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The National Environment Agency joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Environment Day on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.
World Environment Day (WED) was first celebrated with the theme “We Have Only One Planet”. Since then, it is celebrated every year on 5 June with various activities to raise awareness and protect the environment.
This year’s theme is “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Relief”.
Speech at national commemoration event
Inside the UNEP complex, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Rohit John Manjang stressed the importance of this year’s theme and said there was a need to address some of the most pressing environmental challenges.
The Minister of Environment explained the importance of land management, adding: “Our land is more than a physical space; it is the basis of our survival, economic activity and cultural heritage.”
But she noted that challenges posed by human activities and climate change are leading to resource degradation, causing desertification and increasing the frequency and severity of droughts.
The Minister noted that these challenges threaten food security, livelihoods and the very existence of some communities.
She also noted that the government, in partnership with various stakeholders, had taken “significant steps” to combat land degradation and promote sustainable land management practices.
NEA Executive Director Dr Dauda Badjie said NEA and its partners will continue to work with local municipalities and regional councils to take concrete measures to address relevant environmental issues such as waste management.
Dr. Badjie said that land and natural resource degradation and desertification have posed a threat to livelihoods and development chains on the African continent, and there is an urgent need for sustainable land management.
He said these threats are the main challenges of the twenty-first century and require a firm and comprehensive approach, and called on everyone: “I call on all Gambians to plant and nurture as many trees as possible to protect them.”
In his speech, Abubakar Kujabi, Project Coordinator of the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA+), said The Gambia benefited from EU funding through the project and sought to help coastal communities adapt to the impacts of climate change.
He said among their project activities, one was in line with the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, which was coastal greening through an ecosystem-based approach.
Mr Kujabi said the activity is expected to restore and improve ecosystems and protect coastal communities from the negative impacts of climate change.
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