As part of the commemoration marking World Environment Day, the National Environment Agency, NEA, last Wednesday held a quiz competition at the agency’s premises in Kanifing.
Speaking at the quiz competition, the acting Executive Director, Mrs Ndey Sireng Bakurin, said each year on June 5th people across the planet celebrate World Environment Day.
“It’s a day for an action where hundred of thousands of activities take place in virtually every country in the world to improve the environment now and for the future,” she said.
She added that gathering young people to champion environmental issues was amazing and encouraging since everyone has a stake in the future.
According to her, without a sound environmental management it would be much harder to reduce poverty and improve health and food security; fight climate change and have sustainable waste management.
She pointed out that enlightening people on environmental issues, such as food security, waste management, and climate change has been a longtime business of her office.
Mrs. Bakurin posited that environmental protection is not government’s duty alone, but instead the people living in the country have to take up their role.
She said the purpose of the quiz competition is to seek motivated pupils to experiment ideas to develop new ways of protecting the environment.
Speaking earlier, Mustapha Darboe, the acting -Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Parks and Wildlife, said: “The day is an annual event that aims to be the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action.”
“Our growing population puts so much pressure on the environment that nowadays the natural resources are no longer as abundant as they used to be renewable resources,” he said.
Speaking at the quiz competition, Babucarr Ceesay of Standard Charter Bank, said the bank is delighted to be a part of it, noting that the environment and climate change is part of the bank’s overall approach to building sustainable business.
Noting that under sustainable business agenda they focus on enhancing the economic development of the countries in which they operate, through environmentally-friendly initiatives, he said, in partnership with the Department of Forestry and the Environment they have planted approximately 61,000 trees in The Gambia’s forest.
