By Olimatou Coker
The West Africa Coastal Areas (WACA) Programme recently trained 60 participants on Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) for urban resilience. This training focused on equipping policymakers, practitioners, and community leaders with knowledge and practical tools to implement NBS—such as urban forests, wetlands, and green corridors—to address urban challenges like flooding, erosion, and heat stress. The initiative is part of WACA’s broader efforts to scale up the adoption of NBS for coastal and urban resilience in West Africa, recognising their cost-effectiveness and potential to deliver both environmental and social benefits.
Held at Ocean Bay Hotel, the five days workshop is organised in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Netherlands in 100 years from 2020 ( NL2120).
It is designed to strengthen the capacities of key stakeholders in The Gambia to design, implement, and sustain NbS as part of the Kotu Stream restoration work. It offers a unique opportunity for government agencies, technical experts and community members to gain practical skills, share experiences, and contribute to the sustainable restoration of the Kotu Stream, protecting over 200,000 residents from flooding and pollution while promoting ecological and community resilience.
Dr Muhammed Lamin Sanyang, the Project Coordinator of WACA, said the training is envisioned to enhance understanding of nature based solutions for urban resilience, particularly for river flooding and erosion, build skills to integrate nature based solutions into the planning and implementation of infrastructure projects.
“The training will foster urban resilience, monitoring, evaluation, sustainability, community and institutional engagement.”
Mariama Ndow-Jarju, Director of Central Coordinating Unit at the Ministry of Environment, said the training workshop is designed to bridge gaps.
“The experts will deal into key concepts, explore case studies from the regions, and develop practical skills for accessing, designing and implementing nature based solutions in urban context. They will look into tools for mapping our vulnerability, identifying ecosystem interventions and understanding the policy and governance framework needed to maintain nature based solutions.”
Liliane Assogba Sessou, Regional Expert on Nature Base Solutions of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said The Gambia has demonstrated strong commitment through its climate actions and national development strategies.
