Menace of bushfire

As I stood in my garden, in a village called Mandina, in Kiang West, enjoying the early morning breeze, gazing at flocks of flying birds steadily disappearing into the horizon with melodies of songs across the forest, suddenly, I felt sad and shaken as I saw a blanket of thick smoke hanging in the sky over me. It immediately downed on me that some one, some where, had deliberately set fire to the forest.

 This was followed by several hours of fire fighting in trying to protect my garden. This was a day before the first down pour of rains in this year’s rainy season. Wild fire swept across thousands of hectres of cultivated and uncultivated fields, burning and destroying timber as well as wild animals.  It is time to speak up and take a multi counter approach to address the menace.  The economic loss is immeasurable.  

In the country side, where  income generating sources are scarce, women scout the forest to collect natural foodstuffs like “Tomborong/Sedem”, “Netoo/uul”, “Baobab/Bouyi” and many other wild fruits  which they  sell at  markets where they are not available, for economical gains to support their livelihood.  In short, over one million dalasis is generated in the country side, yearly, from these natural assets.

Already with the menace of global warming, scientists have predicted extinction of some plants and animal species as well as insects that could be beneficial to  nature. Undoubtedly, there is a synchronised co-ordination, between the climate and nature which could have adverse effects on our personal health if not responsibly managed.  Extreme heat can accelerate the rate of our heart beats, sometimes leading to severe cases of hypertension mainly amongst the old age.

Of course there are diverse reasons as to why people set fire to the bush.  Some just have the ideology that the bush must be burnt down yearly to reduce the density, others did it because they are scared that a dense forest is a hide out for bush pigs which destroy rice fields, etc. In contrast  they are destroying an estimated two million dalasis of proceeds which the forest generates for peoples who cares for it.

In February 18, 1977, Banjul declaration came into being, part of it recalls that, it would be tragic if this priceless natural heritage, the product of millions of years of evolution, should be further endangered or lost.

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 faunna and flora..
(Sir D.K Jawara)

Today this declaration seems to be forgotten, as certain individuals can set fire to the faunna and flora they did not create and yet remain unpunish.  The sad reality is that domestic animals, livestock for that matter, roaming in despair not knowing what to eat as a result of mans irresponsible act.  Fleeing colonies of insect pests and animals will at some times invade our crop fields in search of survival, plunging farmers to lost in crop yields. You will agree with me that, the C02 (carbondioxide) emitted from this uncalculated bush burning, affects greatly the health of our children and elderly and even those about to be born.

The significance of the trees could not be over emphasised.  The forest have the largest biomass among the ecosystem of the earth, with more than (90) ninety percent of the biomass located in the forests.  Tropical forests are particularly important, as their biomass exceeds (60) sixty percent of the total biomass of the earth. How ever various human activities have reduced the productivity of tropical forests.  The amount of rainfall depends largely on how much we care for and protect our environment.

People before us have wisely used the wild we are benefiting from today.  Responsible use of the remaining fauna and flora means conserving for people just borned and for those yet to be burned, some of whom we will never meet during our life time.

Untill a decisive action plan is put in black and white by our responsible legislature, unscrupulous individuals will continue on their act of destroying the biodiversity for future generations.The country’s green belt is as important as seat belts in our cars and planes.