Mangrove loss threatens Sierra Leone’s oyster harvesters

It was during her teenage years that the women of her community taught her the harvesting technique, which is practised in the mangroves of several west African countries.

The men, for their part, collect mangrove wood to use as firewood or for construction.

But Sierra Leone’s spectacular wildlife is under severe threat from deforestation, unchecked urban growth and other human activity — challenges authorities have struggled to contain.

Turay told AFP that harvests were already declining.

“Now, people cut (the mangroves) down,” she said sadly.

“We don’t know why they do this… because that’s how we find our living. They say they’re doing it to get the land.”

Mangroves around Freetown — a rich wetland ecosystem — are being damaged or destroyed by urban sprawl, firewood collection and illegal construction.

More than 25 percent of mangrove cover has vanished since 1990 as a result, according to official estimates.

– Oyster farm –

The harvesting of wild oysters through repeated cutting and collecting has also contributed to the problem.

Satellite images show that mangrove cover in the Aberdeen coastal area on Freetown’s outskirts shrank from 537 hectares in 2017 to 458 hectares in February 2025, according to the Environmental Justice Foundation NGO.

Aberdeen Creek is a wetland of international importance for waterbirds.

Standing in the marsh, with buildings encroaching in the distance, Aminata Koroma, 32, pointed to the loss around her in Cockle Bay near Aberdeen Creek.