One of West Africa's most iconic hiking destinations is under threat and diminishing fast due to illegal 'slash and burn' farming.
Located in the Southern Koinadugu region of Sierra Leone, the Loma Mountains national park is a hotspot for hikers from across the globe, boasting a challenging combination of dense jungle and rocky mountain paths.
Spanning more than 111 square miles / 187.5km2, the park is home to West Africa’s highest mountain peak, the towering Mount Bintumani.
Beginning 1,300ft / 400m above sea level, the challenging hike to Bintumani’s famous 6391ft / 1948m summit takes trekkers through 18 miles / 29km of unforgiving mountain terrain.
Along the way, hikers can expect to encounter dense woodland and lush waterfalls alongside rare, often endangered local wildlife and birds.
Yet, despite their popularity, the stunning trails of the Loma Mountains national park are under increasing threat, as farmers and ranchers illegally clear land to create space for agriculture and marijuana cultivation. Over the past 21% years, the park has lost more than 6% of its tree cover from clearing.
While 6% might not sound like a lot, its effects have been monumental on the surrounding wilderness, eroding eco systems and wiping out areas of natural beauty that hikers could previously access.
Known as slash and burn farming, local farmers turned to the practice in 2002, in desperate need of resources following the end of Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war.
“This method requires more land and has led to a reduction in fallow periods (when land is allowed to recover) from 10-15 years to just 5-7 years, as people seek to meet their survival needs,” researcher Rosa Garriga told Mongabay.
“As a result, land quality has declined, and forests are increasingly being cleared for farming.”
Fighting hard to save the popular hiking destination, conservationists, officials and local people are collaborating to reduce deforestation and offer a viable alternative for farmers.
The National Protected Area Authority and local Loma Community Conservation Program are working together to map out reforestation plans and plant trees to get the ecosystem back on its feet. In addition, the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, with the assistance of various international organizations, has trained new park rangers and eco-guards while implementing education programs in local schools and communities, promoting alternative livelihoods for those around the park.
Experts agree that the driving force behind this deforestation is poverty. Without adequate infrastructure, local people often feel they have no choice but slash and burn farming.
“We know they do not have options, even though they know that there are laws prohibiting any activities in the reserve park,” Loma Mountains National Park manager Foray Musa told Mongabay. “However, they themselves have been asking the government to provide sustainable livelihood alternatives which will take them away from the forest, but these are not forthcoming and as a result they resort to the forest.”
Alongside its varied eco system of tropical forest, grassland, and shrub-savanna, Loma Mountains earned its reputation as a hiking hotspot thanks to its wide range of unique wildlife.
Heading out on Loma Mountains' trails, trekkers hope to encounter forest elephants and pygmy hippopotamuses amongst other rare species.
While the area's deforestation has been harmful to all species, conservationists are particularly concerned about the critically endangered Western chimpanzees. Without adequate tree-cover, the 1,300 or so chimpanzees living in the Loma Mountains national park face the loss of a suitable habitat.
The effects of deforestation can “exacerbate habitat fragmentation, further restricting the chimpanzees’ ability to move between areas,” continued Garriga, highlighting the importance of “ongoing conservation efforts to protect forests like Loma before they are further reduced to a landscape dominated by farm-bush”.
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