The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary outside Freetown, Sierra Leone, has closed its eco-lodges and forest trails to travelers for the first time since the Ebola crisis, accusing developers and illegal loggers of stripping the Western Area Peninsula's last mature canopy. Founder Bala Amarasekaran says the shutdown will remain until authorities stop "land-grabbing" that now skirts the refuge's fence line. Officials admit tree loss is severe but insist enforcement is under way.
Key Points
- Why it matters: Closure hits the nation's top wildlife attraction during peak summer travel.
- Travel impact: Over 100 advance bookings canceled; popular city-break add-on from Freetown hotels now off-sale.
- What's next: A government task-force report on logging raids is due by mid-August.
- Chimps face rising human-animal conflict as forest shrinks.
- 2017 Sugar Loaf mudslide shows deforestation's deadly knock-on effects.
Snapshot
Amarasekaran founded Tacugama 30 years ago to rescue orphaned chimpanzees during civil war. Today the hillside refuge hosts more than 100 chimps and a clutch of treetop guest chalets just 25 minutes from Freetown's city center. Sierra Leone has lost 2.17 million ha of tree cover-about 39 percent of its 2000 total-since 2001, with over 10 000 ha erased on the peninsula alone. Conservationists warn that unchecked construction is eroding soil stability, echoing the 2017 Regent landslide that killed roughly 1 000 people.
Background
The Western Area Peninsula National Park buffers Freetown's water catchments and provides critical habitat for endangered western chimpanzees. Post-civil-war population growth and a booming housing market have driven informal plots up the forested slopes, often beyond zoned limits. In 2019 the Geological Society of London linked the Regent disaster to a lethal mix of heavy rain, deforested hillsides, and unregulated building, concluding that tree removal weakened soil cohesion and magnified runoff. Despite periodic police raids, locals report chainsaws at dawn and charcoal kilns at dusk just yards from park boundaries.
Latest Developments
Government raids draw mixed reviews
Information Minister Chernor Bah confirmed a multi-agency task force seized illegal timber and halted hillside construction in late July, pledging "full protection" for protected zones. Amarasekaran counters that follow-up patrols lapse within days, allowing loggers to return. Travel agents in London and New York say clients on upcoming West Africa cruises are now rerouting shore excursions from Tacugama to Guma Valley Falls, reducing crucial gate revenue the sanctuary uses for veterinary care.
Analysis
Tacugama's self-imposed lockout spotlights a global dilemma: eco-tourism bankrolls conservation, yet tourism ceases the moment ecosystems become unsafe. By sacrificing summer income, the sanctuary aims to pressure President Julius Maada Bio's administration during the run-up to its September budget session, when forestry allocations are decided. The data support urgency: Global Forest Watch records a 25-percent spike in 2024 peninsula tree loss versus the previous five-year average, signaling accelerating habitat fragmentation. Failure to act risks both biodiversity collapse and intensified natural-hazard exposure for Freetown's two-million residents, who already face water shortages and flood-triggered disease outbreaks each wet season. For travelers, the episode is a cautionary tale that wildlife experiences depend on stable ecosystems and robust governance.
Final Thoughts
Unless Sierra Leone tightens land-use policing and funds long-term forest stewardship, Tacugama's wooden gates may stay shut-and the nation could forfeit a signature sustainable-tourism icon in Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary.