In the past, we’ve seen instances where community members in their quest to protect their community’s land turns deadly.
The problem of sand mining has been a major crisis which has and continues to cause serious problems in coastal communities such as Sanyang, Gunjur and others. This trending issue should be addressed, and the time is no other than now.
Though, the activity has been a lucrative venture for some individual in view of the millions they rack from the exercise at the expense of local communities. However, its negative impact on the environment far outweighs the benefits whenever its effects are threatening lives and the ecosystem.
We all know that sand mining has both short-term and long-term effects. Gambians are already suffering from the short-term effects, and if this practise is not regulated now, it might cause the country more havoc in the near future, as it has done in other countries.
In our yesterday’s edition, the youth of Kartong in Kombo South District have threatened to physically attack illegal sand miners and burn their trucks if found mining in their territory.
The youth made the threat out of frustration as mining effects pose threats by individual companies, who are benefitting from their lucrative sand mining at the expense of local communities.
It is high time government takes a firm stance on companies’ hell bent activities that have a devastating impact on the environment.
It is a fact that sand mining has several consequences. For instance, on the ecological level, beaches or islands disappear, coral reefs or mangrove forests are damaged, and fish populations are threatened or changed, while riverbed sand mining, in combination with climate change, leads to rises in the sea level and has contributed to the loss of thousands of rice farms in local communities.
This activity has reached a point that even infrastructures are not speared. In some areas, we’ve seen how bridges, gas pipelines, or water and electricity grids, are affected as a result of activity.
Looking at the low-lying location of Kartong, which according to officials, lies 6ft below sea level and its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, is another cause of concern.
Thus, the persistent sand mining in the area if not regulated would have a catastrophic consequence on the community and even the country’s biodiversity.
Therefore, it is time for government through concerned Ministry to act now so as to avert future incidents. Land ownership and management is a delicate issue in the country. And most of these sand mining companies are working for their own interest without putting the welfare of the public.
Many would attest to the fact that the most disturbing impacts of sand mining is land degradation and erosion. This destroys the soil layer and structure, as well as the soil fertility, which will have a negative impact on agriculture, the backbone of the country.
It is also a fact that areas where sand mining once occurred are sometimes rendered useless, or unless, communities use other avenues to reclaim the said land. This, tedious undertaking sometimes includes, back-filing measures to be able to re-use those lands.
It is time to act now before it is too late. For far too long, the people of these coastal communities have long voiced out their concern against this negative environmental threat, but to no avail.
The government should review all licence issued to companies for future actions. People should also look for ways to revive these mined areas to better serve the communities. Let’s always bear in mind that land issue is an explosive one as seen in Faraba and Gunjur communities in the past.