By Fatou Sanneh
The Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources has said that the realisation of a healthy ecosystem is essential to the sustainable development of The Gambia, as it supports safeguarding of critical sectors of the country’s economy, including agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and forestry, whose sources of livelihoods are dependent on the environment.
Hon. Minister Rohey John-Manjang made these remarks as she officially opened the 2nd joint Steering Committee meeting of the UNEP/GEF Medium Size (MSP) project, “Harnessing the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) for a Sustainable and Resilient Sahel.
She said The Gambia’s participation in the UNEP/GEF regional project will contribute to achieving global environmental goals by combating desertification and promoting sustainable land management; as well as foster cross-border cooperation, allowing The Gambia to share/gain knowledge and resources with neighboring countries to tackle shared environmental challenges.’’
Hon. Minister on behalf of the government and people of The Gambia, thanked the governing council and leadership of the Pan African Agency of the Great Green Wall and its member states for accepting The Gambia’s request to become a member of this great initiative.
The meeting aimed to present, discuss, adopt project achievements, the next steps toward closure and provide opportunities for partners for exchanges for strong synergy and complementarity. The meeting was also an opportunity for the Pan-african Agency of the Great Green Wall and partners to discuss other topics of relevance to the Great Green Wall initiative, which include: (a) identification of thematic issues to be considered for side events during the UNCCD COP 16 (b) update on the GGW Observatory recently adopted by countries and partners during a meeting organised by UNCCD Accelerator in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The Great Green Wall Initiative is a pan-African initiative for the restoration and sustainable management of land in the Sahelo-Saharan region to combat land degradation and poverty. It was first proposed in 2005 by the former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and then followed by the President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade. In 2007, the African Union approved the “Decision on the Implementation of the Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative.”
