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Good practice Imported

Freetown the Treetown — Digitally-Tracked Municipal Reforestation for Flood & Landslide Resilience

Sierra Leone · Freetown · See the Sierra Leone profile · See the Freetown profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 40% 47/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since 2020, Freetown has planted over 1.2 million trees (82% survival, GPS/photo-verified), paying residents as 'tree guardians' via carbon-market tokens, aiming for 5 million by 2030 to cut flood/landslide risk after a 2017 mudslide killed roughly 1,000 people.

1.2+ million trees
Trees planted since 2020 (2020-2025)
82 %
Tree survival rate
5 million trees
Target trees by 2030 (by 2030)
~70 %
Estimated tree cover lost over preceding 50 years
Freetown the Treetown — Digitally-Tracked Municipal Reforestation for Flood & Landslide Resilience

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Freetown City Council (#FreetownTheTreeTown, Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr)
Period
2020–2030 (target)
Keywords
urban reforestation, landslide/flood mitigation, carbon finance, community livelihoods

Context

Freetown's mayor, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, launched the #FreetownTheTreeTown campaign in January 2020 after the August 2017 Sugar Loaf Mountain mudslide killed roughly 1,000 people; the city had lost about 70% of its tree cover over the preceding 50 years to unplanned urban sprawl.

Activities

The programme runs a 'pay-to-grow' model: residents are paid as tree guardians to plant and monitor seedlings, verified through a digital, geo-tagged tracking platform, with funding drawn partly from tokens sold on private and carbon markets, including coastal mangrove planting against erosion.

Results

Over five years the campaign has planted more than 1.2 million trees with a reported 82% survival rate, en route to a stated target of five million trees by 2030. The initiative was a finalist for the 2023 Earthshot Prize.

Conclusions

The UN's own account frames flood-risk reduction, air-quality gains and carbon capture as programme goals rather than independently measured outcomes; the 82% survival figure and 1.2-million-tree count are self-reported through the programme's own tracking system rather than an independent third-party audit.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Freetown City Council, Paid resident 'tree guardians'

Conditions for success

  • Digital, geo-tagged tracking platform verifying planting and survival
  • Self-financing via tokens sold on private and carbon markets
  • International recognition (2023 Earthshot Prize finalist)

Common failure modes

  • Flood-risk reduction, air-quality gains and carbon capture are stated goals rather than independently measured outcomes
  • Freetown's population projected to exceed 2 million by 2030, adding pressure on the forested peninsula

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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