Two very competent young men gathered most of the information in this study from a variety of sources. Augustine M. Koroma and Musa F. Mammy are Honours I students at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences (Environment and Development Option), Njala University College, University of Sierra Leone; they were on field attachment with the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Mineral Resources and the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL), respectively. The responsibility for collection could not have been placed on more able and genial shoulders. The author is greatly indebted to these two bright and up-and-coming researchers. They, too, received cooperation from officers in the organizations to which they were attached, as well as others. To these persons, who cannot all be named here, I would like to express my gratitude.

Dr. Mohamed Imam Bakarr was very instrumental from the very beginning of this project, and he provided invaluable inputs to the study. Rebecca Ham and James Shambaugh worked tirelessly to get this project off the ground and to see it through to completion. I am grateful to all three of them. I also wish to express my thanks to other staff at BSP who contributed in various ways to make the study a success.

The Commission for Resettlement, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation and the Ministry of Defence of the Government of Sierra Leone made important documents available to the author. Other works that contributed to the contents of this study are duly acknowledged. However, responsibility for the final form of the study is entirely mine.