Gambia may lose capital city to global warming

It has been projected that global warming will result in a loss of the capital city of Banjul and the Tambi wetland complex, including Jeshwang seven miles from Banjul if no remedial or corrective actions are taken, according to the Gambian minister of forestry and National Assembly Matters, Mr Abdou Colley.

He made the alarming revelation at a consultative forum on climate change recently which brought drew scientists from Gambia and Senegal to undertake vulnerability assessment of the two countries.

According to Minister Colley, the situation is equally true for most of the low lying areas of the coastal and marine zone of Senegal.

The minister described the situation as very alarming and a cause for genuine concern.

Emphasising the importance of the the forum, he said the frightening reality was that climate change is happening, and the coastal and marine areas are at high risk.

"We may lose our fishery resources, infrastructure including hotels, residences and businesses, not to mention the displacement of human population and the accompanying economic and social crisis, the minister said.

The project for commissioning the bilateral fisheries, climate change vulnerability of the important ecosystems to climate change and the negative human activities, as well as formulating recommendations for adaptation measures has been initiated by USAID and Ba Nafaa respectively.