About Us

“We for nature. Nature for us.” is our slogan. We believe that if we support nature and conserve biodiversity, nature will provide us with all we need to have a better living. Therefor the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL) was established in 1986 in response to the need for a local organisation committed to promote conservation issues in Sierra Leone.

CSSL is a national non-governmental, non-profit organisation. We are a membership-based organisation open to the general public attracting people from all walks of life interested in biodiversity conservation.

The strategic purpose of CSSL is to ensure that perceptions, attitudes and actions of the people of Sierra Leone about conservation, wildlife and the environment are changed for a green and better future for all. Our aim is to improve sustainable development significantly.

Our main objective is to promote the wise use and management of Sierra Leones`s precious natural resources through education, policy development and implementation as well as through advocacy, research and site action to conserve important and critical sites.

Sierra Leone is a country dependent on its natural resources to achieve development. Mineral extraction and agriculture are the main economic drivers. In addition, the majority of the population depends on fuelwood for their energy needs and subsistence agriculture, bush meat and fishing for food security. Therefore, the challenge of sustainable, ecologically sensitive development is immediate and great.

We realise that species extinction is forever and irreversible. Hence, conservation is an imperative. Planet Earth is our only home, and we depend on it: the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat. Therefore, it is prudent to collectively and actively protect it for our daily livelihood and the future of our children.

CSSL works in collaboration with several different partners both in-country and internationally to deliver its programmes and to get its message out. CSSL`s partnerships include grassroots community-based groups, other NGOs, schools, government agencies, academic institutions, and international conservation and sustainable development organisations. For more than the past three decades, CSSL has been at the forefront of efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats with support from donor partners and organizations in terms of programme funding, training and technical support.