National Conference of Paramount Chiefs on Land and the Constitution

National Conference of Paramount Chiefs on Land and the Constitution

— Find the full report here —

The National Conference of Paramount Chiefs on the theme: “Our land…Our Constitution…Our country” is the fourth of its kind organized in Sierra Leone by local actors and their international partners to discuss contemporary issues relating to natural resources management especially land in the face of the current influx of multi-national companies engaged in Foreign Direct Investments involving land.

The one day conference was organized by national non-governmental organizations – Green Scenery, Action for Large Scale Land Acquisition Transparency ( ALLAT) and Partners Initiative on Conflict Transformation ( PICOT) in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the UN based Climate, Energy and Tenure Division, Natural Resources Management and Environmental Department of the Food and Agricultural Organisation ( FAO).The conference which attracted nearly 85% Sierra Leone’s 149 Paramount Chiefs and their National Executive members, the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, the Mayor of the host Southern Regional City – Bo; will remain on record as the single event that brought together all female Paramount Chiefs to sit together with their male colleagues to discuss their common destiny – LAND.

The day-long deliberations focused on, among others, previous actions on land and natural resources management, the laws relating to land and implications for gender, a draft protocol for investors in need of land, a Bo District Council initiated policy guidelines on large-scale land acquisition, a case study of land lease agreements in Sierra Leone, a critical analysis of the national land policy in Sierra Leone, and the voluntary guidelines on the responsible governance of land, fisheries and forests. The delegates engaged in frank exchanges of lived experiences and encounters with investors posing as development partners of government in a dialogue session.

— Find the full report here —

Green Scenery 24/05/2014