NEA Sensitizes Stakeholders on Climate Change
By: Haruna Kuyateh
National Environment Agency through the European Union’s Global Climate Change Alliance project (GCCA+) has organized a day long engagement with regional and local stakeholders on project dubbed “GCCA+ Climate Resilient Coastal and Marine Zone.
It was aimed at consolidating results and positive experiences of the previous GCCA project “Support to The Gambia for integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) and the mainstreaming of climate change”1 2013-2016. The convergence was recently held in Kerewan north bank region.
Speaking on the occasion, Governor Ebrima KS Dampha of North Bank Region reiterated that Climate Change continue to poised major economic, Social & Environmental problem of great concern to many countries including the Gambia and therefore called for aggressive and integrated approach in building local capacities on climate resilience to reduce the negative impact and improve lives and livelihood of the local population.
He lauded EU support to the Government of the Gambia in mitigating effects of climate change and its impacts on people’s lives and livelihoods. Governor Dampha noted that climate change is the biggest challenge to our development efforts and calls for active participation in protect the forest from over exploitation. He reiterated that European Union support to the Gambia not only gets an integrated national plan and strategy to combat climate change and its effects but also to help build up the resilience of our communities against it, particularly those along coastal and marine zones and would contribute National Climate Change policy.
Ismaila Senghore lead facilitator said Climate Change has adverse effects on Agriculture, Health, Water Resources and our livelihood mechanisms.
He urged peoples at grassroots to support this noble crusade of protecting trees from bush fire and all forms of illegal activities on the environment.
Traditionally, The Gambia’s economy has been based on subsistence agriculture, with additional household income coming from cash crops and surpluses in productive years. However, the domestic economy has been undergoing a transformation, as urban coastal areas have grown in size and economic importance.
Rural to urban migration, accelerating because of rural poverty exacerbated by climate change, amongst other factors, is quickly placing stress on fragile infrastructures and resources.
Fafanding Kinteh M&E Officer noted that the project aims at consolidating results and positive experiences of the previous GCCA project “Support to the Gambia for integrated coastal zone management (ICM) and the mainstreaming of Climate Change being implemented from 2013 – 2016. The objectives are enhanced institutional governance enabling planning and implementation of improved climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation measures in the Coastal and Marine Zones of the Gambia.
Adaptation measures identified for selected sites measures include: climate resilient measures applied for zoning, construction codes, drainage and rain water retention, & institutional coordination; increase climate resilience of livelihood options for local fisheries; diversification of local economy/tourism with the goal of enhancing security for climate sensitive activities; ‘greening’ of coastline (e.g. planting of coconut trees), decreasing impacts of sea level rise via mangrove conservation, increase fishery stock and species via natural resource conservation; decrease floods/drought impacts via rain water retention,; Activities will also include measures to perverse biological diversity such as turtle conservation along the beaches, wetland conservation and other Eco-system based approaches in the targeted marine and coastal zones