Coping with the impacts of weather changes in rural Sierra Leone

Global changes in climate today present hostile weather conditions which pose considerable threats to the rich and poor alike. The capacity for developing countries to cope with these impacts is weak and a development concern. The post-conflict West African nation of Sierra Leone is no exception. In fact, rural areas are exposed to high degrees of vulnerability, livelihood insecurity and hostile environments. This paper explores the experiences of rural people and identifies impacts and coping mechanisms used in response to these changes. The research on which this paper is based adopted a facilitated group discussion approach involving 250 participants drawn from five rural settlements in Kambia and Kono Districts of Sierra Leone. In safeguarding rural livelihoods and ensuring environmental protection, this paper concludes with a number of policy recommendations, including the provision of external support, enforcing land tenure arrangements, strengthening rural people's resilience and encouraging collective and adaptive environmental management practices.