Overview
Under the Nature Nourishes-the State and Resilience Building Contract (SRBC) in Sierra Leone, the European Union (EU) Delegation in collaboration with the Government of Sierra Leone, provided technical assistance to the Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) in public sector auditing. The initiative aimed to build technical capacity of the performance auditors in environmental and performance auditing to turn audit evidence into practical solutions, that contributes to addressing complex environmental challenges (such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution), and foster good environment governance and accountability.
Key Components of the Technical Support covered
Figure 1: ASSL performance auditors undertaking on-site
risk assessment in the Western Area Peninsula National Park
- Hands-on application of environmental risk assessment tool for a structured risk-based approach to audit planning and execution.
- Evidence based application of Economy, Efficiency, and Effectiveness, Equity and Environmental Sustainability (5Es) using a systems-thinking, to evaluate protected areas (national parks, game reserves, and sanctuaries).
- On-the-job mentoring and practical methodological coaching to ensure timely delivery of audit work.
- Hands-on training of performance auditors in writing high-quality and impactful environmental and performance audit reports that evaluate both regulatory compliance and tangible socio-economic and environmental conservation outcomes.
Figure 2: ASSL performance auditors engaging the protected
area edge community, Gola Rainforest National Park
Results of the Intervention
- Auditing framework development and hands-on application of risk assessment for systematic audit planning and execution.
- Strengthened Audit Process: ASSL auditors gained practical experience linking public sector inputs directly to verifiable conservation outcomes.
- Protected Area Management Insights: Provided empirical evidence on critical management issues, covering strategic planning and financial resource mobilization, co-management in biodiversity conservation and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) activities, monitoring and enforcement systems, and suggested practical and transformative actions for the sustainable governance and management of protected areas in Sierra Leone.
Why the Intervention Matters?
- Shifted internal perspectives of performance auditors at the ASSL by demonstrating that high-quality, and impactful environmental and performance audits can be completed timely.
- Established internal operational tools, including an environmental audit manual and environmental risk assessment framework, aligned with the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs).
- Developed a risk-based environmental-performance audit function, capable of transforming audit evidence into practical solutions for long-term environmental governance and management.
With the strengthened risk-based environmental-performance audit function at ASSL, amidst the increasingly complex socio-economic development issues such as biodiversity loss, climate change, disaster risk, and sustainable natural-resource management. The intervention demonstrates that ASSL if fully capacitated, it can serve a strategic advisory role in environment and natural resource accountability in Sierra Leone, supporting sustainable socio-economic growth and development.
