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Standard Chartered Sponsors Tree Planting

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:36:29 GMT

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Standard Chartered Bank Gambia (SCBG), a bank noted for creating and sharing value with its stakeholders, last Saturday sponsored a tree planting exercise at the Brikama Nyambai Forest, in Western Region.

Previously called compartment 32, the area was on that day renamed Standard Chartered Compartment.

However with its mission, the bank places emphasis on development banking, playing a vital role in the economic development of the nation, financing and supporting many projects in the country.

In collaboration with the Department of Forestry and the National Environment Agency (NEA), the bank sponsored the planting of 15, 960 Gmelina trees.

The development was organised as part of marking the bank’s 114 years of existence in the country.

Speaking at the historic event, Mr. Wilfred Ntuba, Executive Director- Finance, who is on SCB Environmental Committee, said tree planting exercise is in line the bank’s commitment to reduce environmental impacts.

For his part, Mr. Jatto Sillah, the Director of Forestry, maintained that SCBG is the first institution to collaborate with them in sponsoring such an exercise, noting this will no doubt compliment his department’s efforts in meeting the annual one million tree planting initiative.

Bubu Pateh Jallow, Permanent Secretary, Department of State for Forestry, Wildlife and the Environment, who deputised for the Secretary of State for Forestry, Wildlife and the Environment, underscored the importance of tree planting and thanked and commended SCBG for the initiative and assured them of his departments continued collaboration.

Association of Small Scale Enterprises Embark on Tree Planting Excercise

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:15:10 GMT

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The association of small-scale enterprises in tourism, also known as ASSET, has embarked on a tree planting festival at Abuko Nature Reserve extension. The project was sponsored by The Gambia Experience and was organised by ASSET. About 2,500 saplings were planted.

Mr. Badou Patch Jallow, the permanent secretary at the Department of Forestry and Environment, deputised for the Secretary of State. He said the efforts were a step in the right direction. He stated that rainfall in The Gambia has fallen to about 30% of what it was and for this reason it is the responsibility of everyone to plant more trees. He urged the people in the satellite regions of Abuko to protect the buffer zone. He finally thanked the organisers for the timely move and said that tourism and environment are partners.

Mr. Alpha Omar Jallow, the director of wildlife, revealed that the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management are charged with the responsibility of ensuring the sustainable utilisation of our wildlife reserves through management and governance.

Mr. Jallow pointed out that the occasion was vital not only for The Gambia but for the world because climate change affects biodiversity and the Gambia is no exception. He further highlighted the numerous functions of trees including the provision of oxygen for humans and animals to breathe. He finally highlighted the fact that climate change is contributing to the extinction of both flora and fauna and that the best way to combat this is to plant more trees particularly indigenous species.

Author: By Malamin Conteh

MADAGASCAR: New eco-deals protect unique forests

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:01:50 GMT

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Madagascar has signed a series of environment agreements to protect unique forests and support local communities as part of a commitment by the government to ramp up environmental protection on the Indian Ocean island.

In its largest ever debt-for-nature swap, Madagascar signed a deal with France this month, in which US$20 million of debt owed to the former colonial power was put into a conservation fund, the Foundation for Protected Areas and Biodiversity (FPAB).

"Thanks to this, the money will go into the protection of the Malagasy environment instead of to France," Nani Ratsifandrihamanana, the environment director of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) told IRIN.

Her organisation played a crucial role in brokering the deal that will help protect Madagascar's forests, home to many of the world's most fascinating creatures. Nearly all the island's land mammals, over 90 percent of its reptiles and 80 percent of its plants are found nowhere else.

In a separate deal, Madagascar committed itself to selling nine million tons of carbon offsets to help protect its forests. The money will be used to protect the vast Makira forest, one of several under threat as a result of the poverty of the overwhelmingly rural population.

Scientists say deforestation in the tropics contributes to about 20 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions and that reducing deforestation is one of the quickest ways to fight climate change. Deforestation in Africa is twice as high as anywhere else in the world, where some 13 million hectares of forest are cleared every year.

Conservation International (CI), a non-profit environmental group, said the main drivers of deforestation in Madagascar were slash-and-burn agriculture, charcoal production for use in towns and cities, mining, and the conversion of forest to plant maize.

Reducing deforestation is a hard battle to win because more than 75 percent of the island's 18 million people are rural and depend on land and natural resources.

The new carbon credit deal, managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), based at the Bronx Zoo in the US, represents an innovative way to tackle the problem.

Offset schemes allow polluters to pay for emission cuts in other countries, while providing a source of precious foreign currency to developing countries.

The Malagasy government has had some success in forest protection in recent years and has been able to increase the number and size of protected areas. According to environmentalists, the rate of deforestation has been dramatically cut in some of these areas.

Source: IRIN NEWS http://irinnews.org

Shea Butter: The Beauty Secret Of Africa

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:00:40 GMT

Monday, September 24, 2007

What is Shea Butter?

Shea butter originates from the Karite Nut tree, also called the Mangifolia tree, found in the semi-arid savannahs of West and Central Africa. The women of West Africa have been using shea butter for centuries. The Karite Nut tree, which can live for 300 years, is often dubbed the “tree of life” by African women who make this precious butter by hand. Almost all parts of the tree have some practical use. The bark is an ingredient in traditional medicines against certain childhood illnesses and minor scrapes and cuts. The shell of the nuts can repel mosquitoes. Above all, because it is completely non-toxic and gentle, the fruity part of the nut, when crushed, yields a vegetable oil that can be used in soap-making, cooking, and skin and hair care.

The Making of Shea Butter

The process of making shea butter, or karite, is long and arduous for the women of Africa. They awake early and trek up to 15 km (9 mi) to collect the fruits of the Karite Nut tree. With up to 40 kg (88 lbs) of fruits upon their heads, the women and children head back to the village to begin the process of extracting the butter from the kernel of the fruit. The pits are first removed from the fruit, boiled, sun-dried and finally roasted. When the pits have been completely dehydrated, they are handcrushed. This laborious work takes an average of 20 hours to produce 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of shea butter.

The New Beauty Must-Have

Shea butter is now becoming one of the best selling and highly recommended skin care products around. A trip to specialist beauty shops provides all the evidence that karite has become a beauty must-have, with shelves fully stocked with a range of body, face and hair products containing shea oil or shea butter. Because of its softening, anti-drying and protective effects, shea butter is a choice ingredient in soap, shampoos, lip balms, sun care products, hand creams, body massage products and anti-wrinkle creams.

Healing Qualities

Shea butter is one of nature’s greatest moisturizers and has a vast number of proven healing properties. Because of its amazing properties, shea butter is an excellent ingredient for soaps, lotions and creams. The high level of vegetable fats found in shea butter contribute to its ability to heal burns and wounds and to promote cell regeneration and capillary circulation. It is commonly used in the treatment of eczema, rashes and severely dry skin. This all-natural product also contains cinnamic acid, which provides natural protection against the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays. The daily use of shea butter on the body and face reduces sun exposure, which can delay the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and help prevent skin cancer. It also acts as a natural barrier against the elements of cigarette smoke, and harmful chemical pollutants and smog in the atmosphere.

The “Women’s Gold” of Africa

While Western women discover the endless beautifying qualities of shea butter, the women of Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and elsewhere who make this product by hand, also benefit. Unrefined shea butter is a valuable natural resource for Africa, a country classified as one of the poorest in the world, and is strengthening and building women’s economic security. Each year approximately 100,000 tons of shea butter and shea oil are exported from these African nations. By purchasing shea butter products, we are able to dramatically change the lives of entire rural communities in Africa with better housing, medical care, food and fresh water. Most importantly, this extra income allows African women to give their children, particularly their daughters, the chance to go to school.

About the Author:
Chere Deshayes is the president of Bath Plantation, a company that specializes in handcrafted bath and spa products. Subscribe to her FREE newsletter at http://www.bathplantation.com/newsletter.html or visit her site at http://www.bathplantation.com .

Author: By: Chere Deshayes

Source: www.iSnare.com

Schools Gear Up for Tree Nursery Competition

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:16:33 GMT

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

School children across the country are getting their hands dirty helping to save the environment. From Kombo to Upper River Region, school children are busy growing trees in their school nurseries, preparing for the Gambia All Schools Tree Nursery Competition.

The Gambia All Schools Tree Nursery Competition is a collaborative project between the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Department of State for Education, the Department of State for Forestry, and the United States Peace Corps. The aim of the competition is for students to learn about the negative effects of deforestation and the ways reforestation improves their own livelihoods. The project also targets to protect and improve the Gambian environment by introducing the concepts of tree nursery management techniques to all schools through environmental education.

The purpose of this school environment competition is to promote a healthier environment through education and tree planting. Participating schools build a nursery in which they plant as many numbers and species of tree seedlings as possible. The seedlings are then sold to raise money for the school or out-planted in the community woodlot, parks, reserves and or orchards.

According to the coordinating committee, the schools are judged twice, first on their success at building a nursery filled with healthy tree seedlings, and secondly on their success at selling and out-planting the seedlings. The first judging was completed in June. Of the 80 schools competing in the Gambia, Saruja Lower Basic in the Central River Region is in the lead. The students have grown over 9,000 seedlings consisting of 75 different species. They have won the competition in previous years but with hard work, any of this year’s competing schools could win.

Sarah Lee, US Peace Corps Volunteer, who is co-coordinating the project, said over 42,000 seedlings were nursed and out-planted last year. The winning schools received a number of materials, including tree nursery management and gardening tools. Prizes and certificates in recognition of achievement will be awarded after the final judging in September to the winners in each division. Now is the time to double your efforts.

Author: By Sheikh Alkinky Sanyang (NEA)

Source: The Point

Tanzania's disappearing timber revenue

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:34:41 GMT

Friday, June 22, 2007

Millions of dollars worth of timber revenue is being lost each year in Tanzania because of poor governance and rampant corruption in the forestry sector, according to a new report by TRAFFIC International, launched today.

The report — Forestry, governance and national development: Lessons learned from a logging boom in southern Tanzania — documents alarming levels of corruption, illegal logging and exports of forest products from Tanzania.

Annually, timber royalty losses amounted to US$58 million during 2004 and 2005. Trade losses are also significant: China imported ten times more timber from Tanzania than is documented by Tanzania’s export records, implying a 90% loss of revenue from this source. Up to 96% of potential timber royalties were lost by central and district governments due to under-collection — entire District Council budgets could have been increased several times over.

“It’s a national tragedy,” says TRAFFIC’s Executive Director, Steven Broad. “Income from a sustainably managed timber industry should be assisting national development and alleviating poverty, not ending up in criminals’ bank accounts.”

“We’re now in the situation where the Tanzanian forestry sector is highly dependent upon donor funding despite having the clear potential to be self-sufficient from timber revenues.”

Uncontrolled timber harvesting in southern Tanzania grew rapidly from 2003, largely because of increasing overseas demand, especially from China. Driven by greed and profit, some operators broke laws, paid minimal wages and minimal prices for harvested logs — just 1% of their export value. Meanwhile, Tanzanian hardwoods commanded high prices internationally, compared to timber from West and Central Africa. The unsustainable harvesting has led to environmental degradation and the loss of commercially viable hardwoods in many areas.

“Although community-based forest management is widespread in Tanzania, rural communities unfortunately just aren’t demanding enough accountability. Who’s cutting their forests down, and where are the profits going?” asks TRAFFIC’s Simon Milledge, an author of the report.

More than half of the 28 logging companies studied had close links to senior forest or government officials. In some rural areas, the involvement of village leaders in the timber trade has led to an unfair distribution of profits, and at higher levels, there are many examples of self-dealing, nepotism and cronyism.

“The Tanzanian government has tried to regulate the timber trade, through harvest and export bans, the establishment of forest surveillance units, and a review of licensing and harvesting procedures, but serious governance shortfalls have undermined these commendable measures,” says Milledge.

“While the situation has improved somewhat since 2006, the government still needs to do much more to tighten up its regulation of the industry and stamp out the corruption within it.”

“It’s not a question of stopping the logging and exportation of forest products, but of proper regulation of the timber industry and taking advantage of existing bilateral trade opportunities with countries such as China. Proper enforcement in the forestry sector will bring benefits for the whole nation.”

The report details how forestry-related corruption and other factors affecting good governance are preventing Tanzania reaching the goals set out in the country's National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (2005).

Forestry, governance and national development: Lessons learned from a logging boom in southern Tanzania was funded by the Norwegian embassy in Tanzania and written jointly by TRAFFIC, the government of Tanzania, and the Tanzanian Development Partners Group.

Source: WWF