The department of forestry has introduced a series of strategies geared towards raising more awareness as well as build partnership with the public and the private sector to control bush fires.

Speaking during an interview the head of the Participatory Resources Management Unit at the forestry department, Almameh Dampha, said the strategies focus on ways and means to improve communication between the department and the Gambian community.

Dampha said these strategies include the Gambia Forestry Communication Concept, the participatory community forestry Management project and the National Anti- bush fire Day.

He  said since the introduction of these strategies in 2002, the prevalence of bush fire has reduced to about 75 percent in the Central River Division where the projects are being piloted compared to previous years prior to the introduction of these strategies.

Dampha, however, stressed the need for concerted efforts from all stakeholders in the country to consolidate the achievements made as well as further eradicate the menace of bush fires in the country. He reiterated his departmen’ts resolve to combat bushfires in the Gambia through a holistic approach and appealed to the Gambian community to collaborate with them.

The chief of Lower Baddibou Alhagie Fafanding Kinteh called for vigilance and concerted efforts from all quotas in society towards the crusade against bushfires in the country.  He commended his people for their positive response to his calls. Kinteh said the fight against bush fires is a major step towards poverty eradication in The Gambia.

The Gambia is among the nine member countries of The Inter-state Committee for the control f Drought in the Sahel CILLS.

Since in the early 70s, the CILLS member states have continued to battle with insufficient rainfall resulting in low yields or some times none.

This unhealthy phenomenon  thus continues to help surface the ugly face of malnutrition, poverty, ill health and death especially among the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in society, the women and children within the member states.

According to agriculturalists, farmers and meteorologists, one of the leading contributing factors to drought is desertification due to deforestation. In The Gambia, deforestation is mainly caused by bushfires and the indiscriminate exploitation of forest resources.

Reports from the department of forestry in Banjul indicate that bushfires account for about 85 percent of the destruction of forest parks and grassing lands in The Gambia.

The impact of bushfires is directly felt by the Gambian community and their livestock. Each year a lot of farm produce, houses, household utensils, grazing lands and livestock fodder perish in fire outbreaks.

The lives of human beings and livestock are not spared by these wild blazes. In 2002 a whole village, with the exception of one compound ,was burned down to ashes in the North Bank Division NBD by a fire that emanated from the bush.

Farm produce including early millet, sorghum, groundnuts valued at about three million dalasi , four  heads of cattle, five horses, three donkeys, 11 sheep , and seven goats perished in the blaze. The number of poultry killed by the fire was not known.

Although there were no human casualties , a woman was admitted in a dispensary for about 29 hours where she got treatment after suffering a serious suffocation.

Since January 2004  about five people have been reported killed by fire outbreaks in the Gambia.

A lot of livestock have died and will continue  dying in the country due to food scarcity as a result of bushfires. This directly affects  the livelihood of the animal owners and the country as a whole in the quest for food security.