12/08/2025
🌿 Hike for Nature – Our Unforgettable Day at TACUGAMA Chimpanzee Sanctuary 🐒🌊
This past weekend, the Students Initiative for Sustainable Development Goals (SI4SDGs) embarked on a truly unforgettable hike at the world-renowned Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary – and what an incredible experience it was! From breathtaking scenery to eye-opening environmental realities, the day left us inspired, concerned, and determined to take action.
Our first stop was the construction site of the long-awaited Canopy Walk, a visionary project funded by UNDP. This innovation will allow visitors to walk comfortably through the forest canopy, offering a unique perspective of the sanctuary while boosting eco-tourism. We couldn’t help but imagine the thrill future visitors will feel, suspended above the lush greenery with the sounds of nature all around.
From there, we visited the second-largest Guma Valley Dam, a critical source of water for Regent, Bathurst, and surrounding communities. It was a sobering reminder of how vital water security is to our survival. To safeguard this precious resource, we are calling on the government to:
• Increase the dam’s bank capacity to ensure sufficient reserves during the dry season.
• Immediately halt deforestation in the surrounding catchment area. Nature is not a luxury – it is a necessity.
Our journey then took us to the Innovative Center under construction, where Tacugama’s leadership is creating a hub to further promote Sierra Leone’s tourism potential. We salute their relentless efforts in making our country a destination that values both wildlife conservation and community development.
However, we were also confronted with the harsh reality of human encroachment. We saw areas of the forest vandalized and burned in the name of building dwellings. This reckless destruction is not only a direct threat to the chimpanzees’ survival but has also reduced water supply to other dams. We are strongly urging the government to:
• Continue demolishing illegal structures.
• Enforce laws against deforestation.
• Educate communities on the dangers of forest destruction.
TACUGAMA’s work aligns perfectly with SDG 15 – Life on Land, and protecting this sanctuary is protecting our planet’s biodiversity.
One of the most moving moments of our hike was standing at the site of a past landslide disaster. Thankfully, no one was living there at the time, but the tragedy serves as a powerful warning: this land is unsafe for human settlement. If encroachment continues, the risk of loss of life and property will only grow.
We were encouraged to learn that Tacugama is taking proactive measures by planting fruit-bearing trees that feed the chimpanzees and provide natural medicine for the younger chimps. This is conservation in action – preserving life while restoring balance.
Finally, we concluded our journey at the iconic Tacugama Waterfall. Here, nature’s beauty washed over us – quite literally – as we enjoyed a refreshing swim, shared snacks and juice, and celebrated the power of unity in protecting what we love.
🌍 Our message to Sierra Leone and beyond: Tacugama belongs to all of us. Let us unite to protect it – not as a luxury, but as a necessity for our survival and heritage. The sanctuary’s recent temporary closure due to environmental threats is a wake-up call. We must act now to prevent the mistakes of the past, including incidents where human negligence disrupted the delicate balance between wildlife and people.
To the Tacugama team, our tour guides, and rangers – we say a heartfelt thank you. Your work is the heartbeat of conservation in Sierra Leone, and we look forward to more partnerships in the future.
💚 Together, we can ensure that Life on Land thrives – for the chimpanzees, for nature, and for generations to come.
Prince H. Pujeh
Coordinator – Students Initiative for Sustainable Development Goals (SI4SDGs)
