By Ansumana Darbo
The resignation of Mr Buba Bojang, The Gambia’s only internationally chartered forester, after 23 years of service represents far more than a career change – it is a damning indictment of systemic failure that threatens the very foundation of the country’s environmental governance. This departure exposes deep cracks in the Department of Forestry (DoF) that extend beyond bureaucratic dysfunction, revealing a crisis with dire consequences for forest conservation, community livelihoods, and national climate resilience. The implications are both immediate and far-reaching, demanding urgent attention before irreversible damage occurs.
At the heart of this crisis lies the systematic marginalisation of expertise. Mr Bojang’s case is particularly egregious – despite being the most qualified forester in the country with a Master’s degree and international credentials, he was consistently denied promotions in favour of politically connected appointees. His working conditions bordered on professional humiliation: an office without electricity, internet, or functional filing systems in a modern government department. Most alarmingly, his resignation letter alleges that critical documents were removed from his personnel file by “unscrupulous persons,” suggesting active sabotage against qualified professionals. This pattern of institutional decay reached its nadir with the controversial appointment of Major Salifu Corr, a military officer with no forestry background, as Director of Forestry – a move that sparked staff protests but was met with ministerial silence.
The consequences of this institutional collapse are already manifesting across The Gambia’s conservation landscape. Community-based forestry initiatives, which manage approximately 350,000 hectares of land targeted for restoration under the AFR100 initiative, find themselves in precarious limbo. These community forest committees, NGOs and CSOs rely on DoF for technical guidance, legal permits, and enforcement support. With the department’s technical capacity eroding, project approvals are delayed, donor confidence is wavering, and critical forest monitoring data is becoming increasingly unreliable. The vacuum created by this institutional weakening is being rapidly filled by illegal loggers and land grabbers, who sense opportunity in the growing governance gap. Forest rangers report plunging morale, while community patrols – the frontline defense against deforestation – are losing their institutional backing and legal legitimacy.
This crisis threatens to unravel years of painstaking progress in environmental management. The Gambia’s international climate commitments, including its AFR100 restoration pledge and emissions reduction targets, now hang in the balance. The potential collapse of carbon credit programmes would not only undermine global climate efforts but also deprive rural communities of crucial income streams. Perhaps most dangerously, the growing disillusionment among local populations who have invested in conservation could trigger a vicious cycle of disengagement and accelerated deforestation. When communities lose faith in the institutions meant to support their conservation efforts, the social contract around environmental protection breaks down, often with irreversible consequences.
The path to recovery requires immediate and decisive action. An independent audit of the DoF must investigate allegations of document tampering and improper appointments. The restoration of merit-based leadership is non-negotiable – qualified professionals must be reinstated in decision-making roles. Donor partners should leverage their influence to demand governance reforms, while civil society organisations must amplify community voices in policy discussions. Longer-term solutions should include the establishment of an independent Forest Commission insulated from political interference and the development of robust training programmes to cultivate the next generation of Gambian forest professionals.
This moment represents a critical juncture for The Gambia’s environmental future. The resignation of a single forester has exposed systemic rot that, if left unaddressed, could lead to ecological collapse, economic losses from failed climate projects, and social unrest in forest-dependent communities. The solutions are known; what remains to be seen is whether there is sufficient political will to implement them. The forests, the communities that depend on them, and the nation’s climate commitments cannot afford further delay. The time for action is now, before the damage becomes irreversible.
