The Environment Protection Agency Sierra Leone, together with its partners, has concluded a formative workshop on establishing a Centre for Environmental Data and Statistics (CEDAS) at Wizard Hall in Bo City.

Representatives from academia, research institutions, consultancy firms, the media, civil society organisations, development partners, non-governmental organisations, and ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) attended the two-day workshop, which provided insights on data potential, bottlenecks, and proposed solutions to the data divide.

In his welcome note, the Executive Chairman, Dr Abu-Bakar S. Massaquoi, underscored that #CEDAS sits at the heart of government concerning environmental governance, accountability, and transformation.

“Sound policies, programme alignment and reporting obligations are embedded in credible data that reflects reality, underscoring the collective strides Sierra Leone has taken to uphold its Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) commitments,” he added.

CEDAS, as a one-stop centralised hub, will ensure that data credibility, data governance, and the bureaucracy that harmonises data fragmentation align with the initiatives that address the global triple planetary crisis.

It will converge all these resources to guarantee access to data and improve reporting obligations that make Sierra Leone eligible for global environmental resources and fertilise innovative research for competing environmental needs.

Sectoral data inventory, stakeholder mapping, data needs assessment, data gaps, and duplication would inform the framework through which CEDAS will be operationalised.

The #CEDAS roadmap and pilot initiatives, data inventory and stakeholder mapping framework, and the landscape of environmental data in Sierra Leone, as well as risk assessments of fuel depots and stations using Aloha, were key priorities addressed during the workshop.

The #EPA, as the technical reporting agency for Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), will host #CEDAS, coordinating operations to achieve the set outcomes of the initiative.