The disappearance of mangrove forests along the Freetown coastline is endangering oyster farming for local women in Sierra Leone [1].
This environmental decline threatens a traditional livelihood that provides essential income and food security for women in the region. Because oysters rely on the complex root systems of mangroves to thrive, the loss of these forests directly reduces the available habitat for the shellfish [2].
Local harvesters, including Millicent Turay, have observed a significant shift in where and how they must collect their harvest. The deterioration of the mangroves has forced farmers to change their methods to maintain their yields [1].
"In the past, the mangroves were full of oysters," Turay said. "There was no need to go into the water to get any" [1].
Experts attribute the decline of the forests to human expansion and related pressures [2]. As urban development and human activity encroach upon the coastline, the natural buffers provided by the mangroves are stripped away, leaving the ecosystem vulnerable and the oyster populations depleted [1].
For the women of Freetown, the mangroves are not merely a landscape feature but a critical economic resource. The gradual loss of these forests means that a practice passed down through generations is now at risk of vanishing [2].
“"In the past, the mangroves were full of oysters."”
The situation in Freetown illustrates the intersection of environmental degradation and economic vulnerability. When coastal ecosystems like mangroves are destroyed by urban expansion, the impact is not only ecological but social, specifically targeting the economic autonomy of women who rely on artisanal harvesting for their survival.
