By Olimatou Coker
The Nagoya Protocol/Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) project recently held a forest cleaning exercise at Nyambai and Kabafita Forests in Brikama, West Coast Region, underscoring an urgent push for environmental sustainability, community engagement, and practical awareness of forest conservation challenges.
The operation targeted indiscriminate dumping and bush encroachment that threaten biodiversity, groundwater recharge, and the wider ecosystem services the forests provide.
Detailing the purpose of the ABS framework, Dr Alpha Kargbo, Lead Technical Assistant of the Nagoya Protocol/ABS Project, said the protocol ensures lawful access to genetic resources and fair, equitable sharing of benefits derived from their use.
“When pharmaceutical companies identify therapeutic properties in forest plants, access must be granted through prior informed consent. Communities must be told exactly what will be done, and any benefits—whether through patenting, research outcomes, or commercialisation—must be set out in mutually agreed terms and shared back with the community,” he explained.
He added that the cleanup was designed to reinforce stewardship of Nyambai and Kabafita, which serve as critical water catchment areas with close to ten boreholes, and to make clear that dumping and degradation are incompatible with national conservation objectives and the ABS principles.
Speaking on the forest’s value, Njagga Touray, deputy executive director at the National Environment Agency (NEA), stressed that these reserves deliver essential ecosystem services: free oxygen, medicinal plants, water filtration, and microclimate regulation that benefits surrounding communities.
“Without these services, local livelihoods and health are at risk. Protecting them is not optional—it is a public duty,” he said.
Lieutenant Colonel Salifu Corr, Director of Forestry under the Ministry of Environment, said the exercise exposed the scale of indiscriminate dumping and called it unacceptable. “Forests are not the property of the Department of Forestry alone; they belong to the public. We need citizens to stop illegal dumping and we need councils and enforcement agencies to apply penalties consistently. Without accountability, degradation will continue,” he warned.
The ABS Project in The Gambia is focused on strengthening national policies, legal and institutional frameworks to effectively implement the Nagoya Protocol; supporting research and ethical commercialisation of genetic resources—especially at Nyambai Forest Park—to open economic opportunities while preserving biodiversity; and enhancing collaboration among stakeholders, with special emphasis on integrating and protecting traditional knowledge. The initiative aligns national practice with international obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, ensuring communities are partners and beneficiaries, not bystanders.
The cleanup brought together local communities, the National Environment Agency, Brikama Area Council, the Department of Parks and Wildlife, and the Department of Forestry. Beyond waste removal, teams conducted sensitisation on ABS rights and responsibilities, highlighted the legal consequences of dumping, and discussed practical measures: establishing community forest watch groups, installing signage and waste collection points, improving routine patrols, and coordinating with the council to strengthen solid-waste routes and penalties.
Organisers said the exercise is the start of a recurring schedule of cleanups and outreach, paired with tighter enforcement and transparent community engagement on access requests and benefit-sharing agreements.
The objective is to address illegal dumping, bushfires, and unnecessary tree cutting.
