By Adam Colley
Ousainu Colley, the Programme Manager of Green up Gambia said he was inspired to start tree planting due to the destruction of the forest cover by human activity. Alarmed by the onslaught on the forest he was motivated to find a solution to the problem. He decided to engage in tree planting. He added that when he was in primary school, he learned that The Gambia was thick in the natural forest. “There were many wild animals in the country, rainfall was abundant because of the forest, the land was so fertile, and agriculture was so productive. So, growing up and realising that the forest that is known to be thick is no more thick, instead, it has been deforested and in fact, agriculture is no more productive because the land is no more fertile. We have to solve this by empowering people to embark on massive planting of trees to bring back the original natural forest,’’ he said.
Ousainu explained that they have a campaign strategy called the Soma Go Green Campaign, where they go to communities across the country, work with youth organisations, community leaders and elders to make sure that the communities plant trees in their forest, school gardens, in their community gardens and even within their villages. He explained that tree planting also encumbers climate change and protect communities from all the negative impacts of climate change. Mr Colley said his goal for the future in terms of tree planting and environmental work is to see Gambia regain its natural forest cover. He said this is a challenge and achieving it may not be possible ‘‘but by registering about 70 percent recovery will be fine’’.
