Sierra Leonean Log Export Ban Policy: Balancing Sustainable Forest Management and the Economy

Protections of tropical forests have recently being a hot topic of debate among many scholars. This could be as a result of their important role in carbon sequestration, releasing of oxygen into the atmosphere and serving as home for biodiversity. The topic was selected because Sierra Leone in the past has implemented on and off log export bans (LEB) in order to protect its forests. However, the effectiveness of such policy and it implication for the country’s economy has not been examined before. Moreover, with the global drive for the adoption of Sustainable forest management and the mounting pressure from environmental organisations for policy reforms, the Sierra Leonean government policy needs to be revisited to examine whether a LEB policy can achieve the goals of conservation and economic development. The Global forest product model (GFPM) was used to simulate and determine the impact of a LEB policy on the forest sector and the economy of Sierra Leone. The model uses data from the United Nations Food and agricultural organization to predict how the forest sector reacts to a change in trade policy. The results show that a LEB policy cannot achieve the twin goals of forest conservation and economic growth.