The existence of Gambia’s capital, Banjul, is under threat from rising sea levels and flash flooding.
Many people, including residents and fishers, have been displaced, while businesses and offices have moved away to safety.
Experts have long warned that a one-metre rise in global sea levels could submerge the two-century-old city, and that urgent intervention is required.
In July and August 2022, The Gambia recorded its heaviest flooding in decades following torrential rain, causing widespread damage to homes and businesses. Over 50,000 people were affected and over 7,000 displaced, according to a report by UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination.
Banjul was hardest hit.
Why is Banjul vulnerable?
The capital’s vulnerability stems from both natural and human-induced factors. Rising sea levels pose a serious threat to the low-lying city, and the situation has been worsened by commercial sand mining, especially at Denton Bridge which links the capital to the rest of the country.
As well as diminishing a natural barrier against flooding, the sand mining has displaced women gardeners who grow crops such as onions, cabbage and hibiscus for personal use and to sell in markets. It has degraded ecosystems, including 5,000 mangroves and thousands of coconut trees.
“The sand mining has devastated our lives,” said Aminata Jatta, a 60-year-old gardener and single mother of six. “I depend on this [work] for survival, but that survival is being destroyed, and nothing is being done about it.”
Fatoumatta Jallow, a climate advocate, echoed her concern: “This mining must stop to protect our city.”
Banka Manneh, public relations officer for sand-mining firm Sino Majilac Jalback, defended the company’s activities in Banjul: “Our dredging mitigates erosion and flooding; it doesn’t cause it.” Manneh cited previous projects he claimed had saved Banjul’s cemetery and industrial sites. However, it appears no assessment has been carried out to back up this assertion.
Mangrove cutting in wetlands is another problem. This practice, often to create space for industrial activities, weakens the protective role of mangroves against flooding, erosion and storm surges.
A capital in decline
“Banjul feels like a ghost city,” lamented resident Mariam Sibo Gassamal. Many government officials, including the mayor, now live outside the capital, commuting in only for work. Banjul’s population has fallen from nearly 45,000 in 1983 to about 26,000 in 2024, according to preliminary results of the 2024 census.
Research conducted by Nfamara K. Dampha, a Gambian research scientist at the University of Minnesota, revealed that 64% of Banjul households surveyed in 2020 intended to migrate by 2050, in part due to the impacts of climate change.
John Sisay, a Sierra Leonean refugee, said he has stayed in Banjul because of its affordable rent compared to the surrounding urban areas known as the Kombos. He acknowledges the associated hazards. “I stayed because I can’t afford the rent of the Kombos, but life here is hard, especially during the rainy season.”
Rising sea levels and frequent flooding make life increasingly untenable, according to Amadou Wurry Jallow, a climate activist and Banjul resident. “Over 1,000 Banjulians migrate to the Kombos each year,” he says, putting this partly down to worsening environmental conditions.
Impact on fishing and trade
Banjul is a hub for fishing, oyster farming and trade because of its coastal position and possession of the country’s only international seaport. Climate change has been crippling these activities.
“The sea is changing our way of life,” says oyster harvester Naa Amie Touray. Rising salinity, habitat erosion and pollution are hitting oyster populations.
Fishers are also being forced to relocate. Sainey Mbye moved to Tanji, 50 kilometres from Banjul, because of rising sea levels and as the loss of fish habitats near Banjul made fishing unsustainable. “The fish have moved to other areas,” he says. “There’s almost nothing left here.”
Ndangan, a fishing and oyster-farming community on the outskirts of Banjul, is also fighting for survival due to rising sea levels. “Our livelihoods are under threat. During the rainy season, floods destroy everything,” says Augustus Sanyang, 31, the head of the settlement.
Saffie Sanyang, a 45-year-old oyster harvester, says the venture has plummeted as the rising sea erodes mangroves vital to oysters and marine life.
The Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) predicted in 2022 that Banjul’s port could lose 3% of its revenue annually due to climate-related challenges. “We are implementing adaptation measures to ensure our infrastructure remains climate-proof,” says Ousman Jobarteh, managing director of the GPA. “We’re doing everything to protect our country’s port from climate change.”
He adds that the port has been working with the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) to “climate-proof” its infrastructure, including elevating structures and pavements to reduce flooding risk.
The destruction of mangroves has compounded the crisis. Moses Sanyang, a fisher, alleges that the government’s decision to clear mangroves along the beaches has altered the ecosystem, salinising rivers and forcing fish to migrate. “Only [juvenile fish] are left,” says the 40-year-old.
While the youth of Ndangan are restoring mangroves through planting, Edward Sanyang, 19, has criticised government action. “They cleared mangroves for factories,” he says. “They are part of the problem.”
He says the loss of mangrove cover means there are floods during high tides, contaminating drinking water sources and so causing diarrhoea and skin diseases.
“If you had seen this place during high tide, you would be shocked,” Augustus Sanyang tells Dialogue Earth. “We have been abandoned.”
The Tanbi Wetland under pressure
The Tanbi Wetland, a 6,000-hectare ecosystem south-west of Banjul that protects the city against flooding and erosion, is also under attack. The clearing of the mangroves, which span 4,800 hectares, reportedly began around 2018-2019, shortly after the current government took charge.
“The importance of the wetland to Banjul is immense,” says Modou Lamin Bah, a member of parliament for the Banjul North constituency. “It shields us from rising tides and floods.”
Sources from the capital told Dialogue Earth that large portions of the wetland have been allocated for commercial development. The names of Nessim Foam Factory, Jah Oil and a dry port operated by the GPA are clearly visible.
However, the involvement of the government and the Banjul City Council in these land allocations remains unverified. Dialogue Earth’s requests for clarification from both entities went unanswered.
In response to public complaints, in May 2024 the Ministry of Land ordered a suspension of all development within the Tanbi Wetland.
Protests and arrests of environmental activists
In 2022, environmental activists who are part of the Arr Banjul Movement, which is Wolof for “Protect Banjul”, participated in a protest against the excess development of the dwindling wetland.
Amadou Wurry Jallow was among those arrested. “Banjul is all we have,” he tells Dialogue Earth. “We will fight to protect it.” Jallow accused the Gambian government and Banjul City Council of allocating the Tanbi Wetland to businesses.
Dialogue Earth visited the area with Jallow in November 2024. Construction work could be seen in three areas, with workers cutting down mangroves to carry out further construction. “All this place used to be thick mangrove,” Amadou said, gesturing to barren spaces.
Activist Sulayman Njie warns of dire consequences. “Without the mangroves, Banjul’s flood defences, like the reservoir, are failing. Banjul is on the brink of sinking.”
Flooding in the capital is becoming more frequent and severe. Ousman Sillah is a former parliamentarian for Banjul North, one of the most vulnerable constituencies in the capital. He told Dialogue Earth that during his tenure, over 50 compounds were inundated each rainy season, displacing families.
The 2022 and 2023 floods devastated communities like Tobacco Road, leaving hundreds homeless. Residents like Sibo are still recovering from the floods. “The flooding destroyed everything,” she says. “I lost my entire livelihood.”
Last year’s floods severely damaged the home of Buba (not his real name), forcing him and his family to seek refuge in schools within the capital for several weeks and eventually to migrate to Kanifing, to the west of Banjul. “That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he says. “We couldn’t stay in Banjul anymore.”
Visiting flash flood victims like Sibo and Buba, Gambian President Adama Barrow blamed it on climate change, which he called a “wake-up call for all of us”.
Lamin Komma, a coastal erosion expert at the Gambia National Environmental Agency, says: “Half of Banjul lies below sea level, with its fragile coastline at increasing risk of erosion, making the fight to protect Banjul much harder.”
Planting trees and mangroves: A vital solution
In the face of these challenges, several initiatives have emerged in the capital to restore the mangroves that have been lost.
In November 2024, The Gambia secured over USD 12 million from the Global Environment Facility for the Climate-Resilient Banjul project. Aimed at enhancing urban resilience in the Greater Banjul Area, the initiative focuses on investments in ecosystem-based adaptation and sustainable urban planning.
Through waste management, tree planting, and renewable energy, we are building a sustainable, climate-resilient futureAnnette Anta Camara, communication and visibility manager for City Link Ostend-Banjul project
Meanwhile, the City Link Ostend-Banjul project has planted 5,000 coconut trees along the coast, 15,000 mangroves in the wetlands, including the Tanbi wetland, and 1,000 urban trees while improving waste management and promoting renewable energy.
“Through waste management, tree planting, and renewable energy, we are building a sustainable, climate-resilient future,” says the project’s communication and visibility manager Annette Anta Camara.
Clean Earth, an environmental NGO, has led the planting of hundreds of mangroves and coconut trees along the coastlines, including Banjul. “We will not relent,” founder Fatou Jeng tells Dialogue Earth. “We will fight to the end to protect our city.”
But for Njie, the need for urgent action should go beyond tree planting. He is calling for the government to develop a comprehensive plan to save Banjul. “Without it, the city could become uninhabitable,” he says.
The clock is ticking fast, warns Njie: “If we don’t act now, the city will disappear.”
