The Gambia’s vice president, Isatou Njie Saidy yesterday presided over the official opening of the 6 edition of the Regional Coastal and Marine Conservation Programme, PRCM.
Underway at Kairaba Beach Hotel, the three-day sub-regional forum, brought together politicians, experts, researchers, parliamentarians, civil society, international organisations and cooperate agencies, among others.
Themed “mobilization of partners for the rational conservation of the West African coastal and marine resources’, the confab seeks to strengthen the existing cooperation and devise strategies for the conservation of the sub-region’s fast-depleting coastal and marine resources.
“One of the greatest assets of this planet is the coastal and marine natural resources, but these resources continue to degrade at an alarming rate and the wherewithal in addressing it is not always there,” VP Njie-Saidy said.
She told the gathering that The Gambia is not an exception, pointing out that the country is faced with formidable challenges in containing coastal erosion.
“The menace continues unabated and it is affecting areas of our hotel industry,” she said, but was quick to add that concerted efforts are well underway in addressing the problem through beach nourishment, tree planting and sand bags.
“Because the destiny of our eco-system lies in our own hands, we cannot afford to allow the status quo to continue thus the need for efficient management of the marine and coastal resources,” VP Njie-Saidy said.
She renewed her government’s commitment to conserving and preserving the country’s fauna and flora, citing the Banjul declaration of 1977, establishment of NEA, forestry policy and the fisheries policy and Acts as a clear manifestation.
Vice Njie- Saidy described the forum as a model of a sub-regional platform for exchange of ideas, experiences and dialogue.
“It is my understanding that the current PRCM ends in 2012 and it’s my fervent hope that a new programme will emerge very soon to ensure continuity,” she said.
PRCM is an initiative of four international non-governmental organisations active in West Africa, namely the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Wetlands International and the International Foundation of the Banc d’Arguin (FIBA), in partnership with the sub-regional Fisheries Commission (CSRP).
The programme covers seven countries - Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal, and Sierra Leone - with which IUCN has signed contracts on behalf of PRCM founding NGOs.
The goal of the PRCM is to coordinate the efforts made by institutions and private individuals to preserve the littoral of coastal countries in the sub-region.
The forum is a consultation platform chiefly aimed at promoting dialogue among players of the West African littoral, facilitating harmonised approaches, coherence, and synergy development, formulating recommendations to decision-makers, and disseminating results and lessons learnt. Every eighteen months, it gathers a hundred institutional and non governmental stakeholders involved in development and conservation activities.
Other speakers at this year’s forum, which is the second of its kind in The Gambia, include forestry and environment minister, Fatou Gaye, Mrs. Sylwe Goyef, director of FIBA, and Linda Mansoon, director of MAVA Foundation.