The Activist Who Fought For Sierra Leone's First World Heritage Site

Source: International Business Times

Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Sierra Leone that has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site AFP Activist Tommy Garnett's decades of work paid off when Sierra Leone's Tiwai island -- a lush forest home to one of the world's highest concentrations of primates -- landed a spot Sunday on the UN cultural agency's World Heritage list. The 66-year-old and the conservation group he founded are the reason Tiwai, which was nearly destroyed during Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war, still exists. "I feel very happy, relieved, hopeful," the environmentalist told AFP from the verdant island, ahead of the announcement.