On International Day of Peace 2025, the CPS Network – Sierra Leone Urges Government and Citizens to Act Fast to Protect the Environment 

By Abdul Kaprr Dumbuya

The Civil Peace Service (CPS) Network in Sierra Leone concluded an array of awareness raising activities to mark the International Day of Peace on September 19, 2025 with the theme, “Actions for Peace: let’s act now to protect the environment”. With support from Bread for the World (BftW) in Germany, the network conducted series of radio discussion programs across the country, a symbolic clean-up in Freetown and a roundtable discussion. These were aimed at increasing public consciousness around environmental protection, with particular reference to waste management, and for all to see the nexus between environmental protection and sustainable peace in communities.

The International Day of Peace, also known as “Peace Day”, is observed around the world on 21^st September every year. The Day was established in 1981 by a unanimous United Nations resolution, and has since been widely used to raise public awareness on peace-building. This is a day set aside for all humanity to commit to peace above all differences and to contribute to concrete actions that sustain peace and social cohesion. 

On 18^th September 2025, the network partners converged at the PZ area in central Freetown and conducted a symbolic cleanup exercise. This activity caught the admiration of young people who joined in and supported the activity. Most traders and onlookers applauded especially the network partners who travelled from the provinces for the exercise. One of the business women described the action as laudable, and appealed to the government and Freetown City Council (FCC) to take full responsibility of the health of the environment by organizing similar events. She also called on the citizenry to stop littering the environment. “It is our responsibility to clean up our frontage every day. We have been so much over-reliant on council for the cleaning of our environment; and this needs to stop if only we are to remain healthy”, she appealed to the public.

To climax the commemoration, the CPS Network organised a roundtable discussion on the aforementioned theme for key stakeholders, including state and non-state actors on 19^th September, 2025 at the Conference Room of Council of Churches in Sierra Leone, Freetown.

In order to spice up the event, a drama performance was staged by Fritong Players International, one of the CPS partners. The skit revealed some of the ills of society in relation to poor waste management which provoked the discussions.

The CPS National Coordinator, Adenike Antonia Cole, noted that even though September 21 is globally recognized as the International Day of Peace, the country’s peace journey is ongoing and emphasized that peace extends beyond the cessation of conflict to include the safety and sustainability of the environment. She emphasised that environmental protection directly influences the wellbeing of the population, and called on all to take the required concrete actions to protect the environment.  

Providing an overview of the current state of the environment, Mrs. Aminata Finda Massaquoi from Culture Radio said, the country currently faces very serious environmental challenges, especially the proliferation of open dumpsites that exacerbate health issues such as malaria, typhoid and other related infectious diseases in communities. This has overburdened the health capacity of the nation, she warned.

In the panel, were representatives from FCC, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), Environment Protection Agency – Sierra Leone (EPA-SL), Market Women’s Association and civil society. Speaker after speaker highlighted their respective institution’s mandate relative to waste management and environmental protection generally. Even though their mandates seem to be a bit overlapping, the panelists however acknowledged the urgent need for strengthening intersectoral collaboration and coordination if the current environmental challenges are to be mitigated across the country.

The discussion was moderated by a renowned environmental journalist, Harold Williams, who provided the opportunity for frank contributions from the audience. Most participants, especially representatives from CSOs and market women, emphasized their partnership with the FCC and EPA-SL, and highlighted the need for a clean and healthy environment business and people to thrive. They stressed the importance of civic education around environmental issues and called for continued support from local authorities to maintain market hygiene.

Responding to comments and questions relating to his institution, Superintendent Gibril Hassan Sesay from FCC clearly outlined what he described as “the Municipality’s coordinated initiatives” to curb the indiscriminate dumping of waste in public places in communities, and the “Freetown: The Tree Town” campaign. He disclosed that FCC has launched the new sanitation bylaws which were recently sanctioned by Parliament. He said, a three-month long community sensitization on the bylaws would soon commence to ensure increased knowledge and compliance.

The event was largely successful as it triggered critical discussions around the dire need for intersectoral collaboration and cooperation to ensure increased impact of government’s effort to curb the current environmental challenges across the country. There is indeed, an urgent need for all to act now to save the environment and promote sustainable peace in communities.