By Ousman Jatta
Environment Minister Lamin B. Dibba on Monday confirmed 22 containers filled with timber logs have been seized with the alleged owner facing trial.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Dibba said a lot of people will not understand why the government is asking citizens not to cut trees.
According to the minister, he in 2019 ordered his ministry to conduct a reassessment of all the landing sites through the northern part of the country where the timber are coming from, adding “we have realized that there has been a significant drop in the wood because of the several [arrests] made”.
“Before business we must have a sustainable production and consumption. That cannot be done without a healthy environment. Healthy environment promotes the livelihood of people and equally as well promoting its economy,” Dibba noted.
Since the change of government in 2016, dozens of Gambian trucks loaded with timber have been intercepted by Senegalese security forces especially those at the Bwiam Military Checkpoint.
