Western Area Peninsula Waterfund (Sierra Leone)
Description
Location
Sketch
Information about lithology/geochemistry:
The Western Area Peninsula National Park is in the Western Area of Sierra Leone, and where the capital city Freetown is located. The capital city’s water supply system was designed for about 400,000 people but its current population is now over 1.2 million. The WAPNP consists of a range of hills that that are about 37 km long and 14 km wide. The mountains have several peaks with the highest having a height of 900msl. The WAPNP use to be very rich in biodiversity and host about 50 mammals like the western Chimpanzee, Columbus money and more than 200 different bird species. As many capital cities in the world, Freetown is facing the problem of urbanisation and increase in food production due to urbanisation. Consequently, the Western Area Peninsula National Park (WAPNP) is facing serious degradation before the commencement of the implementation of the Western Area Peninsula Waterfund and the use of ecohydrological tools to improve the river water quality and quantity.
Main Description
- The demo site comprises of a Lake at the Guma Valley Water Company Dam and more 50 water catchments in the Western Area Peninsula Water Catchment. The water catchments are characterised by several streams originating from the mountains and flows down to the Atlantic Ocean passing through wetlands. The Atlantic Ocean almost surrounds the mountainous water catchments.
Enhance ecohydrological processes in novel ecosystem
YES
Apply complementary Ecohydrological processes in high impacted system
YES
This table presents the different categories of ecosystem services that ecosystem can provide, divided in:
Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources.
Raw materials: Ecosystems provide a great diversity of materials for construction and fuel including wood, biofuels and plant oils that are directly derived from wild and cultivated plant species.
Fresh water: Ecosystems play a vital role in the global hydrological cycle, as they regulate the flow and purification of water. Vegetation and forests influence the quantity of water available locally.
Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.
Carbon sequestration and storage: Ecosystems regulate the global climate by storing and sequestering greenhouse gases. As trees and plants grow, they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and effectively lock it away in their tissues. In this way forest ecosystems are carbon stores. Biodiversity also plays an important role by improving the capacity of ecosystems to adapt to the effects of climate change.
Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services". These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.
Cultural Services corresponds nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.
EH Principles
Quantification of the hydrological processes at catchment scale and mapping the impacts
ECOHYDROLOGY ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS
Prior to the commencement of the implementation of the Western Area Peninsula Water Fund, a business case was developed for the restoration of the water quality and other ecological services. The business case development was informed by a study conducted to determine the economic value of the different prioritised ecosystem services that will be available between a Business-as-Usual BAU) Scenario and a Conservation Scenario. The BAU scenario depicts that the management of the WAPNP continue as it was (before the commencement of the implementation of the Water Fund) i.e., new investment is done in the protection and management of the water catchments.
Hydrological Flow
Under the Conservation Scenario, several ecological principles were identified for Implementation, with some currently been implemented. Figure 6 below shows the ecological interventions in the WAPNP.
Ecohydrological Infrastructure
The Water fund is using the dual regulation by improving and managing the biota and as well monitoring and regulation of hydrological parameters. The project is preventing deforestation by protection, sensitisation, enforcement of the laws and policies. In addition, the project has embarked on tree planting and restoring degraded catchments. Furthermore, hydrological monitoring station has been established at the GVWC dam for the monitoring of water level, flows, and rainfall.
Ecohydrological Infrastructure
Major Issues
Expected Outcomes
Mitigation of Floods & Landslides
The flood attenuation service can be valued using the lower of either flood damages avoided or the avoided costs of replacing the natural systems with alternative flood mitigation options. The Business Case uses the former and focuses on populated areas in the main urban area of Freetown. Due to extremely high rainfall, widespread building in floodplains and a lack of stormwater infrastructure, forest conservation and restoration activities alone will not be sufficient to mitigate flooding in the lower parts of the city. The analysis focuses on direct market losses in the form of damage to buildings, because they can be estimated using observable data, rather than non market losses and indirect losses, which are more difficult to quantify.
Carbon Storage
Natural ecosystems make a significant contribution to global climate regulation through the sequestration and storage of carbon. Tropical forests, such as those protected by the WAPNP, play an especially critical role in the global carbon cycle. Under the Conservation Scenario, the protection of the WAPNP would stop the loss of 5,115 hectares of forest, avoiding the release of 3.53 million tons of carbon that would result in global climate-related damages of USD 312 million per year and national damages of USD 70,000 per year. Additionally, the restoration of 12,556 hectares would result in a gain of over 8.6 million tonnes of carbon, thus avoiding global damage costs of USD 765 million per year and national damages of USD 170,000.
Latest Results
Contacts
Ishmail Kamara
- ish83ish@yahoo.com
- National Water Resources Management Agency
Social ecohydrological system
EH Objectives
EH Methodology
Catchment Ecohydrological sub-system
Objectives
Stakeholders
Catchment Sociological sub-system
Activities