1.0 INTRODUCTION In this document we are concerned with private sector involvement in natural resources management in The Gambia. This is a subject of increasing interest as widespread perceptions of the failure of common property and state property regimes are thought to strengthen the case for private sector involvement in natural resources management. For similar reasons, private sector natural resource management is seen as the most effective way to encourage more sustainable levels of exploitation of resources which are presently open to access. This document inter alia will concentrate on the development and establishment of guidelines for the rational involvement of private entrepreneurs in natural resources management and will also look into the process framework for the legal procedure to establish private game ranches or protected wildlife reserves in The Gambia Meanwhile, The Gambia conserves its biodiversity through the protected area systems in form of National Parks, Nature Reserves and other sanctuaries, which cover 4.9% of the Gambian land mass. However, these are insufficient for conservation of wildlife. The surrounding community and private lands provide dispersal areas for food, water, security and breeding grounds. These are the areas we would ask the private sector to consider establishing game ranches or protected wildlife reserves. The profitability of game ranching has been demonstrated in environments with species of wildlife similar to those which used to be found in The Gambia. Dassman and Mossman (1961) showed that game cropping particularly in semi-arid areas provided greater yield per unit area than cattle ranching. They carried out game ranching on a 13,000 ha study area in Zimbabwe and yielded 50,653Kg of dressed meat in one year from a culling programme. They stated that the same area was capable of producing 42,900Kg of cattle beef. It was further found out that cattle were more expensive to rear than wild animals because the financial returns from game cropping were higher. The higher yield of game than cattle per unit area in semi-arid areas stems from the fact that the wild animals are better adapted to harsh environments; more resistant to diseases than livestock; easy integration into modified or intensified production system; and can utilize natural resources more efficiently than domestic animals. Other qualities of wild animals that rationalize their management under ranching and farming are valuable trophies and photographic tourism. It is in this view of the aforementioned comparative advantages of wildlife species over their domestic counterparts that this strategy attempts to recommend ranching as a means of promoting the exploitation of wild animal species for food, photographic tourism; and export of trophies. Such operations are expected to cushion the livestock keeping programme which often suffers from diseases such as foot and mouth disease and bovine pleura-pneumonia, leading to great losses of animals, reduction in protein supply and loss of income for the farmers. 1 The development of concerted guidelines for involvement of private sectors in natural resources management and particularly on biodiversity conservation will contribute to the growth of tourism sector, which is in support of government’s policy of promoting the tourism industry that has been elevated to the second position in the country’s economy after agriculture. The purpose of these guidelines is therefore to provide a comprehensive and objective framework for private sector involvement in natural resources management with a view to determine inter alia; the nature of partnership arrangements, formalizing partnerships, obligation of partners, areas of support, legal status of game ranches or protected wildlife reserves, administration and management, recruitment and training of staff, range condition and ecological carrying capacity of the area, the proportional stocking rate of animal species for introduction and their management, the natural distribution of water as well as the need for artificial sources of water, and manipulation of the range to improve pasture quality. It is hoped that the provision of this information will stimulate interest in the general public, private sector and local communities to invest in ranching operations so as to support the development of tourism and conservation of biodiversity. 1.1 Background The Gambia’s coastal zone is extremely rich in biodiversity; it is an area rich in natural resource with particularly high biodiversity of national, regional and global environmental significance. Indeed, The Gambia coastal and marine zone is harbouring important nursery grounds for regional coastal and marine fisheries. It is equally an important breeding, nesting, feeding, refuge and habitat for endangered and threatened species such as migratory birds, dolphins, sharks, marine turtles, the West African Manatee and other species of natural and regional significance. The Gambia’s coast is also an area that is under increasing human presence, in particular coastal and marine resources are exploited for both subsistence and economic purposes. These pressures have had considerable impact on the ecological integrity of the coast. There is also evidence of significant pressure of species of global and regional concern such as nesting and migratory birds and marine turtles, the eggs of which are frequently collected; sharks harvested for their fins and manatees hunted for meat. In addition, there is inadequate financial support to development of protected areas but also the rational management and conservation of the remaining fauna and flora of the country. The Government of The Gambia (GOTG) has developed a policy to enable private sector’s involvement in natural resources management. As the initiative is developing, there is a genuine need to develop and validate a national set of guidelines for the smooth involvement of private sector in the national management of biodiversity. In developing and implementing The Gambia biodiversity management and institutional strengthening project, one of the objectives is to secure financial sustainability of the protected area network system. This objective intends to explore options for sustainable revenue generation initiatives to ensure financial sustainability in the conservation arena. 2 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW OF EXISTING POLICY ON PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT IN NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE GAMBIA The GOTG endorsed a policy to encourage the private sector to invest in National Parks, Nature Reserves, Forest Parks and other Private Wildlife Estates in June, 2009, through a Cabinet Paper by the Secretary of State for Forestry and the Environment on the involvement of the Private Sector in management of Protected Areas (PAs) and natural resources. It should be noted however that the invitation of the Private Sector to be involved in natural resources management was a major policy shift from the existing one which did not allow the Private Sector to participate in conservation programmes in the country. It should be recognized that the policy shift was meant to benefit the country economically, empower the local communities and reintroduce the animal species with a view to repopulate the depleted PAs of The Gambia. The study also benefited from various documents which were made available by DPWM, such as ICAM Process Framework for the Restriction of Access to Natural Resources, Proposal for the designation of Tanbi Wetland complex as a National Park, Cabinet Paper: Proposal for the re-designation of Tanbi Wetland complex and Bao Bolong Wetland as National Parks, Process Framework to designate Bolong Fenyo as a community wildlife reserve, Notice: Intent to designate Tanbi as a National Park, and Tanbi process framework disclosure plan. These documents provide evidence that all activities that take place in Protected Areas receive blessings from relevant stakeholders. 2.1 The Rationale of the Existing Policy Currently, the Government policy orientation is mainly to create favourable conditions for the involvement and empowerment of local communities (especially those living on the periphery of protected areas) in biodiversity/wildlife schemes so that tangible benefits could accrue to these communities. The National Parks, Nature Reserves and Forest Parks are in a deplorable state in relation to depletion of animal species and deforestation and hence the need for the involvement of the private sector to resuscitate them. The GOTG realized that the poor management of the PAs was exacerbated by poor management of protected areas due principally to insufficient inflow of resources and the inadequacy of technical skills and capacity. Fences to keep away intruders have generally been destroyed, bush fires have ravaged many protected areas and on the other hand drought has taken its own toll on the remaining fauna and flora. As indicated in the Banjul declaration, there has been a steady decline in animal species and numbers in The Gambia. Reports have been received from the DPWM indicating that sixty six (66) animal species have been depleted to extinction in the country, including roan antelope, buffalo and elephant. The West African Giant Derby Eland which is the largest of all the antelopes was last seen in The Gambia in 1916. It is now occurring 3 naturally in neighbouring Senegal in the Niokolokoba National Park. This trend can be reversed by reintroducing these animal species back in the PAs of The Gambia. The Gambia needs to diversify