Community fire management
Fighting forest degradation through community-based fire management in The Gambia.
Members of the public participate in a fire-management training course organised by AGFP (Photo: Kanimang Camara/FAO Gambia)
The All Gambia Forestry Platform (AGFP), headquartered in Kafuta village, Kombo East district, is a legally registered platform dedicated to sustainable forest management and the protection of The Gambia’s woodland ecosystems. With 304,000 members – 170,650 women and 133,350 men – AGFP is one of the country’s largest community forestry networks and a unified voice for forest-dependent communities.
Forest fires pose one of the greatest threats to The Gambia’s ecosystems, destroying habitats, accelerating carbon loss and undermining rural livelihoods. The National Forest Inventory (2009-10) recorded 123,000 hectares of forest land, yet up to 80% burned annually due to uncontrolled fires, endangering biodiversity, soil fertility and community wellbeing. Communities lacked the coordination, skills and equipment required to prevent and contain the fires.
AGFP consistently advocated for a national response, but large scale action only became possible through Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) support.
Forest and Farm Facility activities
With support from FFF, AGFP launched a nationwide fire-management campaign to strengthen prevention systems and mobilise community action.
FFF funded technical training on community based fire management, supported the establishment of local monitoring committees, and provided protective gear and awareness materials. This enabled a coordinated response that would have been impossible without this support.
From 2024-25, AGFP organised the National Anti Forest Fire Day under the theme, ‘Assist local communities to fight forest fires’. The event brought together forest committees, women’s associations, youth groups, district authorities and forestry officials for a large-scale awareness and skills campaign.
Demonstrations covered firebreak construction, early warning practices and safe agricultural burning. Radio programmes, school outreach and community theatre helped spread the messages nationwide.
AGFP also used the campaign to advocate for integrating community fire management into district environmental action plans, ensuring long term institutional backing.
Training equipped local surveillance committees to lead patrols, issue alerts and coordinate with forestry services – shifting fire management from a reactive government duty to a shared community mandate. Women, young people and traditional leaders played central roles, strengthening both ecological stewardship and social cohesion.
Significance of impact
The results have been striking. Wildfire affected forest areas in the host region dropped from 80% to 40%, cutting fire destruction by half within one campaign cycle.
Fire alerts declined sharply, signalling a shift towards proactive community prevention. Improved ecological awareness is driving responsible land use practices, with forest committees assuming greater stewardship over their landscapes. Reduced burning is enhancing soil health, biodiversity and long term climate resilience.
Conclusion
FFF support enabled AGFP to significantly reduce destructive forest fires, strengthen climate resilience and restore the protective value of forest ecosystems.
The National Anti Forest Fire Day has become a powerful model for nationwide mobilisation and environmental stewardship. By equipping communities with skills, organisation and practical tools, AGFP has demonstrated community driven action is the most effective way to safeguard The Gambia’s forests for future generations.
Further reading
News: Collective action at the heart of anti-forest-fire day in The Gambia, Forest and Farm Facility (2025)