Gambia vulnerable to climate change

The Gambia is one of the countries which pollutes the least, its carbon footprint is tiny: barely 0.01%, far from 28% of China or 14% of the United States but, paradoxically, it is the one of the most vulnerable to climate change. The country has been sounding the alarm bells for years. On the occasion of the opening of COP26 in Glasgow on Sunday 31 October, uThe Gambian delegation made the trip to Scotland to call on the rich countries to keep their commitments in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Boubou Pathé Diallo is one of the Gambian negotiators, meteorologist and expert on climate change. “Climate change has been a major problem in The Gambia since a very big problem and the situation is only getting worse, he laments. And it is visible: if you walk along the coastline, you will see the consequences of coastal erosion. “

To stop this rising water level, the authorities are stepping up their actions: thousands of coconut trees are planted on the beaches, rocks are piled up along the hotel complexes. “You see all these rocks, says Omar Malmo, environmental activist, well, we brought them in especially from Senegal to create a sort of belt to protect the restaurants and hotels that are along the beach. “

The rising sea also endangers crops, especially rice paddies. Here in the south of The Gambia, along the border with Senegal, the ocean advances inexorably. “Every year, the sea advances little by little, every year”, underlines Moussa, a Senegalese who came to fish in Gambian waters.

“If it continues like this, it will go to the rice fields. It’s catastrophic.”

Climate change is a reality for these populations. This year, several extreme weather events swept across the country. “We have faced storms which caused enormous damage, remembers Boubou Pathé Diallo. We had never seen that. Storms that uprooted trees, tore down roofs and damaged our electricity grid. “ Storms that claimed at least ten victims and displaced entire families.

“It was last July, says Fatou, mother of four children. We were in the house when the storm hit. There was heavy rains and gusts of wind. It lasted a very long time. Then our roof flew off. I took my children and we went to take refuge with our neighborss. I’ve never seen this in my life. ”