By Nelson Manneh
The Gambia Environmental Alliance (GEA), a coalition of more than fifty civil society and community-based environmental organizations, has filed a formal petition demanding an immediate moratorium on coastal mining, an independent legislative inquiry, and full legal accountability for environmental and regulatory failures. The petition, submitted on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, comes in the wake of revelations from The Republic’s recent investigation titled “The Opaque Mining Deal Gambling with Gambia’s Future.”
GEA’s statement alleges that destructive and illegal sand mining has long plagued coastal communities such as Tujereng, Sanyang, Kartong, Batokunku, and Brufut, leading to significant environmental degradation, economic losses, and institutional neglect. “These activities have severely eroded coastlines, destroyed natural climate barriers, caused the salinization of rice fields, and resulted in up to 70% loss of household income for women farmers,” the alliance stated.
The alliance raised alarm over the use of expired or retroactively issued licenses, a lack of independent monitoring, and the secrecy surrounding export and profit data. GEA cited the Environmental Management Act of 1994 and ECOWAS protocols as legal grounds for its demands, calling for urgent government intervention.
GEA is calling for a national suspension of all coastal mining operations until comprehensive environmental and legal reviews are conducted. The group believes this step is essential to prevent further harm and is in line with the precautionary principle, as well as recommendations from the Janneh Commission that were previously ignored.
The alliance is also pushing for environmental audits across all affected mining sites. These assessments, they emphasize, should be led by neutral environmental experts and involve full community participation to ensure transparency and accountability.
Additionally, GEA is urging the National Assembly Select Committee on the Environment to launch a legislative inquiry into the licensing process and oversight of coastal mining. This includes investigating permits granted to companies such as GACH Mining and reviewing the performance of institutions responsible for environmental assessments and procurement compliance.
Another major demand is the full publication of mining contracts, environmental impact assessment reports, and export and profit records from all mining operations. GEA argues that this disclosure is mandated by the 2021 Access to Information Act and ECOWAS environmental policy commitments to transparency and community access to information.
The group further calls for land restoration efforts and reparations to communities whose environments and livelihoods have been destroyed, with special focus on women farmers who have borne the brunt of the impact.
Finally, GEA demands the prosecution of any public officials or private companies found to have broken the law. They insist on full legal accountability for those involved in corruption, abuse of office, or environmental crimes.
The alliance has given authorities a fourteen-working-day deadline to respond to the petition. It also requests a joint public hearing with relevant stakeholders and an immediate freeze on the issuance or renewal of mining licenses in affected areas.
