By Charles Henson
As part of an ongoing effort to strengthen wildlife conservation in West Africa, the Elephant Protection Initiative Foundation (EPIF) has launched a project aimed at improving the security of wildlife products in government custody in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The project, funded by the UK government through its Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, will help safeguard wildlife products and combat the illegal wildlife trade in five West African countries, including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Togo.
The EPIF project, titled “Secure Wildlife Product Stockpiles,” aims to enhance the management of wildlife product storerooms, implement a digital inventory tool called the EPIF Stockpile Management System (SMS), and work with governments to consider the long-term management of wildlife products.
This initiative builds on EPIF’s decade-long experience in similar projects across ten other member states.
The project’s goals were initiated during visits to Sierra Leone and Liberia in December 2024. In Sierra Leone, EPIF met with government partners from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change’s Forestry Department, as well as local conservation groups, including the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL).
The assessment identified urgent needs for improved storage facilities and security measures for wildlife products, which are often at risk due to the country’s rich biodiversity and limited conservation infrastructure.
Following the Sierra Leone visit, the EPIF team traveled to Liberia, where they partnered with the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), the country’s main land-based conservation body.
EPIF collaborated with various conservation stakeholders, including Conservation International (CI) and Flora and Fauna International (FFI), and established a key partnership with the Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia (SCNL).
The team also met with UK Ambassador to Liberia, Neil Bradley, who expressed strong support for the project.
A notable highlight of the Liberia visit was a field trip to the Lake Piso Multiple Sustainable Use Reserve, a potential site for wildlife product storage.
The site visit provided valuable insights into operational challenges and opportunities for developing storage facilities in the reserve.
In March 2025, the EPIF hosted two-day workshops in Freetown and Monrovia to develop management procedures for wildlife product storerooms.
These workshops, in collaboration with local government agencies and NGOs, successfully engaged wildlife professionals to draft procedures tailored to each country’s specific needs. The draft documents will be circulated for feedback before validation later in the year.
Despite a few logistical challenges, such as a flat tire during the Liberia visit, the project has made significant strides in building partnerships and aligning stakeholders to tackle wildlife product security.
EPIF is now focused on implementing the project over the next two years, which includes strengthening storeroom security, implementing the SMS, conducting legal policy discussions, and providing training and mentoring for key wildlife staff in both countries.
The project is expected to significantly reduce the illegal wildlife trade’s impact across West Africa, and EPIF looks forward to continued collaboration with local governments and conservation organizations to secure wildlife products and protect endangered species in the region.
rewritten By Abdullahi Lukman
