By Prince J Musa in Kenema
As part of government’s preparedness for a carbon market investment, the Climate Finance Unit under the Ministry of Finance has ended a one day validation of carbon market policy framework in the Eastern region.
During the one day validation process in Kenema on the 28th June, 2024, the head of the Unit, Sellu McCarthy said they are touring the regional headquarter towns in order to engage the relevant stakeholders that have bearing on forestry.
He said the Ministry of environment will be developing the overall policy of carbon market while the ministry of finance develops the framework and that the public input to the document will serve as national policy document.
‘’We want to have the carbon regulations and policies in place before starting trading on carbon,’’ he said.
He added that the validation captured civil society activists, local councils, Ministries, Department and Agencies and NGO’s working on environment, saying their contribution will be added into the framework document. He assured that the existence of the policy will direct foreign investors or countries that want to deal with carbon market to go by the country’s standard rules and regulations.
McCarthy noted that the significance of carbon market policy is to prevent future situations which affect the mining sectors, adding that currently there is no policy in the country on carbon market policy that could encourage investors to take undue advantage of the country. He also said that the policy will help curtail the manner of minimizing massive deforestation and improve on afforestation through the ministry of environment.
He implored the participants to make their input to enrich the document and help spread the importance of conserving the environment.
The consultant of the validation, Amara Salami Kanu in his presentation told the gathering that within five years period Sierra Leone lost over 25, 000 (twenty five thousand) forests and that there is a need for more trees to be planted, adding that the accumulation of greenhouse gases on the earth surface causes climate change.
He used the presentation to inform the participants about the different international protocols Sierra Leone has signed up to on environment protection and on emission and therefore called on the local authorities for their support and inclusiveness in the development of the carbon market policy framework for the country.
Meanwhile, the District Forest Officer in Kenema, Julius Sama acknowledged the necessity of the policy but said the issue of forest conservation for carbon production will only be achieved if the government ensures that the local authorities at chiefdom and district levels are included in the process as they are the owners of the forest, not the government.
He said government can make good policy and regulations but when the local people are not convinced and ready to accept, they will allow timber loggers to cut the trees from their forests.
He said for government to know more about carbon marketing, there is the need to include Gola rain forest in the process because they have been on carbon marketing for far too long through the support of Royal Society for Protection of Birds.
One of the Timber traders, Tamba Kai Tenge said government can only succeed to address deforestation if they can demarcate boundaries on reserved forests areas and direct the timber loggers which forest they are permitted to enter to do their logging, otherwise the situation will continue.
Climate financing is a new Unit to the ministry of finance as it has no document that talk about carbon market as source of income for the country.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (03/07/24)
