International Visitors Leadership Programme Alumni Association (IVLP) Gambia Chapter on Saturday launched its project on the promotion of environmental volunteerism with school children in support of the biodiversity conservation at Abuko Nature Reserve.

In the same vein IVLP Alumni Association planted 1,500 Trees at the Nature Reserve; the chairman of IVLP Alumni Association also presented twenty waste bins to the director of Parks and Wildlife Management. The Association is being sponsored by the US government.

Alpha Omar Jallow, director of Parks and Wildlife Management said, “We are deeply honoured to be the beneficiaries of this important project”. The project aimed at promoting environmental volunteering at Abuko Nature Reserve in support of biodiversity conservation through the engagement of Abuko Lower Basic School children. “Abuko Nature Reserve is the first protected area in The Gambia and has also served as the first attraction site for tourism in the country,” he said

According to Jallow, protected area management in The Gambia is highly dependent on community and population dwelling around them for labour and protection. “That is why the governance process empowered local communities to form park management committees intended for management decision making”, he explained.

His words: resource policing and benefit sharing mechanism introduced by the Department of Park and Wildlife Management substantially increase volunteerism towards conserving the natural resources in The Gambia. He added that the project is a complementary and will contribute towards increasing participation and instilling responsibility in the children.

Omar Jallow, chairman of the IVLP Alumni Association, explained that the Association was formed to bring about greater contact and understanding between the people of The Gambia and those of United States of America through cultural and other exchanges. “It is part of wider network of associations sharing similar goals of promoting greater understanding among people, particularly among Americans and the peoples of the countries where these associations exist”, he explained.

John D.Stubbs Jr, political and economic officer at the US embassy, noted that the importance of the tree planting is on two folds; one it emphasises the focus of IVLP which is partnership between US government and professional Gambians US embassy sent to US to develop their expertise in certain areas. It is to help children to understand the importance of environment and conservation and how the environment functions in their lives. “I hope the Association will continue to be engaged to foster the planting of trees in the Nature Reserve,” he said.