The desecration of the marine environment of the Gambia especially the Sanyang-Gunjur sore sight littered with dead and rotten fish for miles due to illegal fishing of companies licensed by the Gambia Government Ministry of Fisheries and operating in the country, is cause for concern leading to this question “Where are our activists?”
We are expecting the activists to challenge the government to adopt mechanisms to prevent environmental pollution and degradation in the country.
The Constitution does not specifically recognise the right to a satisfactory environment. However, there exists a National Environment and Management Act 1994 regarding the control and management of the environment.
The National Environment Agency is responsible for the management of the environment and also confers a duty on persons to maintain a decent environment.
Today in the Gambia land and environmental issues are on the rise and create community tensions threatening social cohesion and acting as key drivers of instability.
The greatest concerns today in the Gambia include land ownership, reduction in agricultural land due to climate effects, commercial development, and land and water pollution from fishmeal companies.
We ask the government to recognise the right to a satisfactory environment under the constitution and urgently address public concerns on issues relating to environmental pollution or degradation.
We urged the government to develop a National Action Plan for the implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as well as adopt measures to prevent pollution and ecological degradation and put in place effective mechanisms for the rehabilitation of sites that have been mined.