PS Jawara was accompanied by Mr. Sisawoh Sabally, regional forestry officer of West Region. They were also honoured to attend the 2025 World Forestry Industry conference in the Nanning City of Guangxi province, China.
The seminar was organised by the national Academy of Forestry and Grassland Administration of China and funded by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The objective was to further strengthen the bilateral relationships between China and developing countries under the South- South cooperation.
PS Jawara, the head of Gambian delegation, said the seminar centered discussion on China’s Sustainable forest management efforts and achievements on how lessons learnt can be replicated in participating countries. He also disclosed that all the participants were later honored for attending the World Forestry Industry Conference, which coincided with the seminar.
The Gambian delegation’s contribution was to showcase The Gambia’s efforts in sustainable forest management such as developing the forest policy of The Gambia which calls for the involvement of local communities and private sector in sustainable forest management, developing of bush fire policy of the Gambia, developing of the Gambia forestry strategy and action plans; transfer of forest ownership and user rights from state to local communities through government Gazette. It also includes appointment of a sector military officer as director of forestry and the redeployment of a senior army officer and other ranks to support the operations of forestry department, monitoring of forest areas and forest law enforcement.
The two Gambian top environmentalists acknowledged and appreciated the best practices learnt and expressed deep gratitude to be part of the world’s sustainable forest management initiatives.
