On 8 September 2008, the Royal Navy Icebreaker, HMS Endurance was the venue for a climate change and environmental management seminar by the British High Commission, Freetown. On board Endurance for the seminar were the Vice President; the Ministers of Defence; Agriculture, Forestry & Food Security; Lands & Environment; Mineral Resources; and Internal Affairs, Local Government & Rural Development. Also in attendance were over fifty other key government figures and officials, civil society, NGO representatives, plus senior figures from the British Royal Navy, IMATT, DFID and representatives of the diplomatic community.

With assistance of HMS Endurance, the delegates heard from top level experts from the UK's Meteorological Office, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the British Antarctic Survey, and UK Fisheries Protection Agency. They also heard from the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone and from Ecosecurities, a company involved in sourcing, developing and trading carbon credits, who have researched the potential for carbon credits to pay for the protection of the Gola Forest in the south east of Sierra Leone.                                                                

Among the topics discussed were:

• Climate change and its effects on West Africa
• How illegal fishing is costing Sierra Leone millions of dollars in lost revenue and what can be done about it
• A discussion about Sierra Leone's forest and wetlands and how best to protect them
• How to use carbon credits to pay for protection and reforestation of the Gola Forest and other protected areas
• How we can use the example of climate change in the Antarctic to explain changes that could happen in West Africa and beyond.

HMS Endurance also undertook other activities during its one week stay in Freetown. These included:

• Surveying Freetown's port, beaches and coastal areas
• Flying the Director of Fisheries over Sierra Leone's coastal waters to see for himself illegal fishing taking place
• Inviting school children from Freetown on board HMS Endurance to tour the ship and find out what work they carry out
• A press conference, held by the Captain of HMS Endurance to publicise the work they were carrying out in Sierra Leone and about the environmental seminar.

The visit of HMS Endurance and the environmental seminar showed the importance of tackling climate change on a global scale, but also for Sierra Leone to improve its environmental management to help safeguard its many assets for future generations.

The UK, both through the Government and civil society organisations will continue to work closely with Sierra Leone to offer our support and assistance both locally and in international discussions.