By Yusufu S. Bangura
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has organised a one-day national validation workshop on the tracking mechanism for the effective monitoring of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP).
The validation workshop, which attracts representatives from different Ministries, Departments and Agencies, took place at the Freetown City Council hall in Freetown.
Welcoming participants, Dean of Pure and Applied Sciences at Fourah Bay College (FBC), Dr. Reynold Johnson, said the workshop was organised to validate the tracking mechanisms for effective monitoring of the NDC and the NAP.
He said in 2015, the NDC was called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions that was an intention, but following the Paris Agreement in 2015, the intention became a nationally determined contribution, which was supposed to be updated every five-year.
He added that the first NDC was done in 2015 and that it was updated after five years in 2021, therefore Sierra Leone has developed and submitted two NDCs, both in 2015 and 2021.
He further said Sierra Leone has also developed the National Adaptation Plan, which is an offshoot of the National Adaptation program of action, which was developed in 2006 as submitted to the UNFPA in 2008, which actually articulated the urgent and immediate needs of Sierra Leone, to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.
He went on to say the NAP was developed in the same year around 2015 to 2017 and it was called the National Adaptation Plan of Action.
“The National Adaptation Plan was developed because Sierra Leone is a low emitter of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and the low contributor to global warming and climate change because of its status and level of emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. But, however, Sierra Leone is one of the countries that are suffering disproportionately from the adverse effects of climate change. In effect, though we have not met emitters of greenhouse gases, yet we have most of the consequences and that is why Sierra Leone was listed as one of the most vulnerable countries among three countries suffering from the adverse effects of climate change among Guinea Bissau, Bangladesh and Sierra Leone according to the Metro crops index,” he said.
He said in that vein, Sierra Leone developed it national adaptation plan of action and that they have already developed the national determined contribution, but that in those documents they supposes and prescribes measures that Sierra Leone and other countries should take in implementing the Paris Agreement.
He the goals which they set in those agreements were met for Sierra Leone to be considered among the nations of the world that are making efforts to reduce the footprints of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
He ended that at the same time, the country was making cogent, reliable and transparent contributions in reducing the emissions in the country, that’s why the EPA in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, developed a tracking mechanisms.
Director of Climate Change Secretariat at EPA, Tamba Emmanuel Nyaka said the developing of the tracking mechanism came from the time when they were about reviewing and updating their NDC.
He further said the previous NDC was done, but that there was no mechanism for them to check the progress they have been making and the progress that was made during the five years of implementation.
He said the NDC is a national document which is not owned by a single institution or a single entity or a single sector because climate change is affecting every facet within society and that they have sectors that are lead contributors.
He added that they also have sectors that are more vulnerable to the impact of climate change, but when the NDC is developed, every sector has to contribute in the implementation of it.
He said they have to track their progress and during that particular period in 2021/2022 during the review it was a challenge.
“Sierra Leone has made a commitment to look at the NDC which has broader thematic area that are addressing the issues of climate change mitigation because climate change mitigation is what we are doing for us to reduce on the initial release of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere so UNDP supported the government of Sierra Leone to develop this tracking mechanism and it was given by a consultancy. This is why the consultant engaged different stakeholders across the country which I believe most people present here participated during the development of this tracking mechanism, therefore we are here today to validate it,” he ended.
The NDC and the NAP tracking tool was presented by the Professor of Environmental Chemistry at Fourah Bay College (FBC), Prof. Ronnie Frazer-Williams and the Director of Research at Milton Margai Technical University, Dr. Alhaji I. Sankoh.
After the presentation of the NDC and the NAP tracking tool, representatives from MDAs validated the tracking mechanism.
