Land degradation in Gambia

Photo credit: The Point

 

Growing Threat of Global Warming Becoming Apparent in Gambia

By Abdoulie Nyockeh

in The Point (Banjul)

 

The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Parks and Wildlife and Environment, Ousman Sowe, has said the growing threat of global warming, desertification, land degradation and loss of biodiversity is, no doubt, becoming increasingly apparent in The Gambia.

He made this statement while delivering a speech at the graduation ceremony for 26 students at the Forestry School in Kafuta.

The graduands were 16 from the Forestry department and 11 from Department of Parks and Wildlife.

According to PS Sowe, large areas once covered with dense impenetrable forests teeming with wildlife have now been degraded to the threshold.

He also indicated that most of the forest lands have now become wastelands, “impossible or costly to recover”.

“Weather patterns are now unpredictable with devastating effects of droughts and floods,” he said, adding that heavy winds are eroding the soils of their nutrients which are essential for agricultural production “thus depriving us of our livelihoods and forcing many people into poverty and out-migration.

“It is our collective responsibility to ensure delivery of better services to our communities which suffer the greatest impacts of land degradation,” he further stated.

Read the full story: allAfrica

See also: The Point

The Gambia component of the Great Green Wall

The Great Green Wall

Gambia validates action against desertification project

Stakeholders from relevant institutions and organisations recently validated The Gambia component of the Great Green Wall for Sahara and Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI), and Action Desertification Project (ADP) draft documents at the conference hall of NaNA, Kanifing.

The GGWSSI Gambia focal point, Lamin F. Jawara, who is the deputy permanent secretary, Ministry of the Environment, said the general objective of the GGWSSI was to improve resilience to climate change for increased food security in the sub-Sahara.
This would be achieved through actions and measures that promote and provide support to proven or innovative approaches to integrated land management and water control.

Read the full story: Daily Trust

Chronic food and malnutrition crisis in the Sahel

Photo credit: UN NEWS Centre

Drought has affected residents of the Mbera refugee camp, Mauritania, in the Sahel region of Africa.

Photo: WFP/Justin Smith

UN, partners seek $2 billion to help millions of people across Africa’s Sahel region

EXCERPT

The United Nations and its partners today launched an appeal for nearly $2 billion to provide vital humanitarian assistance to millions of people in nine countries across Africa’s Sahel region.

Some 145 million people in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal live in a region that is constantly challenged by chronic food and malnutrition crises, and is vulnerable to climate change, droughts and unpredictable rainfall.

The Sahel humanitarian appeal for 2015, launched today in New York and totalling $1.96 billion, is part of a regional multi-year strategy to respond better to the chronic challenges in the region by emphasizing early intervention and forging closer partnerships with governments and development actors.

Over 20 million people in the region are short of food, 2.6 million of whom need life-saving food assistance now; and nearly six million children under the age of five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2015.

Violent conflict and insecurity have worsened over the last 12 months in many of the countries. As a result, 2.8 million people have been uprooted from their homes, over one million more than this time last year.

Read the full article: UN NEWS Centre

Shortage of clean fresh water

Photo credit: Hélène Clybouw

Water from a well in Sambelkunda (The Gambia)

Water crises seen as a top threat in next decade

Speed read

• Shortage of clean fresh water judged to be the greatest risk facing the globe
• A water crisis is also among the problems the world is least prepared to deal with
• The expansion of cities will put more pressure on water resources

Pressure on fresh water resources may be the main global threat in the next decade, but the world is failing to mitigate the risk and avoid a crisis, according to a survey of leaders from business, government, universities, international organisations and NGOs by non-profit foundation the World Economic Forum (WEF).   Published in its Global Risks 2015 report released ahead of the WEF’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, this week (21-24 January), the survey reveals a belief that water crises pose the greatest risk in terms of global impact. This places it ahead of hazards such as the spread of infectious diseases, the failure to adapt to climate change and interstate conflict, prompted by the rise of the Islamic State.

– See more at: http://www.scidev.net/global/water/news/water-crises-top-threat-next-decade.html#sthash.8ptV7wj9.dpuf