In an exclusive interview with GunjurOnline, Mr. Wally M. Faal alias Wole has revealed that the coronavirus is having a positive impact on climate change, rainfall and also boosted agriculture in The Gambia.
As ironic as it is, the lockdown in the country last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic in The Gambia and around the globe has impacted positively on the environment and ecosystems as manufacturing companies and other sources of greenhouse emissions were shut down during the first peak of the bug.
According to environmentalists in the Gambia, the restrictions due to the lockdown has tremendously reduced pollution in the atmosphere thereby increasing the amount of rainfall as well as boosted agricultural harvests in last year’s wet season in the Gambia, a starked contrast to the realities of economies and human health across the world including The Gambia.
Mr. Wally M. Faal is a professional Gambian birdwatcher who has observed that, this phenomenon has even triggered inter-migration of certain bird spieces namely the golden breasted bunting and black coucal that are easily seen at the Tendaba airfields citing birds that were seen in Central River Region are now easily spotted in Lower River Region.
Faal made a recent bird-watching tour at the Gunjur forest where he saw the capuchin babbler, a bird that was not seen in the Gambia for well over twenty five (25) years he claimed, adding that this time of the year migratory birds from Northern Europe have started returning home. He said although, one can still find waders and shore birds along the Tanji coastline all the way to Sanyang. “Ospreys too could still be seen along the coastline.” he added.
According to him, migratory birds don’t alter their migratory patterns saying they are endowed with natural magnetic compass which help them navigate with precision to their wintering and breeding grounds.
He believes that, the shutdown of manufacturing factories and the halting of other human activities that are environmentally unfriendly has resulted to the cleaning of the atmosphere which yielded positive impacts for the climate, noting climate change activists are motivated by such results despite the economic and social devastations of the pandemic on people and wealth around the world.