15/05/2026
REDD+ TECHNICAL COORDINATOR PRESENTS SIERRA LEONE’S PATHWAY TO ACHIEVE REDD+ READINESS THROUGH 3 KEY PHASES.
The National REDD+ Technical Coordinator, Dr. Gbessay Ehlogima Sam Momoh, has, over the week, presented Sierra Leone’s pathway to achieve REDD+ readiness by progressing through three key phases: Phase 1 – Readiness, Phase 2 – Implementation, and Phase 3 – Results-Based Payments.
During his presentation, he emphasized that moving into the implementation phase is critical for unlocking larger-scale investments and accessing performance-based climate finance.
He added that REDD+ was established by the UNFCCC in 2005 to address deforestation (REDD), and later expanded to include forest conservation, sustainable forest management, restoration, carbon stock enhancement, biodiversity protection, and low-emission development.
Dr. Momoh reiterated that Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, the Gambia, and Benin are still not REDD+ ready and lag in implementation. He said to support these countries, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) is financing a regional initiative titled “Institutional and Technical Support for REDD+ Implementation in West Africa.” He urged Sierra Leone to prioritize this project to accelerate its transition to results-based payments, noting that the country had previously engaged in REDD+ efforts in 2012.
Addressing institutional coordination challenges, he posed key questions to government focal points focused on improving inter-agency collaboration, strengthening governance structures, enhancing districts and community participation, addressing capacity gaps, and ensuring sustainability beyond donor-supported readiness phases.
The five-day technical session was outlined to advance REDD+ implementation through assessing and strengthening REDD+ strategic options, Training on Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems and NFMS (National Forest Monitoring Systems) aligned with UNFCCC requirements, validating implementation gaps and updating the national roadmap, and developing GCF concept notes and proposals, including for Loss and Damage financing.
He stated that in terms of progress, the REDD+ team has completed over 35 deliverables, including the REDD+ Strategy, Roadmap, Concept Notes, Environmental and Social Management Framework, stakeholder engagement and communication tools, and MRV/NFMS training. However, critical institutional arrangements, though designed, are not yet fully operationalized.
Dr. Momoh stressed the importance of institutionalizing REDD+ structures within government systems, integrating REDD+ into national development plans, policies, and regulations, and ensuring dedicated government budgeting for REDD+ activities. These actions are essential for sustaining progress, achieving full implementation, and positioning Sierra Leone to access results-based climate finance.
The National REDD+ Technical Coordinator and his team advised the country to approach REDD+ and National Forest Inventory as an opportunity and not a project implemented by FAO and funded by the Green Climate Fund and the European Union, respectively. He said the opportunity lamented should not be overlooked this time, especially when the country has started the REDD+ process in 2010, one and a half years after Ghana, and sadly, the country is currently struggling to become REDD+ ready, while Ghana, which started in 2008, is now receiving climate finance from the REDD+ process as result-based payment.
The event, however, was climaxed at the Family Kingdom with a REDD+ Sub-National Committees Consultative workshop on Enhancing and Refining Sierra Leone’s REDD+ Strategic Options, where the overview of the REDD+ Strategic Option was presented by the National REDD+ Technical Coordinator, Dr. Gbessay Ehlogima Sam Momoh.
See photos below
