By: Mariama Njie
The National Environmental Agency has trained twenty police officers from Kanifing Municipality and West Coast Region on environmental legislations and technicalities laws.
The weeklong training was held at the National Nutrition Agency offices, Kanifing.
The training among other things was meant to ensure better enforcement with regard to the legislations from arrest to prosecution of environmental offenders, how to effectively collaborate for the enforcement process of these statutory obligations to protect the fauna and flora of this country.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training, Dr. Dawda Badgie, deputy executive director of National Environment Agency said “the National Environment Agency has a set of laws and regulations which seek to defend actions done against the environment whose effects may seriously affect its quality and eventually affect the lives of people.”
“Something unique about these sets of laws and regulations is enforcement, to ensure that the society abides by its provisions to mitigate the harm done to the environment. Therefore the needs for the enforcement of the laws are of paramount and the powers to do that effective are vested in the police herein The Gambia Police Force (GPF}, he added.
He said that without the participation of the police force, the laws and regulations will become dead letters.
He noted that police are mainly responsible for the prosecution of such crimes against the states, “we believe that will enhance case management and the involvement of the police for effective enforcement. We do understand that the GPF workforce is wide as a result of which we cannot train all members of the force, but we will want to give it a try.”
He continued that they come with the idea of the Training of Trainers (TOT) initiative, because as they are well trained and equipped they will be able to train other officers of the police as they were trained so it can have a dominos effect.
“The NEA being the principal custodian of environmental management and the implementer of the environmental laws and legislation cannot be at all places to effectively enforce these laws and regulations effectively and efficiently,” he said.