Sierra Leone

== Geography ==

{{Main|Geography of Sierra Leone}}

[[File:UNsierraleone.PNG|thumb|upright=1.5|A map of Sierra Leone]]

[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map SLE present.svg|thumb|Sierra Leone map of Köppen climate classification]]

Sierra Leone is located on the southwest coast of [[West Africa]], lying mostly between latitudes [[7th parallel north|7°]] and [[10th parallel north|10°N]] (a small area is south of 7°), and longitudes [[10th meridian west|10°]] and [[14th meridian west|14°W]]. The country is bordered by [[Guinea]] to the north and east, [[Liberia]] to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest.<ref name="LeVertP7">{{Cite book |last =LeVert |first =Suzanne |title =Cultures of the World: Sierra Leone |page =[https://archive.org/details/sierraleone0000leve/page/7 7] |publisher =Marshall Cavendish |isbn =978-0-7614-2334-8 |year =2006 |url =https://archive.org/details/sierraleone0000leve/page/7 }}</ref>

Sierra Leone has a total area of {{convert|71740|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, divided into a land area of {{convert|71620|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} and water of {{convert|120|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="CIA">{{cite web |title=Sierra Leone |work=[[The World Factbook]] |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sierra-leone/ |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]|access-date=15 September 2011}}</ref> The country has four distinct geographical regions. In eastern Sierra Leone the [[plateau]] is interspersed with high mountains, where [[Mount Bintumani]] reaches {{convert|1948|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, the highest point in the country. The upper part of the [[drainage basin]] of the [[Moa River]] is located in the south of this region.

The centre of the country is a region of [[lowland]] [[plain]]s, containing forests, [[The bush|bush]] and [[Arable land|farmland]],<ref name="LeVertP7"/> that occupies about 43% of Sierra Leone's land area. The northern section of this has been categorised by the [[World Wildlife Fund]] as part of the [[Guinean forest-savanna mosaic]] [[ecoregion]], while the south is rain-forested plains and farmland.

In the west, Sierra Leone has some {{convert|400|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of Atlantic coastline, giving it both bountiful marine resources and attractive tourist potential. The coast has areas of low-lying [[Guinean mangroves]] swamp. The national capital [[Freetown]] sits on a coastal [[peninsula]], situated next to the Sierra Leone Harbour.

The climate is tropical, with two seasons determining the agricultural cycle: the [[rainy season]] from May to November, and a [[dry season]] from December to May, which includes [[harmattan]], when cool, dry winds blow in off the [[Sahara Desert]] and the night-time temperature can be as low as {{convert|16|°C|°F|1}}. The average temperature is {{convert|26|°C|°F|1}} and varies from around {{convert|26|to|36|°C|°F|1}} during the year.<ref>{{Cite book |last =Blinker |first =Linda |date =September 2006 |title =Country Environment Profile (CEP) Sierra Leone |publisher =Consortium Parsons Brinckerhoff |location =Freetown, Sierra Leone |url =http://www.sliip.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=46 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130927112254/http://www.sliip.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=46 |url-status =dead |archive-date =27 September 2013 |page =12 |access-date =2 July 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last =LeVert |first =Suzanne |title =Cultures of the World: Sierra Leone |pages =[https://archive.org/details/sierraleone0000leve/page/8 8–9] |publisher =Marshall Cavendish |isbn =978-0-7614-2334-8 |year =2006 |url =https://archive.org/details/sierraleone0000leve/page/8 }}</ref>

=== Biodiversity ===
{{See also|Wildlife of Sierra Leone}}
Sierra Leone is home to four terrestrial ecoregions: [[Guinean montane forests]], [[Western Guinean lowland forests]], [[Guinean forest-savanna mosaic]], and [[Guinean mangroves]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Human activities claimed to be responsible or contributing to [[land degradation]] in Sierra Leone include unsustainable agricultural land use, poor soil and water management practices, deforestation, removal of natural vegetation, fuelwood consumption and to a lesser extent overgrazing and urbanisation.<ref name="unccd">{{cite web |url=http://www.unccd.int/cop/reports/africa/national/2004/sierra_leone-eng.pdf |title=National Report on the Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD): Sierra Leone |year=2004 |author=UNCCD |access-date=24 November 2011 |page=39 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218021717/http://www.unccd.int/cop/reports/africa/national/2004/sierra_leone-eng.pdf |archive-date=18 February 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

[[Deforestation]], both for commercial timber and to make room for agriculture, is the major concern and represents an enormous loss of natural economic wealth to the nation.<ref name="unccd"/> Mining and [[slash and burn]] for land conversion – such as cattle grazing – dramatically diminished forested land in Sierra Leone since the 1980s. It is listed among countries of concern for emissions, as having Low Forest Cover with High Rates of Deforestation (LFHD).<ref name="Angelsen, Arild et al 2009 75–77">{{cite web |title=Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD): An Options Assessment Report |publisher=Meridian Institute for the Government of Norway |year=2009 |url=http://www.africaclimatesolution.org/features/REDD-Options_Assessment_Report.pdf |pages=75–77 |access-date=24 November 2011 |author=Angelsen, Arild |display-authors=etal |archive-date=29 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729043738/http://www.africaclimatesolution.org/features/REDD-Options_Assessment_Report.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> There are concerns that heavy logging continues in the Tama-Tonkoli Forest Reserve in the north. Loggers have extended their operations to Nimini, Kono District, Eastern Province; Jui, Western Rural District, Western Area; Loma Mountains National Park, Koinadougu, Northern Province; and with plans to start operations in the Kambui Forest reserve in the Kenema District, Eastern Province.<ref name="Angelsen, Arild et al 2009 75–77"/> The country had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 2.76/10, ranking it 154th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|display-authors=1|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[West Africa#Overfishing|Overfishing]] is also an issue in Sierra Leone.

[[Habitat]] degradation for the [[African wild dog]], ''Lycaon pictus'', has been increased, such that this [[Canidae|canid]] is deemed to have been extirpated in Sierra Leone.<ref>Hogan, C. Michael (2009). [http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=35993 Painted Hunting Dog: ''Lycaon pictus''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209234758/http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=35993 |date=9 December 2010 }}. GlobalTwitcher.com.</ref>

Until 2002, Sierra Leone lacked a forest management system because of the civil war that caused tens of thousands of deaths. Deforestation rates have increased 7.3% since the end of the civil war.<ref name="rainforests.mongabay.com">Butler, Rhett (2005). [http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20sierraleone.htm ''Sierra Leone: Environmental Profile''], mongabay.com</ref> On paper, 55 protected areas covered 4.5% of Sierra Leone as of 2003. The country has 2,090 known [[species]] of higher plants, 147 [[mammals]], 626 birds, 67 [[reptiles]], 35 [[amphibians]], and 99 fish species.<ref name="rainforests.mongabay.com"/> Unrestricted hunting during the war led to the decrease of many animal populations, including elephants, lions, and buffalo. Many of these animals can now only be found in sanctuaries. The tsetse fly, a malaria-carrying mosquito, is now dominant in the region and has led to an increase in the spread of the disease. Still, Sierra Leone's bird populations have been largely the same and includes native birds such as cuckoos, owls, and vultures. The Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary and the Gola Forest Reserves are just two examples of the humanitarian efforts to preserve wildlife after the civil war.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-14 |title=Freetown {{!}} Sierra Leone, History, Map, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Freetown |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Environmental Justice Foundation]] has documented how the number of [[illegal fishing]] vessels in Sierra Leone's waters has multiplied in recent years. The amount of illegal fishing has significantly depleted fish stocks, depriving local fishing communities of an important resource for survival. The situation is particularly serious as fishing provides the only source of income for many communities in a country still recovering from over a decade of civil war.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Environmental Justice Foundation |url=http://www.ejfoundation.org/page370.html |title=Sierra Leone |date=17 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010165129/http://www.ejfoundation.org/page370.html |archive-date=10 October 2008}}</ref>

In June 2005, the [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds]] (RSPB) and BirdLife International agreed to support a conservation-[[sustainable development]] project in the [[Gola Forest]] in south eastern Sierra Leone,<ref>[[BBC News]], [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7136606.stm ''Sierra Leone sets up forest park''], 10 December 2007
</ref> an important surviving fragment of [[rainforest]] in Sierra Leone.