VIII. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

i. Forestry

Mr. Speaker Sir,

138. The year under review witnessed significant progress in the consolidation of the participatory forest resource management programme. There are now 26, 500 hectares of natural forest under community management. This represents a 10.4% increment over the 24, 000 hectares registered in 2002.

139. A particular achievement for this year has been low incidence of bush fires throughout the country, compared to the last dry season. This achievement can be attributed among other things, to the serious efforts being injected into the campaign against bush fires. This campaign became successful mainly due to support received from The Gambia German Forestry Project and the Central River Division Forestry Project.

140. The Department of Forestry, in order to enhance the contribution of the sector to national efforts in reducing poverty, concluded a technical cooperation project with the FAO in February this year to promote market analysis and development of forest product enterprises across the country. Fourteen villages in Western Division have already developed enterprise plans for the production and marketing of forest products, ranging from timber, fuel wood, and honey, to eco-tourism services.

141. Beekeeping has been accorded particular attention, considering the enormous potential it has in contributing to food security and poverty alleviation. It is with this recognition that the Department of Forestry, in May this year, distributed over two hundred and fifty beehives to enable communities in Western Division and North Bank Division to embark on beekeeping. These efforts shall be extended to other divisions, with funding from either HIPC resources or other projects supported by development partners.

142. The institutional and legal framework for the establishment of National Desertification Trust Fund has been developed. The main objective of the fund is to mobilise both national and international resources for the implementation of a National Action Plan (NAP) to combat desertification. It is also to co-finance local initiatives of relevance to the implementation of National Action Plan.

ii. Wildlife and Park Management

143. Our current resource consumption patterns and the rapid rate of environmental degradation, coupled with demographic pressures, poverty and maginalization of local communities in decisions pertaining to natural resource management, have greatly increased the threat to biodiversity in The Gambia. It is against this backdrop that the Biodiversity/Wildlife Bill was introduced in 2003, and passed by the National Assembly as a corrective measure and a policy tool for efficient community-based natural resource management and conservation.

144. In addition to ensuring the judicious and sustainable management and utilization of biodiversity in the country at all levels, the Biodiversity/Wildlife Act of 2003 will help create an appropriate policy and environment for local community involvement in biodiversity matters as well as ensuring adequate protection and respect for local knowledge, practices and innovations as they relate to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

iii. Water Resources

145. Government's commitment to provide access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation led to a nationwide grassroots Consultation Meeting in May 2003, with funding from the UNDP. The aim of this meeting was to formulate a National Water Strategy that is owned and managed by local communities. With the support of the Japanese Government, a mission for the Basic Design study on the Integrated Water Project (JIWUP), which was suspended since 1995 is expected in The Gambia in 2003. This mission will look into the proposed sites where the Intervention of the reactivated Japanese Government assistance is most needed in providing access to safe drinking water.

146. The implementing agency of the Saudi-Sahel Project Phase III accomplished its full implementation in record time. We are presently waiting for the completion of this cycle of the project by other benefiting countries within the Sahel so that phase IV of the project can commence.

iv. National Environment Agency (NEA)

Mr. Speaker Sir,

147. The implementation of the Gambia Environment Action Plan (GEAP) is now gaining momentum. In the field of hazardous chemical management, the National Assembly has ratified the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the worst pollutants known to mankind, and the National Environment Agency, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and other collaborators, are actively engaged in a program to phase out these pollutants.

148. Last year, my predecessor reported on the establishment of a joint venture, National Environment Youth Corps Project between Government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which seeks to engage non-employed Gambian youths in income generating activities that address environmental concerns and promote public awareness. The Project is now being fully implemented, though with some constraints encountered in recruitment, private sector involvement, and land allocation. About two hundred youths are now engaged in one or more activities identified by the Project, and we hope that this project would contribute substantially to poverty reduction in this country.

 

-end.