Drivers and Impacts of Forest Loss in Forest-edge Communities: Evidence from Southern and Eastern Sierra Leone

Abstract

Background: Forest loss poses substantial environmental and livelihood challenges, particularly for forest-edge communities that depend heavily on forest resources for food, income, energy, and other essential needs. In Sierra Leone, although forest loss and its associated drivers have been widely reported, evidence integrating community perceptions of both the drivers and resulting impacts across forest-edge communities remains limited, particularly in the southern and eastern regions. Aims: This study examined forest-edge communities’ perceptions of the drivers and impacts of forest loss across selected forest regimes in south-eastern Sierra Leone. Study Design: A mixed-methods design was used, incorporating qualitative and quantitative strategies. Data were collected from adults/household heads, chiefdom/community leaders, and agency staff across the four districts. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in 25 forest-edge communities across four districts in south-eastern Sierra Leone. Data were collected in August 2025 to gauge perceptions of forest loss over the previous 40 years (1985–2025). Methodology: The study targeted 1,280 respondents (786 male and 494 female), who were interviewed through surveys, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). Survey participants were aged 30 years and above, while FGD and KII participants were aged 18 years and above. Data were summarised as counts and percentages. A chi-square test of independence and logistic regression analyses were used to test the associations between respondent characteristics and outcomes. Results: Farming was the main occupation across the communities (81.3%), which is of concern because agricultural activities degrade forests. Subsistence and commercial agricultural expansion, timber logging and extraction, charcoal and wood production, infrastructure and settlement expansion, and mining were the main proximate drivers, while limited economic opportunities, poverty, demand for forest products, and population growth were the main underlying drivers of forest loss. The prominent mediating drivers included limited community involvement in protection, low awareness of the impacts of forest loss, and non-enforcement of protection policies. Forest-edge communities experienced economic, social, and environmental consequences of forest loss, but a lack of alternative livelihoods, high demand for land and forest resources, and population growth motivated the continuation of forest-loss activities. Conclusion: Long-term local rootedness and sustained interaction between communities and forests have strengthened community knowledge for identifying indicators, drivers, and consequences of forest loss.