{"id":40090189,"date":"2021-06-18T14:53:23","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T09:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/china-dialogue-ocean-staging.darkbluehq.com\/uncategorized\/17710-black-johnson-sierra-leone-sells-precious-beach-build-china-funded-port\/"},"modified":"2022-02-10T23:02:22","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T17:32:22","slug":"17710-black-johnson-sierra-leone-sells-precious-beach-build-china-funded-port","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/17710-black-johnson-sierra-leone-sells-precious-beach-build-china-funded-port\/","title":{"rendered":"Sierra Leone sells precious beach to build Chinese-funded fishing port"},"content":{"rendered":"

Months after becoming Sierra Leone’s president in 2018, Julius Maada Bio scrapped a much-hyped international airport that his predecessor, Ernest Bai Koroma, had secured with funding from the Chinese government. The Mamamah International Airport would have cost an estimated US$400 million<\/a>, a sum the new president described as \u201cuneconomical\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bio labelled Chinese-funded loan schemes a \u201csham\u201d that yielded no economic benefits. Yet, three years down the line, the same government has stated in a press release<\/a> that it is selling one of its most precious ecotourism assets in a similar deal for around US$55 million.<\/p>\n

The news in May<\/span><\/a> that more than 100 hectares of pristine forest and beach at Black Johnson, a town near the capital Freetown, was being sold to a Chinese state-owned enterprise for the construction of a fishing harbour has sparked outrage. Rumours circulated that the land was, in fact, intended for a fishmeal factory, though this has been denied by the Sierra Leone government, and there is no evidence for it on the Chinese side. According to authorities in Sierra Leone, the harbour will allow tuna vessels and other industrial fishing vessels to anchor, bringing in more fish to local markets and increasing export capacity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"black
The Black Johnson community sits on the Western Area Peninsula highway, outside Freetown (Image: Abdul Brima \/ China Dialogue)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is still unclear when the proposed project would become operational, but landowners, conservationists and human rights groups have reacted strongly.<\/p>\n

Landowners say residents will be forced to relocate, fishers will be unable to fish and people who work in the market will struggle to buy and sell. In an open letter<\/a> to President Bio, they described the deal as a \u201chuman and ecological disaster\u201d.<\/p>\n

Conservationists say the proposed project will have a serious environmental impact, destroying the pristine rainforest, reducing fish stocks and causing pollution. \u201cAre we going to throw all of this to the wind, just so that we would have a commercial [fishery] in the area of Black Johnson Beach?\u201d asked Dr Sama Banya, president emeritus of the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n

Green Scenery<\/a>, a civil society group, released a statement asking the government to make the terms of the deal public. In Sierra Leonean law, an environmental impact assessment licence is required before any project of this nature is undertaken.<\/p>\n

Loss of land and livelihoods<\/h2>\n

To date, the government\u2019s only public comments have come in a press release<\/a> signed by the minister of fisheries and marine resources on 10 May.<\/p>\n

The minister said the project was intended to ensure a regular supply of fish to the local market and that the harbour would be constructed with a Chinese government grant and equity in the form of land from Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n

Part of the land in question is government owned, including the seafront, and the rest will be acquired through compulsory acquisition, the press release said, with US$1.3 million set aside in compensation for landowners.<\/p>\n

Tito Tommy Gbandewa, the owner of a local beach resort, Tito\u2019s Paradise Eco Lodge<\/a>, is at risk of losing more than a hectare of land. According to him, the compensation package in question is nowhere near the value of the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government is going ahead with plans without consulting us. We don\u2019t know why,\u201d he says. Gbandewa alleged the community had been intimidated by the authorities. \u201cThey bring armed guards, thugs and surveyors every time they come to this place. Sometimes when they enter the village, it is like a war zone. People run away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kadiatu Sesay is a single parent of three who works at Gbandewa\u2019s resort. \u201cThis is where I work to take good care of my family and send my children to school. If they close this place, I will lose my job and my family will suffer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kadiatu Sesay works at Tito's Paradise Eco Lodge. She is worried about losing her job if the resort closes. (Image: Abdul Brima)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

A co-worker, Brima Bockarie, relates to Sesay\u2019s fears. \u201cThis is where most of us get our living from, and we don\u2019t know what kind of development the Chinese want to bring,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rumours of a fishmeal factory<\/h2>\n

Fishmeal factories, which grind locally caught fish into a powder that is exported to feed farmed fish and other livestock worldwide, are a growing problem in West Africa. The industrial fishing used to catch the volumes needed to supply the factories decimates fish populations, leaving fewer fish for local fishers, who have to go further out to sea to catch less and less. Factories in neighbouring countries have been linked to pollution<\/a> of the land and ocean.<\/p>\n

Most of these factories are Chinese-owned, but Spain<\/a>, Turkey and other countries are also involved.<\/p>\n

For Black Johnson, the fear was that a \u201ctoxic\u201d industrial fishmeal factory would destroy fish stocks. During the dry season, part of the land in question is a lagoon, which serves as a breeding ground and a nursery for fish to grow before moving into the open ocean.<\/p>\n

But the minister of fisheries and marine resources, Emma Kowa Jalloh, refuted the claims in her press release. \u201cThe Ministry has read social media reports about a fish mill to be located at the Black Johnson community… The Ministry wishes the general public to know that the facility to be constructed is a fish harbor and not a fish mill as portrayed by the social media writers.\u201d<\/p>\n

China\u2019s support<\/h2>\n

The economic and commercial counsellor<\/a> at the Chinese embassy in Sierra Leone, Du Zijun, said the government of Sierra Leone requested that the Chinese government help build the port. \u201cThe Chinese side will decide on the establishment and implementation of the project after the Sierra Leonean side completes its relevant work,\u201d Du said.<\/p>\n

Chinese-language sources provide more details of the deal. They show the intention to build an industrial fishing harbour linking into the West Africa fishery supply chain, rather than a covert scheme to build fishmeal factories.<\/p>\n

Jiaodong.net, a news portal from China\u2019s fishery powerhouse Shandong province, shows that the port<\/a> is one of the China-aided projects under the Forum for China\u2013Africa Cooperation<\/a>. The Yantai Development Zone Fishing Port Development Co Ltd will participate in the construction of the port through a joint venture with the Sierra Leone government and the China Railway International Group. It will invest 320 million yuan (US$50 million) to build an \u201coffshore fisheries overseas base through the development of international investment, international transit, and re-export trade\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"sierra<\/p>\n

Jalloh said the government of Sierra Leone had been \u201cyearning\u201d for a fish harbour since the 1970s, but could not make it happen due to the huge amount of money needed.<\/p>\n

Most of the industrial fishing catch in Sierra Leone is frozen on ships and transferred to larger refrigerated vessels for export. A dedicated fishing port in the country, however, would provide industrial-scale processing facilities to serve Sierra Leone’s large and growing domestic market and to export fresh fish, shrimp and cephalopods via strengthened air links, China Business Network<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

Jalloh added that the harbour would not only generate revenue and create jobs but also build local capacity in vessel repair and maintenance.<\/p>\n

The Chinese embassy’s Du said that the project would help to promote the development of Sierra Leone\u2019s own fishery sector.<\/p>\n

SeafareChina<\/a>, a Chinese news outlet, said: \u201c[The port] will increase Sierra Leone\u2019s domestic fish resources and enhance its export capacity in the international market. Fishing port facilities will include waste management systems that can recycle marine waste and other waste into useful products.\u201d<\/p>\n

The need for transparency<\/h2>\n

Dr Banya remains sceptical. \u201cDo I need to remind all those who are backing such a proposal of the disastrous environmental impact on our country, especially the tourism and the very fish industry that it\u2019s supposed to support?\u201d<\/p>\n

The government should provide results of a feasibility study, which explain the potential impact of the project on the environment, he added.<\/p>\n

His views are echoed by two human rights organisations, the Institute for Legal and Advocacy for Justice<\/a> and Namati Sierra Leone<\/a>. In a joint press release, they demanded the government produce environmental and social impact assessment studies and the evidence on which Black Johnson was assessed as the most suitable location.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"
A partial view of the stretch of Black Johnson coastline that has been sold (Image: Abdul Brima \/ China Dialogue)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

In 2017 the World Bank rejected Black Johnson<\/a> as the site for a fishing harbour project on the grounds of environmental safety.<\/p>\n

The Black Johnson Land Owners Group<\/a>, the collection of aggrieved community members who sent an open letter to President Bio, have also requested the results of an environmental impact assessment as required by sections 23 and 24<\/a> of the 2008 Environment Protection Act.<\/p>\n

The government has not addressed these issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe site selection and environmental impact assessment of the project are determined or conducted by the government of Sierra Leone in accordance with its own laws and administrative procedures,\u201d said Du.<\/p>\n

China\u2013Sierra Leone relationship<\/h2>\n

According to the Chinese embassy<\/a>, Sierra Leone is one of the biggest West African beneficiaries of China\u2019s foreign direct investment; bilateral trade relations between the two countries increased from US$8.6 million in 2000 to US$510 million in 2019, and trade volumes reached US$320 million in the first eight months of 2020. Besides trade, 4,500 Sierra Leoneans are employed in various Chinese companies around the country, according to the embassy. The country also benefits from Chinese-manufactured products, particularly mobile phones and electrical appliances, at affordable prices.<\/p>\n

It was in 2018 that the Sierra Leone government signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China\u2019s government to increase investment in its fishing sector. According to the MOU, a comprehensive fish stock assessment and the construction of a fishing harbour were to be prioritised. But the report of a fish stock assessment, carried out in September 2019, is not in the public domain and no public consultation about the report has been done.<\/p>\n

Three-quarters<\/a> of industrial fishing in Sierra Leone is undertaken by Chinese vessels. The quantity of legally caught fish is massive. As much as 100 tonnes can be caught in a day by one industrial trawler, as compared with 17 tonnes per year for small-scale artisanal fishing. Industrialised trawlers pay small licence fees but often declare less than they take away.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"High
Chinese fishing trawler Fu Hai Yu 1111 on the high seas near Sierra Leonean waters in 2017. The boat was arrested and sent to Freetown after illegal fishing gear was discovered on board. (Image \u00a9 Pierre Gleizes \/ Greenpeace)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Their use of advanced fishing equipment and the wider range of their engines outcompetes local fishers. Some argue that these fleets, though legal, are not beneficial to the economy as catches are exported out of the country.<\/p>\n

Sierra Leone\u2019s woes are exacerbated by illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing vessels. Catches go undeclared, while the lack of tracking devices and weak law enforcement allow foreign vessels to take advantage and deprive locals <\/a>of much-needed revenue.<\/p>\n

Sierra Leone should be earning an estimated US$50 million a year from its fisheries sector. But it ends up with less than US$18 million<\/a> because of poorly regulated and illegal fishing.<\/p>\n

Might the port be stopped?<\/h2>\n

Green Scenery is urging President Bio to reverse the entire plan for Black Johnson and fulfil the government\u2019s commitment to protecting the environment.<\/p>\n

The landowners point out in their open letter: \u201cIf this is allowed to happen it will jeopardise the entire nation\u2019s food security where 80% of the country\u2019s protein comes from fish. Artisanal fishing is most coastal families\u2019 mainstay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tourist businesses, like Gbandewa\u2019s, will close overnight, leading to unemployment and severe hardship. \u201cIt must be stopped,\u201d the landowners’ open letter said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Locals say the government\u2019s decision to sell land at Black Johnson, an ecotourism destination, is a ‘human and ecological disaster’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3948,"featured_media":40089721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50039901],"tags":[40027745,545,556],"hashtags":[],"country":[20000110,50041237],"class_list":["post-40090189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ocean","tag-blue-economy","tag-fisheries","tag-infrastructure","country-china","country-sierra-leone"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSierra Leone sells precious beach to build Chinese-funded fishing port | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Locals say the government\u2019s decision to sell land at Black Johnson, an ecotourism destination, is a \u201chuman and ecological disaster\u201d\" \/>\n<meta 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