Many would agree that once upon a time, Gambia used to be endowed with thick forest reserves especially travelling along the South Bank to the Eastern part of The Gambia.
Really, it is disheartening to note that most of these forests that used to serve as habitat for countless species of flora and fauna population are fast losing their past glory.
In our Wednesday’s edition of the Point, the vice president of The Gambia, affirmed that The Gambia has placed forestry, parks, and wildlife at the centre of its development vision, reminding that a nation cannot speak of growth while its forests and other natural resources disappear, neither of prosperity while its biodiversity is in decline.
H.E. Muhammed S. Jallow was speaking during the 25th Session of African Forestry and Wildlife Commission (AFWC25) and the 9th African Forestry and Wildlife Week currently underway at Sir Dawda Kairaba Conference.
As VP Jallow stated ‘we share solutions for climate action, biodiversity, and sustainable development. And I believe our collective work here will shape policies and practices beyond the continent.’
It’s really worrying in view of the fact that in most communities, illegal logging has virtually taken a great toll on the forest cover, and this causes great harm to the country’s forest cover and the environment, as well as the economy.
The action of some of these unscrupulous people leaves much to be desired. Acting out of sheer greed and selfishness, they continue to get-away with it, without considering the greater good of the population.
Let’s remember that our forest cover and, by extension, the environment must be preserved and protected.
It is true that our existence largely depends on how healthy our environment is. Therefore, our forest cover must be preserved and protected to ensure we live a healthy life.
Of recent, the impacts of climate change as a result of man’s activity is today being felt across the globe amid heightened ozone depletion, the greenhouse gases, etc, etc.
Also, there are growing threats due to harmful effects such as the loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea level rise, and more intense heat waves.
Thus, it is important that authorities take urgent actions against illegal or indiscriminate logging. This would not only save our forest cover but would protect our fauna species that most used our forest cover as their habitat.
We commend the Department of Forestry under the Ministry for its bold steps and measures adopted to restore our forest cover.
This illegal practice, therefore, must be addressed holistically to save our forest cover and economy, and generally our lives.
Let’s adopt sound and eco-friendly measures to conserve our forest cover.