By Foday Moriba Conteh
The wildlife tourism potential at Gola Rain Forest National Park (Lalehun in Kenema and Silety in Pujehun) respectively was extensively explored on the 19th February 2022 by three Kenyan tourism wildlife experts, Michael Wanjau, Bernard Ngoro and Maurine Musimbi who are in Sierra Leone to follow up on Sierra Leone’s tourism sector and Line MDA’s recent study visit to Kenya, as part of their assessment of the country’s wildlife tourism potential.
This development was borne out of President Bio’s desire for Sierra Leone to have its own wildlife safari by relocating exotic wildlife species from Kenya to Sierra Leone. The exploration and assessment of the country’s parks by the Kenyan Wildlife experts aimed at using the Kenyan experience in wildlife tourism and sanctuary management as a benchmark for the establishment and management of wildlife safari in Sierra Leone.
Before venturing into the forest, meetings were held with the management of Gola Rain Forest and the community people of Lalehun on the purpose of the assessment of the forest and the benefits attached to it when proper care is taken. A presentation from officials of Gola Rain Forest was done on the different animal species that are in the forest (those that were caught on camera traps). Accompanying the experts to the wild were the Director of Tourism, Mohamed Jalloh, the Executive Director of National Protected Area Authority (NPAA), Joseph Ranto Musa, the Head of Conservation Society Sierra Leone, Charles Showers and staff of Gola Rainforest office in Kenema.
After a long hike into the forest, the Team Lead of the Kenyan Experts, Michael Wanjau said the potential of the forest are obvious and there are lot of opportunities with regards tourism development in Sierra Leone ranging from forest hiking, botanical hiking tours, educational tours by school groups and forestry visit. He mentioned that accommodation facilities in the bush could be improved by erecting luxury tentative camps. He noted that primates and other animals could be attracted to certain point for people to view among many other products that could explode depending on the different interest adding that there should be a comprehensive human, wildlife conflict management strategy.
He called on the people of Sierra Leone to protect the forest by doing a fencing programme in order to get a build-up on wildlife population, thus combining conservation and tourism for the forest to make more meaning to the country.
Giving the tourism perspective of the exploration, the Director of Tourism, Mohamed Jalloh said as part of the Ministry’s effort to diversify its tourism product, wildlife tourism is highly considered as it is the desire of President Bio. He continued that the Gola Rain Forest which is very close to Liberia has different exotic species which, he said, can be harnessed. He furthered that if the recommendations proffered by the experts are employed, there would be significant increase in the number of people that visit Gola Rain Forest National Park.
