Seated along the peninsula south of Freetown is the secluded village of Black Johnson. Rainforest covers the hills that rise behind it, home to chimpanzees and protected bird species. There’s a lagoon that serves as breeding grounds for fish, and sea turtles lay their eggs on the beaches nearby. This largely neglected town suddenly came to wider notice in May, when the government of Sierra Leone announced plans to build a fishing harbor here.
The announcement set off a clamor from environmentalists who argued that an industrial fishing harbor will threaten the ecologies of the beach and lagoon, and property owners apprehensive that government will dispossess them of their lands.
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Industrial fishing harbor plan raises a stink in Sierra Leone