Gambia:
Where the rural population is at the centre of forest management
The Gambia is a small (10,000 sq.km.)
and economically poor country, facing a number of social and environmental
problems. Among the latter, deforestation is probably the one
that poses the greatest threat to both people and the environment.
Until the early 1900s, the Gambia was covered by dense forests.
In 1981 about 430.000 ha or 45% of total land area were classified
as forest. In 1988 the figure had dropped to about 340.000 ha
or 30% of land area. Additionally, the degradation of the forest
condition is so severe that most closed forests have disappeared
leaving only a tree and shrub savanna of poor quality.
It is therefore interesting to see how
the Gambia –with very limited financial resources- is now addressing
the problem within a people-centred approach. In this respect,
the Forestry Department has developed the “Gambian Forest Management
Concept” (GFCM), which guides all its activities.
A few quotes from the GFMC document
serve to illustrate a major shift from mainstream forestry approaches:
- “The forest administration and
individual forest officer have to see beyond the trees and become
more concerned with people and the multiple-use potential of forest
lands. The traditional approach of foresters needs to be widened
in favour of involving the rural population in management and
rational use of their forests”
- “Land-use decisions cannot be made
from only the foresters point of view, but have to take into consideration
population development, need for agricultural land, etc.”
- “The objective of forest management
must be oriented more towards cattle grazing rather than to focus
on mere protection or on the production of timber and other forest
produce”.
- “The function of forestry staff has
been changed from policemen to management partners”.
The GFMC puts the rural population at
the centre of managing forests. Consequently, it follows participatory
approaches so that local people are fully involved in planning,
decision-making, organization and administration. The introduction
of Community Forestry was in fact born out of the realization
by the Department of Forestry of the futility of its efforts at
protecting forests without the committed and willing involvement
of the local community.
The introduction and application of
community forestry has proven to be a process of confidence building
and to take a long time in creating a sense of forest ownership
among the villagers due to a profound mistrust about governmental
actions and policies based on past experience.
One of the primary conditions a community
has to fulfil before a Community Forest Management Agreement is
entered into between it and the Department of Forestry is the
creation of a Forest Committee at the village level. This Committee
is responsible for all work organization at village level.
Basically, community forestry implementation
distinguishes three phases: a preparatory phase during which the
forest management by local communities is prepared; a preliminary
phase during which the communities demonstrate their capacity
in forest protection and management; and a consolidation phase
during which the communities gain further managerial and technical
forestry skills aiming at self-management.
Once the process is completed, a Community
Forest Management Agreement (CFMA) is established between the
community and the Department of Forestry, which grants permanent
ownership rights over a clearly demarcated forest to the community
or communities. With the CFMA the communities are entitled to
keep the benefits derived from their forests. The only condition
attached to the CFMA is to manage the forest resource according
to a simple management plan.
The Gambian experience
appeared to be so interesting, that the WRM secretariat decided
that it would be useful to visit the country. We therefore got
in contact with the Director of the Department of Forestry –Mr
Jato S. Sillah- who kindly organized a number of visits to community
forests as well as interviews with relevant forestry department
staff. What we saw and heard basically coincided with the stated
forestry policy.
We visited several community forests
and talked with members of community forest committees who explained
us the numerous benefits they were receiving from different forest
uses. We had a meeting with the National Beekeepers Association
where they explained how this activity helps in the prevention
of forest fires and in increasing rural people’s incomes (see
http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/107/Gambia.html).
We saw foresters without uniform interacting in equal terms with
community members. We saw posters of community forests that said
“grazing allowed”. Forestry staff explained the bureaucratic simplicity
for achieving community forest status. From the Director of the
Department of Forestry to the field staff everyone seemed truly
convinced about the Gambian Concept and committed to its implementation.
It is of course true that a short visit
to a few areas in a country can in no way be proof of anything.
However, this experience appears to be a major step in the right
direction and to have a potential for replication in other countries
facing similar problems. More research is probably needed to assess
the reality on the ground, but the conceptual framework not only
makes sense from a forest conservation perspective but also from
a social and economic one.
Article based on information from: Gambian
Forest Management Concept (GFMC). Version 2. Draft, May 2001
http://www.wrm.org.uy/countries/Gambia/GambiaGFMC.pdf Community
Forest Ownership: Key to Sustainable Forest Resource Management.
The Gambian Experience
http://www.wrm.org.uy/countries/Gambia/GambianExperience.html
and trip to Gambia by Ricardo Carrere in June 2006
