What Are The Environmental Problems Of Banjul

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Urban Environmental Problems of the City of Banjul, the Public Health Challenges and where lies the solution. - By Abdoukarim Sanneh
The spatial and land use planning of the city Banjul, date back to colonial days and this led the genesis of land office now know as the Department of Physical Planning in colonial protectorate area. The development planning of the city of Banjul with the introduction of streets and their names, sewage and drainage facilities, electricity, pipe- borne water etc was the beginning of Towns and Country Planning in the country. Gambia’s planning laws is the extension 1948 English Towns and County Planning legislation into the colonies. Every legal instrument embodies into this legislation determine modern spatial geographical planning limited to only enforcement and development control. With shortage of trained man power and lack of local democracy and decentralisation, there is no consultative citizens’ participation in land use designation and democratic planning decision making.
The city’s urban planning in those days suits the development challenges of that time. For many years, Banjul has been an attractive place to leave, study and work but out of a sudden this unique environment is just degrading beyond our notice. What is the problem? What are the public health and environmental challenges confronting Banjul and Gambia’s urban landscape? There are many factors that are the cause and result of the dereliction of capital city of Banjul but the aim of this article is to look into the lenses of urban environment degeneration nexus and environmental health and sanitation.

Banjul, like many islands and Island cities are confronted with the challenges of Global environmental changes. Mitigating and re...

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...ter pollution incidence. For example in United Kingdom the legal foundation of Environment Act 1990 and Water Resource Act 1985 is frame in such that the legal liability for enforcement of pollution incidence is causing or knowingly polluting material into the to cause water system. For the Gambia our environmental legislation on water pollution or releasing polluting substance into the environment medium is not born or is at enfant stage even with our armies of highly educated legal experts. This can be seen through years of releasing untreated sewage waste water into the river estuary at Bund Road Ponder Station. The use of Gambia’s natural environment plays an important role in our social and economic development challenges and in essence we have to put in place laws and standardise regulations for its rational use and management for interest of sustainability.

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