A man points at a field of newly planted mangrove seedlings.

Sierra Leone

At a Glance

The West Africa Regional Mission serves Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and The Gambia.

West Africa’s rich forest and coastal resources are increasingly at risk due to recurrent droughts, rising sea levels and deforestation with large consequences for economic development and food security. To address the region’s vulnerability to climate change and climate-related shocks, USAID is working with countries to improve the management of forests and mangroves, with the twin goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by increasing sequestration and increasing the resilience of the region’s coastal communities and upland systems. Clean energy programming will provide assistance to help eliminate the main obstacles to investment in low emissions development.

Climate Projections and Impacts

Refer to the Climate Risk Profile (2016) for more information.

Climate Projections

Increased Frequency/Intensity of Extreme Weather Events
Sea Level Rise
Increased Temperature

Key Climate Impact Areas

Agriculture
Disasters
Human Health
Water Resources

Funding & Country Climate Context


USAID Regional Climate Change Funding (2022)

Total

$7.5 Million

Adaptation

$3.5 Million

Sustainable Landscapes

$4 Million

GAIN Vulnerability

Medium

Population (2023)

8.9 Million

GHG Emissions Growth

-0.07%

% Forested Area

43.10%

Average GHG Emissions Growth due to Deforestation

-4.40%

Refer to metadata and sources for more details.

Climate Change Information

Climate Risk Profile

Climate Risk Profile: Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone Photo Gallery

Document

Renewable Energy Lending in West Africa

Document

Prêts Énergies Renouvelables en Afrique de l’Ouest

Stories from the Area

USAID and Prosper Africa, a presidential level national security initiative to increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and African countries recognize the potential of climate finance.
Ariel view of two tractors plowing a field
Traditional approaches to health programming are no longer sufficient in this rapidly changing climate.
A group of people gather around the bottom of a weather station located on the slopes of a mountain.
To protect the systems they manage, utilities and grid operators first need to know which hazards could harm them.
A damaged, rundown substation