The Ministry of Forestry and the Environment in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently concluded a three-day training  on interactive and experimental learning for traditional herbalists from five regions across the country.

The aim of the training was to build the understanding of herbalists on how to contribute in protecting and preserving the forest and other medicinal trees in the forests across the country. The training will also afford them the opportunity to have  an in-depth     knowledge of  the best traditional herbal practices through exchange of ideas  with other traditional herbal practitioners.  

Speaking at the occasion, Sam Nget, deputising for the director of Forestry, thanked Cherno Baba, member of the Traditional Healers Association for their active support and contribution in complementing the efforts of government in health care service delivery. He added that, the Ministry of Forestry and the Environment in partnership with UNDP attaches great importance to the protection of the forest.

According to him, the training provides the opportunity for traditional healers to fully interact and learn from one another and the need to adopt a more holistic approach in the protection and conservation of forest medicinal trees. He therefore appealed to the traditional practitioners to support the department in its zero tolerance policy on the burning of bush fires, which he said, continue to deplete the forest and its vegetation cover.

"The concept of community forest conservation aims at empowering the communities in different localities to take charge of their own developmental issues regarding designated forest parks," he said. He solicited the support of individuals and communities to continue to plant more trees and jealously protect the forest species.

For his part, Alhagie Amadou Njie, the  president of Cherno Baba Traditional Healers Association of Berending, commended the Ministry of Forestry and the Environment and UNDP for building  capacity on sharing experiences on forest management and protection and how to effectively contribute to the promotion of better health care for all.

According to him, the training will enable them to better coordinate their activities in the processing of herbs in order to meet  standards. He asserted that the lesson learnt from the training will go a long way in assisting practitioners in their service delivery  and how they can come together to  protect the forest and build stronger partnership with service providers in the field.