By: Mariama Njie
Program Manager for Coastal and Marine environment at the National Environment Agency (NEA) disclosed that The Gambia sea level is rising and also been eroded by erosion.
Speaking exclusively in an interview with The Voice, Lamin Komma said “In this kind of climate change the Celsius are melting and when they melt, they go into the ocean and as a result of that the water level will increase. Currently in The Gambia the sea level is rising and the Gambia is a flat country with a low elevation coastal zone.”
He said that 92 per square kilometer of the country’s coastal zone will be flooded if the status continues rising as studied have shown.
“When that happen, we will lose our services we get from the coastal zone and communities that are in the coastal areas like Tanji, Brufut, Gunjur and Sanyang will also be lost,” he said.
He went on that coastal erosion has been defined as one of the most devastating environmental problems in the coastal zone of the Gambia, it has serious implications on the economics of the entire country.
Tourism is under threat because of coastal erosion as the country depends on tourism activities and tourist infrastructures are built around the coastal zone and we also have our cultural and historic sites too, he stressed.
Mr Komma explained that it is a cause of concern “if the coastal zone is been eroded and our sea level is rising while there are inadequate resources for effective coastal adaptation from government side.”
He therefore urged government to redouble effort in protecting the coastal environment that it is very important as it provides vital services to hundreds of thousands on the move towards the coast in search of a better life.
As the fishes we consume come from the coastal environment, when the tourist visits the country, they spend times on our coastal beaches so if those areas are not friendly to us it becomes a problem for all, he disclosed.