By Maimuma Sey-Jawo
Ministry of Environment Climate Change and Natural Resources (MECCNAR) under its Central Project Coordinating Unit, Wednesday, validated its ten years draft forestry policy 2022-2031.
The validation was supported by the Eco-System Based Adaptation Project (EBA) and the Department of Forestry while the validation forum was held at the Paradise Suite Hotel.
The forestry policy will be implemented by the Department of Forestry, Deptartment of Parks and Wildlife including other stakeholders Community Development and Department of Agriculture.
In his welcoming remarks, Muhammed Jaiteh, Director of Department of Forestry, dilated on importance attached to policy and said it comprises social issues, policies and institutions production of goods and services livelihoods associated with markets related to forest and trees.
According to him the Department of Forestry considered the as broad, multidisciplinary document encompassing social issues policies and institutions, production of goods and services and the jobs associated with them, livelihoods and markets related to forest and trees outside forests.
By this view, he said they are taking into consideration the complexity of the many different forest ecosystems, as well as the social and ecological complexities of the broader landscapes within which forests and trees exist.
The demand for ecosystems services from the forest is increasing “we are challenged to strategically optimize our capacity and mitigate climate change, conserve biodiversity, safeguard wildlife habitat and protect land and watersheds,” he stated.
The Director of Forestry noted that currently; they are anxious to manage their remaining dry land forest sustainably through participatory approaches by involving the rural forest-dependent community’s private individuals to promote integrated forest management and landscaping approaches in the next decades.
Director Jaiteh explained further that the previous assessment indicates that the Gambia has around 423,000 hectares of forest, covering about 44 percent of the land area and providing goods and vital ecosystem services in support of agriculture, food security and nutrition as well as climate mitigation and adaptation.
The Director lamented that DoF will continue partnership with old and new stakeholders and be at the forefront in the management of our forest affairs.