The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has breathed new life into the parched panorama of the Bijilo Nature Park within the Gambia, affectionately often known as “Monkey Park.”
This cherished nature reserve in Serekunda province has been grappling with an unforgiving three-decade-long drought, endangering its treasured biodiversity.
TIKA’s beneficiant contribution takes the type of water drilling, three very important water ponds and a handwashing station – all tailor-made to salvage the park’s delicate ecosystem.
This initiative materialized by way of a collaborative effort with the Gambian Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources Ministry, aiming to bolster the park’s wildlife and attraction extra guests.
The main objective is to supply a lifeline of fresh water to the park’s inhabitants, particularly the monkeys that decision it residence.
The Bijilo Nature Park boasts a shocking cocktail of over 150 chicken and reptile species, making it a refuge for nature lovers.
However, the relentless drought had pushed these creatures to the brink.
Turkish Ambassador in Banjul Tolga Bermek shared his elation through the undertaking’s inauguration, stressing the dire challenges confronted by our pure world within the face of urbanization, deforestation, forest fragmentation and world warming.
“Despite all these challenges, preserving natural life should be a prior responsibility for all of us,” he stated.
Thanks to the strategically positioned ponds, these weak creatures – monkeys, birds, reptiles and different wild animals – will now have a dependable water supply, particularly through the grueling eight-month dry season.
“I hope the availability of fresh water throughout the year will contribute to the sustainability of wildlife within the park without depending on external sources,” Bermek added.
Gambian Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources Minister Rohey John Manyang hailed the initiative as a “historic partnership” and a compassionate gesture from Türkiye.
Sule Bayar, TIKA Banjul Program coordinator, lauded the undertaking’s alignment with the environmental efforts championed by first woman Emine Erdoğan and its resonance with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
For Suleyman Jobe, the supervisor of Monkey Park, these water ponds are a solution to a three-decade-long prayer. Monkeys had been compelled to enterprise into native residential areas, properties and lodge gardens, the place they’d munch on folks’s oranges, avocados, and mangoes – all attributable to their determined thirst.
He expressed profound gratitude to TIKA and the Turkish Embassy for stepping up.
This heartwarming endeavor didn’t go unnoticed, because it drew the eye of the Gambia Radio and Television Service, the nation’s nationwide broadcaster and international guests alike.
Notably, the Monkey Park performs a pivotal position in bolstering ecotourism within the Gambia and the TIKA undertaking aspires to amplify its impression, each in preserving wildlife and enhancing tourism revenues.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
