Building Resilience for Climate in Coastal Settlements in the Gambia: A Project Proposal for Problem-Solving

This project essay discusses the climate problems of the Gambia, the smiling coast of Africa and the various damages these are causing the ecological environments, especially in the coastal settlement areas. Such damages have resulted in the worsening degradations that have brought untold hardships that have unleashed hunger and starvation on the people, including farm and fishing sites that have been washed ashore, leaving the rural people to be more vulnerable in the future, should steps not be taken to curtail the surge. The essay looks critically into necessary modalities for these steps and what the government can/ought to do to fight the menace and increase food production for food security, since, the greater percentage of the rural population that is more affected are into farming; the mainstay of the nation’s economy. The paper sees the need for cooperation between the nation’s government and existing governance institutions resident in the country like the European Union for a project development that can be put up as resilience for climate in coastal settlements of the Gambia towards realization of a sustainable socio-economic, ecological and political growth and development. This compels the authors to put this into project perspective and costing that can become a reality within the range of twenty million euro, through mutual cooperation and synergy between the Gambian government and the European Union office in the Gambia. Through this project, a memorandum of understanding is agreed upon by the parties to undertake interventionist program as corrective measures against the odds and consequences of climate change in the coastal and marine zones of the country for project implementation/execution.Available literature and fact-finding information from both the government institutions concerned, the EU office and other concerned partners (public and private) as well as archives and scholarly journals and texts are consulted for data gathering and analysis, using descriptive and prescriptive methods for interpretational analyses that are value-free. The essay crops suggestive measures for broad project implementation and realization as well as over-arching problem-solving institutional approach project, presumed acceptable to both parties in practical situations. Keywords: Project, Resilience, Climate Change, Coastal and marine Settlements and Budge

The Gambia and the 2016/2017 Political Impasse: An Impact Assessment of the Peace and Security Implications on the Nation’s Economy and the International Legal Justifications for/against ECOWAS Intervention, January, 2017- February, 2018

A synopsis of the December, 2016-January, 2017 political impasse in the Gambia is made in this piece as a prelude to its impact assessment and general overview on the political economy of the country. Given the occurrence and the role played by the sub-regional body called ECOWAS (The Economic Community of West African States) in settling the impasse from outside, the piece pays attention to the reasons underscoring these ECOWAS diplomatic and military moves and the politics behind the action. The piece unveils the arguments generated from quarters, especially the intellectual and expert circles on the international legal justification (s) for ECOWAS military wing’ involvement and the manner such action was dispensed to help the new government claim its mandate and make the out gone government abdicate peacefully.A literature review of the relevant texts and available legal instruments from existing international institutions like the United Nations, the African Union among others is undertaken for empirical- verifiable justifications that are value-free. This is complimented by a historical-descriptive analysis narrative that details the accounts of events, using intellectual lenses for investigative conclusions. The research offers useful recommendations that provide both the government of the Gambia and ECOWAS as the sub-regional institution or regime necessary answers to permanent peace and development in the Gambia and the region at large, alluding to the fact that the peace attained in the country and its ECOWAS sub-region is a concomitant reflection of the world peace and relative security that the UN stands for. Keywords: Political impasse, Economy, ECOWAS, Other Institutions, Preventive Diplomacy, Peace and security, Justifications, The Gambia

COVID-19 SHOCKS AND POST PANDEMIC RECOVERY IN THE GAMBIA

The global landscape has undeniably transitioned into a paradigm of the 'new normal,' catalyzed by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In The Gambia, households and communities have grappled with unprecedented crises, compounded by the ever-evolving nature of the virus, resulting in the emergence of various COVID-19 variants. While the efforts of the government have been primarily concentrated on containment and curbing the virus's spread, there has been a conspicuous absence of strategic national shock-responsive gender-focused social safety nets, particularly in the context of post-pandemic recovery within The Gambia. To investigate this critical gap, the study employed a qualitative research approach, utilizing focus group discussions with participants from diverse backgrounds and structured interviews with key institutions for primary data collection. The population encompassed stakeholder consultations and engagements at various levels, including the national, regional, and ward levels. Data were collected over a ten-week period and subsequently subjected to descriptive analysis. The assumption was rigorously examined through content analysis. The findings unveiled the adverse impacts of COVID-19 shocks on post-pandemic recovery in The Gambia. Notably, it illuminated the concerning lack of awareness and inadequate attitudes toward the COVID-19 virus. Furthermore, the research exposed a critical void in the nation's approach, revealing the absence of a strategic national shock-responsive gender-focused safety net for post-pandemic recovery within the country. These findings substantiate the research's initial assumption that the administration of shock-responsive gender-focused social protection safety nets during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Gambia has been ineffective. The study strongly recommends that the government, in collaboration with relevant ministries, establish specialized task forces or committees dedicated to formulating a comprehensive recovery plan with a national scope, specifically tailored to implement shock-responsive gender-focused social safety nets for post-pandemic recovery in The Gambia