By Aminata Phidelia Allie
The head of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), Hadijatou Jalloh has said that food preservation was not just an individual issue but a collective one. She was speaking at the commemoration of 40th World Environmental Day (WED) at the Miatta Conference Hall in Freetown.
Speaking on the theme: “Think, Eat and Save: Reduce Your Foodprint”, she described food preservation as “an effective way of saving food from being wasted or lost”. She added that many communities around the world had been employing food saving methods for many years “in order to reduce food waste and lost”.
Madam Jalloh said food wastage did not only have a financial effect on the nation but also an economic effect, adding that it leads to the wasteful use of chemicals and pesticides. She went on to state that the vast amount of food going to landfills “makes a significant contribution to global warming and climate change”.
Giving a background on WED, UNDP Country Director, Mohamed Abchir, said that the day was first observed in 1973 with the purpose of raising global awareness for environmental challenges. He said according to the global campaign, “our planet is struggling to provide us with enough resources to sustain 7 billion people”.
Abchir pointed out that in Sierra Leone there were numerous environmental issues which include rain, forest destruction, falling groundwater tables, preservation and quality of forests, biodiversity loss and land or soil degradation.
He noted however that the country had “enormous potential for sustainable prosperity”.
