Factors that are required for improvement of forest and wildlife administration:
Capacity building (training) for forestry staff and communities:
Infrastructure development in terms of adequate office space for administration forestry headquarters.
Mobility (transport facilities with adequate fuel supplies)
Road worth vehicles for Divisional Forestry and Station Officers
Motor bicycles for Community Forest (CF) and implementation Officers (I/As)
Forest extension communication materials
Video equipment, Radio cassette player cassettes with batteries
Staff scheme of service against salary structure for Forestry officers down to he level of Scouts
School of Forestry Kafuta to be affiliated with Gambia College for award of diploma certificate
Plant Genetic Resource (PGR) conservation for gene banks
Seed and other plant gene bank
Field gene bank (Arboretum and Botanic gardens
Mechanise farming on marginal lands with expansive horticulture within virgin natural forests should be checked
Land tenure arrangement and the utilisation of forest resources on these land
Illicit forest resource exploitation
Forest department exploitation permits
Communities commercial and domestic use of forest resource for so called socio-economic improvement through unsustainable resource exploitations
Other institutions for road building and residential expansions
Low Government subvention for forest management.
The department low revenue should not be based on the allocation of its subvention for it is working more on conservation rather than on commercialisation of the threatened resources
Marginal lands/Watershed destruction
Farming, Residential, Grazing, Mining, etc.
River bank vegetation removal and erosion
Construction material and fuelwood collection, Farming
4.3. Changes required within the forestry sector and outside the forestry sector
Policy and institutional change:
Scheme of service for staff and present salary structure to be improved for all staff
Training for staff at all levels particularly for higher professional OND, HND, B.Sc. MSc, and PHD for forestry staff
Workshops, field days exchange visits etc. for communities
Kafuta school offer Diploma course to staff and other interested persons
More empowerment to local communities to control bush fires and illicit exploitation
No permits to use marginal lands for residential purposes or for cultivation
Forest marine patrol unit instituted under the Community Forestry or Natural forest unit for beach patrol to avoid vegetation destruction
Timber supplies for construction purposes and factories required
Pulp and paper mill/factory or factory for paper recycling
Juice production for beverages
Mangoes
Baobab
Tamarindus
etc.
Private woodlots and plantation establish with the following species:
Cashew
Gmelina
Oilpalm
Coconut
etc.
Manual to computerisation in both administration and research work
Modern equipment for wood utilisation (sawmills, wood stoves etc.)
A scientific method of international standard for forest gene conservation
Mobility in terms of transport system, for example motorbikes could replace pedal bicycle for extension staff at implementation Areas (IAS)
Training with emphasis on the following:
Staff on professional forestry, conservation technologies and practice at BSC, MSc, Diploma and certificate levels
Communities on forestry activities
Community Forestry approaches and implementation procedures
Emphasising on natural forest management with less public investment on forest monoculture
Divorce from traditional forestry (foresters as policemen and communities as thieves) to communities
Forest harvesting systems must follow silvicultural treatment methods and systems
Government:
Overall Co-ordinator of all Forest User Group (FUG)
Provide the enabling environment for sustainable forest management by use of sound forest instrument (Policy and Legislation)
For sustainable forest management the Government has to find ways to allocate funds for Forestry and also allocate from its budget.
Private sector:
Invest in forest enterprises such as plantation establishment of short rotation, pulp production and saw mills to convert dead wood for construction and furniture industry to satisfy local demand
Provide funds for forest nurseries for plantation development to provide future timber and food fruit needs for their industries
NGOs;
Support the communities by providing funds for their endeavour forest management
Liase with government to take up other forest management interventions for which they have the expertise and the technical know how.
Civil society:
To be involved in community forest management
To protect the forest from annual bush fires and wanton destruction.
Donor agencies:
Donors cannot be counted on continuous funding.
To provide technical assistance for on the job training and facilitate technological transfers.
