be enhanced greatly. A crowning achievement, yet Tommy Garnett doesn't intend to rest on his laurels. At 66 years old, the activist remains determined to pursue his lifelong fight to protect biodiversity in West Africa.

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