Sierra Leone Economic Diversification Project
- Client: Government of Sierra Leone
- Partners: Luskentyre Consulting Limited
- Project Duration: April 1 - December 31, 2024
Project Overview
The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) contracted Solimar International to develop an official national Wildlife Tourism Policy, a Comprehensive Business Plan, and a Consolidated Action Plan. Over the course of a 16-week planning process, Solimar analyzed current and previous wildlife tourism efforts, generated strategic policies for the GoSL, and briefed stakeholders upon completion of the project. Key areas of interest included Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Tourism Development, and Wildlife Tourism Management.
Solimar created a sustainable, impactful Wildlife Tourism Policy, a comprehensive Business Plan, and a Costed Action Plan focused on strengthening the legislative framework of wildlife conservation while identifying demand-driven wildlife tourism development opportunities in Sierra Leone that will enhance the visitor experience, support local economies, and contribute to wildlife conservation.
Major Activities and Results
- Protected Area Site Visits—Outamba Kilimi National Park and Loma Mountains Forest Reserve were assessed for wildlife tourism opportunities, community input, conservation challenges, infrastructure, training, and investment needs.
- Draft Wildlife Tourism Policy – A Wildlife Tourism Policy was drafted that supports protected area management, reduction of human-wildlife conflict, community participation in wildlife tourism, tourism revenue sharing, and innovative conservation finance mechanisms.
- Draft Business Plan – A Wildlife Tourism Business Plan was drafted that outlines development objectives such as tourism products/services, training and infrastructure needs, marketing objectives, and management objectives such as sustainability best practices and monitoring.
- Draft Action Plan – Built from the Business Plan’s strategic objectives, the Action Plan documented primary activities and timeline, a detailed budget, accountable parties, and monitoring metrics.
