Sierra Leone - State of the Marine Environment 2015

1. Introduction

1.1. Location, climate and relief of Sierra Leone

mean monthly amount of rainfall reaches its maximum in July and August, when the average number of rainy days is 27 out of 60 days in July and August. The country is divided into the following main relief regions: the coastline interior lowland plains, the interior plateau and mountains. The shelf covers an area (to 200 meter depth) of 30,000 km 2 . 1.2. Demography Sierra Leone’s population doubled from around 2.5 million in 1970 to 5 million in 2004. It is estimated to have reached 6.4 million by 2012, and projected to grow moderately to 6.5 million by 2018. The growth rate peaked at 2.3% per year in 1985, but had declined to 1.8% in 2004. Up to 55% of Sierra Leone’s population inhabits the coastal zone and makes substantial use of the coastal resources. As the coastal population continues to grow, these resources

Sierra Leone is situated along the Atlantic west coast of Africa, between latitudes 6°55’ and 10°00’ north, and longitudes 10°14’ and 13°18’. It has a coastline of about 560 km stretching from 6°55’ north to 9° north. The coastal zone covers an area of about 71,740 km 2 (Fig. 1.1). The climate is tropical with two well-defined seasons of wet and dry weather. The wet season generally lasts fromMay to November with two periods of squally weather, in March- April and May, and again in September to October. The highest observed cloudiness from the area is 6–7 oktas and is closely related to the influence of the equatorial monsoons blowing fromJune toNovember.The cloud amount decreases to 3–5 oktas during the months of December to April. The highest amount of rainfall occurs during the rainy season. The heaviest rains occur in July and August. The

Figure 1.1: Map of Sierra Leone (GRID-Arendal)

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