By Fatou Sanneh
The Gambia is strengthening its climate accountability systems as key stakeholders in the waste sector undergo a five-day intensive training on the IPCC 2006 Guidelines and IPCC Software under the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) Project.
The training places a strong emphasis on improving the quality, consistency, and reliability of Green House Gas (GHG) data from the waste sector—one of the country’s critical sources of emissions while aligning national Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems with the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement.
By focusing on practical data collection, processing, and reporting methods, participants are working to address long-standing gaps in activity data and emission factors. The programme also supports the development of sector-specific modules and strengthens institutional systems for tracking emissions and monitoring progress towards The Gambia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Opening the training, the Director of the Climate Policy Coordination Unit (CPCU), Mrs. Mariama Ndow-Jarjue, emphasised that credible GHG inventories are central to effective climate governance. She noted that accurate waste sector data is essential for evidence-based policymaking, national planning, and international reporting obligations under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. According to her, the ETF requires countries like The Gambia to regularly submit inventories that are transparent, accurate, complete, and comparable.
Mrs. Ndow-Jarjue further stressed that achieving these standards depends on strong collaboration between national institutions and sector-level actors, particularly those working directly with waste data at municipal and regional levels.
CBIT Project Coordinator, Mr. Sambou Kinteh, highlighted that the five-day structure of the training allows participants to fully engage with the IPCC software through hands-on exercises, ensuring that technical knowledge translates into practical application.
Echoing this, Waste Sector Lead Mr. Abdou Sambou Hydara underscored the importance of accurate and timely data collection, describing it as critical for effective reporting to the Ministry of Environment and informed decision-making within the waste management sector. He commended the active participation of regional and urban councils, including the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) and Banjul City Council (BCC), noting their frontline role in generating national waste statistics.
The training combines theory with practical exercises such as software installation, sectoral modelling, and the use of country-specific data. Sessions on quality assurance and quality control, uncertainty assessment, key category analysis, and inventory improvement planning are designed to strengthen The Gambia’s national GHG inventory system over the long term.
Established in 2016 by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the CBIT Project supports developing countries to enhance transparency in climate reporting by strengthening national institutions, systems, and technical capacity in line with national priorities and the requirements of Article 13 of the Paris Agreement
