With Madiba Singhateh
The West African Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (WACA) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have warned communities around Kotu Stream against indiscriminate waste disposal, saying plastic pollution is choking the waterway, threatening wildlife and increasing the risk of flooding during the rainy season.
The warning follows a community-led clean-up exercise organised to remove waste from the stream and raise awareness about the environmental dangers of dumping household rubbish, plastics and other refuse into drainage channels. The initiative targeted communities along the Kotu Stream corridor, where waste washed into the waterway can obstruct the flow of water before eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean.
Lamin Komma of the NEA said the agency had changed its approach to its annual clean-up campaign to focus more on coastal streams rather than concentrating mainly on the open coastline.
“Previously, they used to concentrate on the open coast. That is from Barra all the way to Kartong, which is about 80 kilometres long,” he said.
“But this year, we want to focus more on the coastal stream.”
Komma said Kotu Stream was an important ecosystem because of its biodiversity, tourism activities and role in environmental management, but had become heavily polluted with different types of waste.
“We are seeing how this stream is littered with all kinds of waste, be it solid waste, liquid waste,” he said.
He explained that the clean-up was intended to support communities living along the stream and encourage them to take greater responsibility for protecting their environment.
“We are changing the dynamics a little bit to give it back to the community. That’s why we are calling it a community-led clean-up exercise,” he said.
Komma said communities along Kotu Stream were particularly vulnerable during the rainy season, when heavy rainfall and flash floods could inundate homes and surrounding areas.
He said waste accumulating in drainage channels could obstruct the movement of water, worsening flooding and putting residents at risk.
The stream also supports wildlife and tourism activities, with visitors using the surrounding areas for birdwatching and several hotels located nearby.
Komma warned that waste dumped along the waterway could travel downstream into the Atlantic Ocean, extending the environmental damage beyond the communities where it originated.
He said the NEA had policies and regulations governing waste management, but enforcement remained a major challenge.
“You cannot clean an area today and at the same time somebody is littering,” he said.
“Every year we do this exercise, but come the following day or before the end of the day, you see what the place looks like. Because people do not care about their waste. So they dump their waste anywhere.”
He stressed that protecting the environment required cooperation between government institutions, local councils and residents.
“The National Environment Agency cannot do it alone,” he said.
Waste pollution affects more than waterways and beaches. Plastic waste can harm fish, birds and other marine animals, while livestock such as goats, sheep and cattle can also be affected when they swallow discarded plastics.
Haruna Cham, social development specialist for the WACA project, said this year’s theme was “Clean Seas and Resilient Communities”.
He explained that WACA was part of the World Bank-funded WACA ResIP II programme, which covers The Gambia, Ghana and Guinea-Bissau.
While some participating countries focus directly on coastal areas, Cham said the Gambian project concentrated on Kotu Stream because the waterway connects to the sea near Ocean Bay Hotel.
He said waste dumped by residents could travel through the stream and eventually reach the ocean, making local waste management essential to protecting the marine environment.
“A lot of waste is illegally dumped by community members and eventually ends up in the sea, so cleaning the stream will also help clean the sea,” he said.
Cham said the project’s approach placed strong emphasis on sustaining the results of the clean-up rather than relying on occasional exercises.
He said WACA was working with the NEA, Kanifing Municipal Council and Brikama Area Council to improve waste management and encourage communities to maintain cleaner surroundings.
In July, the project handed over waste management equipment worth millions of dalasis, including compactor trucks, public dustbins, wheelbarrows and tricycles designed to reach areas where larger vehicles may struggle to operate.
Cham said the project had also completed short-term interventions to remove vegetation obstructing the waterway two months before the rainy season.
He added that communities would be encouraged to organise monthly clean-up exercises to prevent waste from accumulating again.
The project has also established local grievance and environmental sensitisation committees to support community participation and address concerns related to environmental management.
Nuha Jammeh, senior wildlife management officer at the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management, described Kotu Stream as an ecologically sensitive area that supports different forms of wildlife.
He said he had observed birds and fish feeding around the stream, but warned that waste disposal was polluting the habitat.
Jammeh urged residents to stop dumping rubbish into the waterway, warning that blocked drainage channels could prevent rainwater from flowing freely and cause flooding in nearby compounds.
He also called for greater consultation and public awareness to encourage residents to participate in protecting the stream.
Environmental protection, he suggested, must extend beyond clean-up exercises to include changes in how households dispose of their waste.
The WACA project is working to restore and improve the 11.2-kilometre Kotu Stream corridor through a combination of engineering works and nature-based solutions.
The interventions include enlarging bridges, constructing culverts and improving primary drainage networks, alongside wetland and mangrove restoration.
These measures are intended to improve the movement of water through the corridor, reduce flooding risks and protect the surrounding ecosystem.
However, environmental advocates warn that infrastructure improvements alone cannot address the problem if residents continue to dump rubbish into the stream.
The clean-up exercise covered Manjai, Dippa Kunda, Bakoteh, London Corner, Latrikunda Yiringanya, Latrikunda Ebrima Njie, Sukuta, Nema Kunku, Latrikunda Sabiji and Bundung Borehole.
The campaign reflects growing concern about the effects of plastic pollution on communities, wildlife and the marine environment.
Figures cited in the original campaign report indicate that The Gambia generated about 23,000 tonnes of plastic waste, with projections suggesting that the volume could rise by 42 per cent by 2033. The government launched a national action plan in 2024 aimed at addressing plastic pollution.
Globally, millions of tonnes of plastic waste enter the oceans each year, with rivers, streams and drainage channels serving as pathways through which waste from inland communities reaches the sea. WACA and the NEA said lasting improvements will depend on residents taking responsibility for their waste, using available collection services and keeping rubbish out of the waterway. Their message is that protecting Kotu Stream is not only an environmental responsibility but also a way to reduce flood risks, safeguard wildlife and prevent pollution from reaching the Atlantic Ocean.