Gola Rainforest REDD+, Sierra Leone

With the help of carbon financing, the Gola Rainforest National Park was established to better protect the 70,000-hectare Park, the 70,000-hectare buffer zone, and the millions of tonnes of carbon that are locked within it. 

Gola’s previous Forest Reserve status did not prohibit small-scale logging operations, industrial and artisanal mining, and agricultural activities, and the forest area was under threat of rapid deforestation and degradation. 

This project is enabling local stakeholders (government, communities and national NGOs) to manage this entire landscape sustainably, to benefit local communities and wildlife. 

All the project’s efforts, from National Park Forest Guard employment opportunities to the establishment of a cocoa farmer’s co-operative, contribute to the rebuilding of lives after a decade of civil war and the recent Ebola outbreak.

In addition to delivering emissions reductions to take climate action (SDG 13), the project delivers additional benefits. The SDG contributions have been indicatively measured, but need to be confirmed:

• No Poverty: Farming and community saving schemes impact over 24,000 local people across 122 communities. This project reintroduces sustainable cocoa production skills that were lost during the civil war and Ebola crisis.
• Decent Work and Economic Growth: Carbon finance supports 160+ staff, the vast majority coming from forest edge communities, primarily through the Gola Rainforest National Park Forest Guard and sustainable cocoa production.
• Life on Land: This REDD+ project protects habitat for 327 bird species, 650 endemic plant species, and 49 mammals, including the Pygmy Hippo and the Western Chimpanzee.