Piloting National Action Plan Implementation in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s burgeoning artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector provides critical livelihoods for women and young men, but is largely informal and associated with a range of social and environmental challenges, including mercury use. In response, the government of Sierra Leone has developed a National Action Plan to reduce mercury usage in the ASGM sector. Through this project, financed through GIZ’s Regional Resource Governance in West Africa co-funded by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union, Pact is helping stakeholders to kick-start implementation of the NAP. Interventions target Sierra Leone’s Tonkolili district, where significant ASGM activity takes place. Pact is focusing on organizational and technical strengthening for improved occupational health and safety, mercury-free production and formalization, as well as supply chain due diligence and access to finance and markets.