Joseph Rahall
In our conversation we delve into the changes Joseph has seen to the climate of Sierra Leone since his childhood, including deforestation and "freaky" weather patterns disrupting local ecosystems and food production. He eloquently explains just how badly his country is experiencing the effects of the climate crisis- a direct result of our actions in the developed world.
Joseph Rahall is an expert in environmental protection with over 27 years’ experience. In 1989 Joseph founded Green Scenery, an organisation that works to promote environmental awareness and ensure the conservation of Sierra Leone. He became Executive Director in 2002 after the organisation was transformed into a National CSO. Joseph has used his expertise on a range of different projects including currently working on Pro-poor land governance, geospatial application for women’s land rights through land mapping and women’s empowerment, and a participatory rural poverty assessment study on the contribution of the UN Peace building Fund to Women’s Economic Empowerment and Peace.
Rahall has offered many technical support to MDAs including serving as member of technical committee of the implementation of the Voluntary Guideline of the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, technical committee member of National Land Policy, Trustee member of the Conservation Trust Fund, Multi-stakeholder member of Sierra Leone Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. He has also provided consulting advice on the World Bank’s Sierra Leone: Land Governance Assessment Framework as well as to the National Advocacy Coalition on Extractives.
Joseph has undertaken a number of studies and has written expansively on the environment, contributing to key reports including “Efforts to increase responsibility in agricultural investments: policy framework and implementation challenges – evidence from civil society in Sierra Leone”, presented at the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty in 2013. Another notable piece is his contribution to the 2012 Global Hunger Index: “The Challenge of Hunger: Ensuring Sustainable Food Security under Land, Water, and Energy Stress”.
In addition, Joseph is a Fellow for both Transitional Justice, University of Cape Town, Institute of Peace and Re-conciliation – South Africa and the International Center for Transitional Justice in New York, having an academic background in transitional justice and reconciliation. His experience in the field has included training teachers, community representatives and opinion leaders in conflict management and peacebuilding across Sierra Leone.
Human rights defenders in Sierra Leone have generally been able to undertake their work without risk from serious attack from the authorities. Nevertheless, some HRDs still face harassment and acts of intimidation when pursuing their work.
