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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/6/how-gambian-women-are-restoring-the-mangroves-protecting-banjul>
"
Banjul, The Gambia – At dawn, before the heat settles over the coast, Fatou
Jarjue waits for the tide to retreat.
She pulls on her gloves and socks, steps into the muddy edge of the Tanbi
Wetland and pushes her wooden canoe through narrow channels surrounded by
tangled mangrove roots. Inside the canoe sit empty pans waiting to be filled,
not with oysters today, but with crabs hiding beneath the surface.
The life of this mother of one is inseparable from the wetland she navigates
each day. The mangroves – salt-tolerant coastal trees that protect shorelines
from erosion and flooding – provide the oysters, crabs and fish that sustain
her family’s livelihood while serving as a natural barrier against erosion and
flooding for her coastal community.
Her brother, Musa, trails behind in a smaller canoe whenever he can, keeping
watch as she moves deeper into the mangrove channels. On days when he is busy
elsewhere, Jarjue ventures into the wetland alone.
For generations, women around the Tanbi Wetland have depended on these waters
for survival. Jarjue still does. But unlike previous generations, she also
spends part of her time restoring the ecosystem that has sustained her family
for decades.
Only months earlier, these waterways were filled with women collecting oysters
attached to mangrove roots. With the arrival of The Gambia’s rainy season,
oyster harvesting pauses, forcing many women to turn to crabs and fishing until
the shellfish season reopens.
For the 34-year-old, the change in her daily catch is temporary. Her commitment
to restoring the mangroves is not.
“I have restored more than 5,000 mangroves since last year,” she told
Al
Jazeera."
Via Frederick Wilson II.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
