Press release – UNDP – With The Gambia being particularly vulnerable to the increasing frequency and severity of droughts, floods, wind storms and other climate events, the purpose of the Early Warnings Phase II project is to form a fully operational Early Warning System in The Gambia at the institutional level, in an effort to serve local communities in remote and climate vulnerable regions.
With financing from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and implementation support from UNDP, the Early Warning Systems in The Gambia through the Hydrological Headquarters in Bansang will provide information to communities, policy, decision makers, and technical experts on the nations water resources situation so as to better sustain and manage the nations water resources.
The Bansang hydrological station is supposed to be the coordinating hub for all hydrological stations in the country due to its central location but was in a severe state of disrepair both in terms of site and the equipment. This prevented it in the past years from serving its objective for the proper and regular monitoring of the Surface Water quality and quantity in the country. This intervention will allow the site to better serve as the National Headquarters for all Surface and Groundwater monitoring in the Five Administrative Regions (West Coast Region, North Bank Region, Lower River Region, Central River Region and Upper River Region) of the country.
Within this Decade of Action, UNDP will continue to support the Government in efforts like this to accelerate achievement of the 2030 agenda, leaving no one behind. Initiatives like this will contribute in accelerating the achievement of key Sustainable Development Goals such as SDG 6 which focuses on clean and quality water and sanitation for all. The support also contributes to SDG 13 which is focused on climate change and building resilience.
