The National Environment Agency (NEA), with the
financial backing of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), recently held
inception workshop at a local hotel in Kololi.
The forum is to officially introduce stakeholders to the beginning of a five-year funding cycle of GEF in The Gambia which will go through to 2018.
Speaking on the occasion, NEA Executive Director Ndey Bakurin said GEF is a partnership for international cooperation where 183 countries work together with international institution, civil society organisations and the private sector to address global environmental issues.
Since 1991, GEF has provided US$13.5 billion in grant and leveraged US$65 billion in co-financing for 3,900 projects in more than 165 developing countries.
For 23 years, GEF continued to provide funding to support activities related to biodiversity, climate change, land degradation and several other development project and programmes.
Madam Bakurin said The Gambia received grants totaling US$28 million that leveraged US$90 million in co-financing resources for 16 national projects.
These projects were on biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, energy and chemical management among others.
For his part, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Environment Climate Change, Water, Forestry and Wildlife, Ousman Sowe, said although The Gambia is a very small country, it has a relative wealth of biologicaldiversity.
He said the country has several protection areas including six national parks and game reserves and 66 forest parks.
Mr Sowe said the Gambia government has over the years adopted several measures to arrest the negative effects of climate change, land degradation and biodiversity degeneration to improve the environment.
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