Sierra Leone has officially acceded to the UN Water Convention (United Nations Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes) in a high-level ceremony at the UN General Assembly in New York.
This milestone reinforces the country’s commitment to sustainable water governance and cooperation with its neighbors.
Sierra Leone now joins seven other West African nations—including Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo—that have signed the Convention, aligning their water management with international standards. With this accession, the UN Water Convention now counts 57 Parties globally, including 13 from Africa.
Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Sao-Kpato Hannah Isatta Macarthy, stated that the move will “further enhance transboundary water cooperation, reduce the risk of conflict over shared water resources, foster peaceful cooperation and deepen economic cooperation within the Mano River Union.”
UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean highlighted that Sierra Leone’s accession “further consolidates the strong momentum for water cooperation in Africa, where over 90% of freshwater is in shared basins.”
Given that Sierra Leone shares several vital transboundary water basins—including the Moa and Mano River basins—with Guinea and Liberia, this commitment is crucial for managing freshwater, food security, and hydropower generation. The accession sends a clear signal of leadership and readiness to find shared solutions as climate change intensifies its impact on rainfall patterns and water availability across West Africa.
Source: ABJ/APA