Sierra Leone Chimpanzee Refuge Closed to Tourists Amid Deforestation Protest

Protest Against Deforestation

• 🚫 The founder of West Africa's largest chimpanzee refuge, Bala Amarasakarin, has closed the sanctuary to tourists for over two months.
• 🌳 This closure is a protest against rampant deforestation in Sierra Leone, which Amarasakarin attributes to greed and land grabbing.

Sanctuary Founder's Concerns

• ⚠️ Amarasakarin, who established the sanctuary 30 years ago, fears for the safety of the chimpanzees due to proximity of fires and potential escapes.
• 🚨 He highlights a past incident where a fire came dangerously close to the chimpanzee holding facility, necessitating a human-wildlife conflict avoidance.

Scale of Deforestation

• 📉 Sierra Leone has lost approximately 5 million acres of tree cover between 2001 and 2024, representing about 39% of its total tree cover from 2000.
• ⛰️ The consequences of deforestation were tragically demonstrated in 2017 with a mudslide on Mount Sugarloaf, which killed an estimated 1,000 people and was linked to weakened soil due to tree loss.

Government Response

• 🤝 Sierra Leone's information minister acknowledges the sanctuary's decision and states the government is committed to protecting the peninsula's forests.
• 🛠️ The government has dispatched a task force for raids on illegal logging, but Amarasakarin criticizes the lack of follow-up operations for the problem to persist.