In the early 1900s
Gambia was covered by dense and almost impenetrable forests. Today
there are only some few remnants of primary forest left, with 78%
of the remaining forest area classified as “degraded tree and shrub
savannah vegetation.” The main cause of this forest degradation
process can be traced back to the introduction of groundnut (peanut),
which became the main export-oriented cash crop, mostly aimed at
supplying the French market with industrial and cooking oil.
In The Gambia, the
easiest and cheapest way for preparing the land for cultivation
is the use of fire, and at end of the dry season people are actively
setting fire to small and large areas of land. In many cases, those
fires spread to the nearby tree and shrub vegetation, thus further
contributing to forest degradation. Fire prevention and control
thus appear to be essential for the protection of the remaining
forest areas.
In a recent visit to
the country, the WRM interviewed Amadou Ceesay (CEO) and Ousman
Joof (Production manager) from the National Beekeepers Association
of The Gambia (NBAG), who explained the importance of their activity
–coupled with community forest management- in the conservation and
restoration of forests, particularly regarding fire prevention.
They explained that
community forest management is a long term project and that people
need to identify income generating activities within those forests.
According to Ceesay, “one of the best identified activities is beekeeping.
The moment they have their equipment, in only 2-3 months they can
begin to receive earnings, and beekeeping provides more than the
annual farming income.”
The result is that
people are then interested in protecting the forest, because they
need enough trees and flowers for their bees, so they sustain existing
ones and plant more. With hives, community forests are well protected
from forest fires, not only because beekeepers wish to maintain
their source of pollen, but also because they need to protect the
hives themselves -located inside the forest- from fires. Ousman
Joof says: “We serve as forest guardians: no cutting, no burning,
more planting. We need year-round flowers, so we plant different
species.”
The activity is promoted
in partnership between the NBAG, the Forestry Department and the
community forest committees. While the former takes care of training
and marketing of the honey, the Forestry Department assists in the
provision of equipment and transportation.
It is also important
to note that beekeeping and honey consumption are not alien to Gambian
culture. On the contrary, there is a long tradition in the use of
wild honey and in most communities there is traditional beekeeping
knowledge. The bees themselves are native to Africa, thus being
very resistant to disease. According to the NBAG, “the idea of incorporating
beekeeping into community forests came from the farmers themselves,
and most of the honey produced is sold in Gambia, where it is also
used in medication”, emphasizing that “every household has honey.”
People are now thinking of planting trees to realize other incomes:
wax, fruit, jams (with honey and mango), firewood.
In words of Amadou
Ceesay, beekeeping “is the fastest and cheapest way of protecting
forests, because local communities benefit from it.”
