Dr. Morro Kruybally, University of the Gambia (UTG)
The current state of affairs in the Nymbai Forest Park. The forest floor is strewn with domestic waste from illegal dumping and trees fell en masse for private interest.
I write with a heavy heart. For as long as I can recall in my adult life; and this will resonate with most Gambians who have lived through the 50s 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, and as recent as the 2000s, Nymbai Forest has been an enduring face of Gambia’s efforts in the development and protection of our forests over decades since independence. Thus, demonstrating Gambia’s commitment to the environment; and the preservation of our flora and fauna. Sir Dawda Jawara wrote:
“It is a sobering reflection that in a relatively short period of our history, most of our larger wildlife species have disappeared together with much of the original forest cover. The survival of the wildlife still remaining with us and the setting aside of protected natural habitats for them is the concern of all of us.
It would be tragic if this priceless natural heritage, the product of millions of years of evolution, should be further endangered or lost for want of proper concern. This concern is a duty we owe to ourselves, to our great African heritage and to the world.
Thus I solemnly declare that my Government pledges its untiring efforts to conserve for now and posterity as wide a spectrum as possible of our remaining fauna and flora.” (Declaration of Banjul. 1977).
Tragic indeed that nearly three decades later we are currently witnessing the obliteration of Nymbai Forest; a priceless symbol of our commitment as a nation to the preservation of our forest cover. This writer was shocked beyond words by the unsightly condition of Nymbai Forest as the current state of affairs in 2025. I never thought that I would live to witness the progressive transformation and wanting destruction of this jewel in our forest chains, to a dismal, and shameful man-made obliteration. Not only is the destruction of the flora and the concomitant devastation caused to the now almost non-existent wildlife an unforgivable sin, but it is also a demonstration of a people with little or no sense of environmental sustainability. Not only has the forest ecosystem been disturbed for the worst imaginable, but the gains made in creating the Forest over the decades, have been wantonly and criminally destroyed; progressively destroyed for want of personal gains and the sheer greed of a few special interests. Moreover, the socioeconomic ramifications of the destruction of the Nyambai Forest, and now Salagi Forest are wider than we can begin to enumerate, or fathom.
One does not have to be a scientist to understand the benefits of the Forest. As provided by the meteorological data of the county, the Forest’s proximity to Brikama contributes a great deal to the amount of rainfall recorded in the immediate vicinity and the West Coast in general. According to the World Bank Group (2019), annually, from June to November the average monthly rainfall in The Gambia is approximately 350 millimeters. Most of the rains in The Gambia occur in the West Coast followed by the South Eastern part of the Gambia (World Climate Guide, n. d.). For decades, Gambia’s forestation efforts have yielded Nymbai Forest, Makasutu Forest, Bama Kuno Forest, Bijilo Forest Park (currently under threat of disappearance due to development), Pirang Forest National Park, Abuko Nature Reserve, and Bamboo Forest (under threat of disappearance as now marred by bulldozed patches evident in the forest; a current state of affairs). Gambia, therefore, can only boast of a handful of forest reserves.
Allowing Nymbai to be desecrated and turn into another Bakoteh-like dump site will be a travesty of monumental proportions. Allowing Nymbai Forest to be surrendered to unscrupulous land grabbers, is tantamount to losing the Forest to the personal financial gains of a few special interests. Allowing Nymbai, fraught with mismanagement of gross incompetence, and turning a blind eye to the realities on the ground as the Forest goes to ruins, will be the biggest environmental negligence we as a people would have ever committed since the founding of our land. Allowing Nymbai to be turned into a dumping site will precipitate environmental calamity of unimaginable proportions. Moreover, allowing Nymbai to go to ruins would be the biggest disservice to the helpless communities in Brikama and environs for generations to come. The surreptitious and systematic destruction of Nymbai and now Salagi forests must be arrested forthwith, or we risk altering for the worst, the ecosystem of Brikama and the environment of the West Coast in general.
The aforementioned national Forests are predominantly located in the Western Region. One can therefore conclusively and scientifically deduce that rainfall is greater in the West because forest cover in the Western part of the country is greater than in the rest of The Gambia. The systematic disturbance of this ecosystem will inevitably result in the devastating reversal of the favorable conditions for the agricultural output of the region, and therefore, the country. Thus the proportionate socioeconomic ramifications, to say the least, will be huge and dare. The Consequential deprivation of rainfall on the West Coast region, the most populous of the country, will spell doom for the people of the region and therefore, the Gambia as a whole.
More frightening is not only the trees disappearing but more disappointing, is that Nymbai Forest has become a dumping site; a Bakoteh-type dumping site in the making. Several heaps of trash can now be seen strewn out from the edge of the Brikama highway to deep inside the forest. The ubiquitous donkey cart trash collectors, a growing commercial venture, have pivoted towards Nymbai Forest for dumping trash with impunity. This criminal is disconcerting and must stop before it is too late. We urge the reversal of this trajectory of indiscriminate dumping of waste and save what is left of the Forest. All concerned persons need to work collaboratively for remedial action for the reclamation of the Nyambai Forest and all other forest cover. We ought to start the arduous task of returning the Forest to its lost glory. This will once again demonstrate our commitment to the preservation of our forest cover and a renewed commitment to The 1977 Banjul Declaration. This commitment will be in alignment with the mission of the Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Project funded by the Green Climate Fund of the United Nations; the project is sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). As I write, this project is being implemented in the Gambia. Gambia is a key beneficiary of this project and growing trees is a fundamental element of the project activities. To address this matter, I suggest among other possible remedial actions such as the following:
1) Firstly, the government should take charge of the management of the Forest. The management of the forest must henceforth be transferred to the purview of the Regional Forestry Office in Brikama. The current management of the forest must be terminated- “The Forest Policy (1995-2005) aims to maintain, reserve and develop 30% of forest land resources of the country ensuring that 75% of the forest areas are managed by local people in their communities”. The related policies and other relevant Acts must be revisited to assess relevance in the current context of the state of affairs of impunity in our forests. As evidenced by Nymbai Forest, the management arrangement is now questionable and antiquated given the current state of affairs in the forest. People must be held to account! Here it appears no man has been called to account for the systemic destruction of the forest. One cannot help but wonder who allocated the land to the Chinese fuel processing plant once found deep inside the forest, and the current encroachment of land grabbers in the form of Real Estate Developers.
2) An oversight body such as a Forest Management Council or committee or its equivalient should be set up with members drawn from the governor’s office, chiefs, and other regional leaders with representatives from the Ministry of Environment, NEA, Local government, and the Office of the President. The regional forestry director should report to the committee with a technical advisory role. This should be a Presidential Council reporting directly to the President of the country.
3) The Nyambai Forest should without delay, be protected with an impenetrable perimeter fence.
4) Monitoring mechanisms should be put in place for regular/periodic patrols to ensure the prevention of unauthorized entry into the forest. A Forest Marshall separate from the Forestry Department personnel may be constituted by an act of parliament with enforceable and prosecutorial powers for dumping and illegal cutting, squatting, and land grabbing in the forest.
5) Similar arrangements should be made for other national forest parks in the Country.
6) Have zero tolerance for the destruction of our forest cover and be serious about prosecution of violators of our forests and environmental laws etc.
We urge the key stakeholders such as the Forestry Department, the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Brikama Area Council (BAC), the Governor of the West Coast Region, the Chief, and the Alkalo of the Nymabai Ward, and all other surrounding communities (Village Development Committees) and government leaders to take immediate action to address the case of Nymabai Forest. We urge the Gambia government to take note of this matter and strategize for remedial action to reverse the forest damage and potential outcome of the environmental disaster in the Nymbai Forest. I hope the whole country will be steadfast in protecting our environment and for this, we need a renewed “Declaration” of sorts in all regions of the Gambia. Perhaps this time it should be The West Coast Declaration, LRR Declaration, NBR, CRR, and URR Declarations. God save our environment!!!
