The
Action Against Desertification (AAD) project is an EU-ACP funded initiative
supporting the implementation of the Gambia Green Wall for Sahara and Sahel
Initiatives (GGWSSI), with the aim of tackling integrated Sustainable Land
Management (SLM) approach in an effort to combat desertification in the
provincial Gambian Regions of North Bank, North of Central River and Upper
River. Launched in May 2016, the project covers a total area of 589,000 ha of
degraded land and is being implemented effectively with relevant stakeholders
and partners.
The
project is being executed by FAO Gambia-Country Office through Government of
the Gambia as the implementing agent in collaboration with four partners
namely: Department of Forestry, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, NACO
and ADWAC through a “Letter of Agreement” signed between these institutions and
FAO Gambia Office.
The
general objective of the AAD Project is to improve production systems resilient
to climate change for increased food security in the sub-Sahara, with a
strategic approach to adopt best sustainable innovative practices, actions and
measures that promote and provide support to integrated land management and
water control systems.
The
project offers a unique opportunity to effect significant changes in scaling-up
Government’s investment to promote food security and combat poverty through
both policy inputs and innovative grass-roots operations. The project will thus
therefore contribute in creating enabling environment with minimal capacity
requirement to consolidate and improve good practices in agriculture,
livestock, forestry, water resources, rural infrastructure and implementation
of social protection initiatives at local levels that favours households with
high climate risks vulnerability.
In
order to secure producers` investment and improve local livelihoods, the
project specifically added values to combine governance, sustainable management
of land and water, production of insurance and social protection against
climate change. Another important value the project added is linked to the fact
that the programme does not only focus on short term aspects of dry land
development, but supports the adoption of a medium and long term and
comprehensive approach to desertification, land degradation, drought, climate
change adaptation and mitigation, loss of biodiversity and supporting of a
functional coordination centered on Sustainable Land Management (SLM).
Based
on learning by doing approach, the project also aims at applying lessons from
best practices on SLM, climate resilience to development policies and practices
and building its approach on on-going programmes.
During
this period, the implementing partners with the project coordination unit were
engaged in series of awareness raising and capacity building activities with
the aim of informing relevant stakeholders on the project objectives, and the
implementation strategies put in place in the three project implementing areas
and clusters districts. Targeted audiences included Regional Technical Advisory
Committees, Local Government Authorities, Forest Management Committees, Village
Development Committees and Local Communities within the Project sites.
As
implementing partner, NACO in collaboration with Regional Foreststaffhad
conductedbaseline surveys on the legal status of Community Forests and Forest
Parks under Co-management within the project sites, and the agency was equally
engaged in the establishment of Regional Sustainable Land Management (SLM)
focus group discussions and trained 25 Forest Management Committees on
Participatory Forest Management Concepts and approaches.
The
agency also conducted capacity building in Sustainable Forest Resource Management
and community-based enterprise development on none-timber products and
conducted community outreach activities on Drought, Land Degradation and
Desertification issues. NACO further trained, Strengthen and developed
Enterprise Development Plans, and facilitated field trips to assess SLM
activities. Furthermore they facilitated the handing over of Thirty Nine
Community Forest Management Agreements (CFMAs) nation-wide by Hon. Minister of
Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources.
The
Agency for Development of Women and Children (ADWAC), is another implementing
partner engaged in the production and distribution of Metallic Stoves called
”Nofflye Jeeg” to beneficiary communities in the three project regions. This
effort consolidates and replicates the gains in the provision of the prototype
distributed by agency during the implementation of their Sustainable
Agricultural and Environmental governance project (SAGE) to rural communities
in The Gambia, Senegal and Guinea Bissau. As rationale to reduce the pressure
on forest resources for firewood, the project targeted Constructing 720
improvedstoves during the project period and distribution has started.
The
Department of Forestry being Government’s Focal Institution in implementing
this project, collaborated with the National Agriculture Research Institute
(NARI) to conduct training on Community Forest and Joint Forest Park Committees
members on seeds collection, preparation and handling in view of promoting
village based nursery establishment that increase the planting of indigenous
tree species on farm lands and open forest areas for improved Natural Forest
Management and rehabilitation.
This
year the village-based nurseries provided 7,300 seedlings of different species
for the restoration community forests with the objective of creating
alternative livelihood through self- employment for the youths and women by
selling seedlings. Furthermore, in supporting the implementation of AAD
project, the Department of Forestry and the FAO organized training on
biophysical baseline assessment using the Collect Earth Tool.
The
capacity development exercise was meant to enable the Country Team to produce a
baseline report that will highlight the status of drylands in the country and
help to identify restoration spots and will serve as a basis for evidence-based
decision making and for monitoring the impact of efforts to restore degraded
lands and to improve ecosystems and communities resilience in drylands.
Participantswere drawn from various institutions, including the Planning
Service Unit, the Department of Forestry, the Department of Land and Surveys,
the Gambia Bureau of Statistics, the Department of Parks and Wildlife
Management and the National Environment Agency.
The
Department of Forestry facilitated the processes of the developing and updating
of a Five year Forest Management Plans for five communities and supported
Twenty-five (25) community Forests Committees in completing their legal
ownership transfer processes by submitting the relevant documents to Ministry
of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources and Ministry of Justice
for designation process.
Also
facilitated the review for updating the ANR Policy (2009-2015) through AAD and
FFF projects’ funds in favour of SLM in collaboration with the National
Environment Agency through the
recruitment of a lead consultant and six subject matter specialists in various
areas within the natural resources sector.
Awareness
creation and action on combating desertification was popularised through radio
programs in three community radio stations within the project intervention
regions and one through the national radio.
But over the period,Forestry Department continues to strengthen
community-based sustainable land management through surveying, production of
maps of nine community managed forests, training on participatory forest
management community forest communities from the districts of Sami and Niani.
The training was meant to acquaint participants on the various sustainable
forest resource management concepts.
Another
key implementing partner is the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education
(MoBSE) who did the identification of suitable agro forestry/woodlot sites in
thirtyschools within the project intervention areas. The selection of schools
were based on established criteria (availability of land, evidence of community
commitment, population and existence of established mothers’ school club) was
done in collaboration with NEA and Forestry Department. They have been
promoting environmental green clubs in schools and established and trained
thirty school environmental clubs and members respectively on tree nursery
development and management in collaboration with ADWAC and Department
Forestry.