Executive Summary 

As a legal framework, The Gambia’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) provides an enabling environment for collaboration between government, Civil Society, international partners, the private sector and communities in managing the country’s biodiversity resources. 

The Gambia is blessed with a rich biodiversity which through the decades has catered to the needs of the population through the provision of a wide range of goods and services providing the foundation for the country’s sustainable development aspirations. Despite its significance, biodiversity in the country is under severe stress resulting from a combination of human activities and climate change factors leading to a plethora of economic, social, environmental and cultural challenges. 

Responding to these challenges, the current NBSAP (2025 – 2035) was developed against the backdrop of calls for urgent actions to reverse the alarming trend of biodiversity loss. By providing a structured framework, the NBSAP enables The Gambia to set priorities, establish measurable targets, and monitor progress in biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource management. 

Going further, the new NBSAP (2025 – 2035) aligns with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), whose targets and indicators are aimed at halting biodiversity loss, promoting ecosystem restoration, and ensuring that biodiversity contributes to human well-being and sustainable development. Key goals and targets of the GBF aim to achieve measurable biodiversity outcomes by 2030.  The GBF aims to create pathways for countries like The Gambia to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and achieve the long-term vision of “living in harmony with nature” by 2050. 

The Gambia’s new NBSAP builds upon the achievements and lessons learned from previous NBSAPs, while addressing contemporary issues such as climate change, habitat degradation, invasive species, over-exploitation of resources, and other emerging threats to biodiversity. 

The development process for the strategy adopted an inclusive approach to ensure that it reflects national priorities, scientific and traditional knowledge with a view to engender stakeholder ownership and commitment to implementation.

The NBSAP will be implemented using a decentralized approach through Subnational Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (SBSAP) with all the 7 Administrative Regions/Municipalities implementing their respective plan. This approach ensures that each administrative region/municipality focuses on the unique biodiversity challenges and that adapts the plans to suit their local conditions.

The implementation of The Gambia’s NBSAP (2025–2035) is expected to generate measurable outcomes and long-term impacts that collectively contribute to biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and climate resilience. Specifically, the long-term outputs and outcomes will include the following: 

1. Improved Biodiversity Status – crucial for the protection and restoration of critical habitats. 
2. Enhanced Ecosystem Services - Healthy and well-managed ecosystems will continue to provide essential services
3. Increased Community Resilience to Environmental Changes - By promoting sustainable livelihoods, participatory conservation, and awareness-raising programs, local communities will be better equipped to adapt to environmental shocks.
4. Sustainable Economic Development through Biodiversity Utilization - The NBSAP encourages responsible use of natural resources, linking conservation with economic opportunities while maintaining ecological integrity, contributing to poverty reduction and equitable benefit-sharing.
5. Strengthened National and Local Capacities for Biodiversity Governance - Improved institutional coordination, legal frameworks, technical expertise, and monitoring systems will enhance the capacity of all stakeholders to manage biodiversity effectively.

In combination, these outcomes and impacts create a pathway toward a resilient and biodiversity-rich Gambia, where ecosystems sustain livelihoods, support climate adaptation, and contribute to national development goals while fulfilling international biodiversity commitments.