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Momodou
Denmark
11733 Posts |
 Posted - 19 Jul 2025 : 15:43:38
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Tanji Bird Reserve Carved Up? Inside Deals To Turn Protected Land Into Profit
Malagen: 17 July 2025
By Kaddy Jawo
https://malagen.org/investigations/the-big-story/tanji-bird-reserve-carved-up-for-sale-inside-deals-to-turn-protected-land-into-profit/
Investigations, The Big Story
The Government has quietly divided and doled out a large tract of land - equivalent in size to more than 30 standard international football fields - believed to be carved out of the Tanji Bird Reserve by President Jammeh. The new owners - well, those named so far - include lawyer and politician Essa Faal; a Senegalese businessman and financier of President Barrow, Khalilou Wague; and a Gambia-based Indian businessman, Nandkishore Rajwani, who reportedly uses different names to amass land from the state.
Every morning at first light, forest ranger Baba Janneh stands at the edge of the Tanji Bird Reserve. He doesn’t call out or make noise, but waits, eyes scanning the treetops for any sign of movement. On one such morning in September last year, Mr. Janneh watches as a white-backed vulture glides silently overhead. “Some days, she stays in the sky longer, looking, circling before she finds a place to rest,” Mr. Janneh said, referring to the vulture.
In the ten years he’s been keeping watch at the Reserve, Mr. Janneh has noticed “some strange changes” in the behavior of the inhabitants: the birds. The white-backed vulture is a critically endangered vulture species that is mostly found at the Tanji Bird Reserve. But human encroachment and environmental changes disrupted their fragile habitat, which is also a last place of refuge for hundreds of birds.
Now, these birds are at risk of being forced out with nowhere else to go, according to conservationists. But some of the people alleged to have taken a parcel of their habitat to build hotels and resorts however said the birds can stay where they belong.
The map however shows that where these birds belong is precisely what’s disappearing.
President Adama Barrow promised to fix the environmental violations committed under his predecessor, Yahya Jammeh. But protected areas appear to be under unprecedented pressure in recent years, with repeated attempts – and in some cases, actual steps – to carve up forests, wetlands, and other ecologically sensitive zones.
The Tanji Bird Reserve is nestled between the upscale residential neighborhood in Brufut on one side and the bustling fishing community of Tanji on the other. It’s exactly the kind of paradise every hospitality investor or real estate developer dreams of. Here, waves crash on unspoiled beaches. Birds sing from every corner. Monkeys rustle through the trees. And, out on the Bijol Islands – The Gambia’s only offshore islands – seabirds screech and chatter.
Covering an area of 612 hectares, the Bird Reserve has for years faced threats from poachers, firewood collectors and local communities claiming parts of it. Former President Yahya Jammeh joined that notorious list in 2012, when he issued directives for his Minister for Lands, Lamin Waa Juwara to hive off a parcel of it. The list of threats has grown much longer soon after the change of government. President Jammeh is replaced by government-backed hospitality investors and businessmen who claim to have followed ‘due process’ to secure the land reserved for wildlife.
Conservationists believe that the new threats faced by the Reserve are part of a steady and alarming decline of protected areas, including thriving forests and wetland ecosystems across the country. “We’re not just losing trees,” said Omar Malmo Jr., noting that the de-reservation of the Bijilo Forest Park – or Monkey Park – to make way for a conference centre was a turning point.
“Tanji is more than just a bird sanctuary,” Dr. Sambou added. “It’s a living, breathing system. If we lose it, we’re not just losing birds, we’re losing part of our national ecological identity.”
Who Gets a Piece of Bird’s Paradise?
The ones known so far are lawyer and politician Essa Faal and a Gambia-based Indian businessman, Nandkishore Rajwani. A Senegalese businessman and politician Khalilou Wague, who is a key financier of President Barrow has also been named as an allottee. We reached out to him through the contacts provided to confirm his allocation, but he has not responded to our messages.
It all began in 2012 when former President Yahya Jammeh carved out 25 hectares – an expanse larger than 30 standard international football fields – from the Reserve, and allocated it to Hadia Nadiany Bamba, wife of Laurent Gbagbo, who was the President of Ivory Coast.
But then, Mr. Jammeh and Mr. Gbagbo fell out. So, Mr. Jammeh took back the land he gifted to Mr. Gbagbo’s wife. He then placed some areas under his mother’s name, Asombi Bojang, and allocated another part to Kanilai Family Farm, a company he owned and used to launder stolen public funds.
This tract of land was a subject of investigation during the government-sanctioned inquiry into Mr. Jammeh’s assets and finances. The Janneh Commission, as the inquiry is known, found that the Ministry of Forestry’s decision to de-reserve the area was illegal. Despite the Commission’s recommendation that the land’s protected status be restored and returned to the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management, the GTBoard has divided it up into parcels and has since been distributing them, claiming it is part of a tourism designated zone.
It’s not clear how much land Khalilou Wague received or for what purpose.
The area allotted to Essa Faal is roughly 3.1 hectares (184mx165mx174 x182m) while Nandkishore Rajwani, who operates Emkay Stores, received about 1.15 hectares (110mx104m x 100m x 115m), according to official documents seen by Malagen.
Mr. Faal said he plans to build a mixed-use resort, a project he added would create hundreds of jobs and increase local ownership of hotels in the country. “After spending millions preparing proper documentation, I had to pay a non-refundable fee of over D6 million,” he told Malagen via telephone last year.
Mr. Rajwani also said he plans to build a hotel, noting that the land was compensation for a state allocation the GTBoard had taken from him. However, official documents seen by Malagen reveal Mr. Rajwani reportedly uses different names to amass state lands. He has been allocated at least four different plots in recent years using various individual names, including Nandkishore Rajwani and Narendra Rajwani. He has also used different company names such as Lagoona Hotel, Tanush Shopping Centre and Precious Group Ltd.
An audit into the GTBoard’s land allocations found the allotments to Mr. Rajwani to be highly problematic. The GTBoard had agreed in principle to give him the land six months before he even submitted any formal application. Barely two weeks after he filed a formal application in January 2019, the allocation was confirmed. At the time, he had not fully paid $546,000 (approx. D26.7 million), representing 5 per cent of the total he’s supposed to pay as Tourism Development Area levy. Nor had he provided proof that he had the funds to build a hotel. Both are prerequisites for such allocations.
It is not clear who influenced the various allocations. Mr. Faal had admitted meeting President Barrow over his application for the said land, but rejected claims that Mr. Barrow had influenced the GTBoard’s decision. But President Barrow had publicly admitted to allocating land to Mr. Faal.
This Place is Protected
The allocations set off a dispute between GTBoard and the Department of Parks and Wildlife, raising questions about where exactly the boundaries of the Tanji Bird Reserve are drawn.
“The GTB knows the place is part of the Bird Reserve and all the allocations are illegal,” said a senior official from the Department of Parks and Wildlife. “The barriers are there,” he added, and asked not to be named for fear of repercussions.
When contacted, the GTBoard noted in a letter signed by the Director General, Abubacarr Camara that only those involved in the land deal are entitled to details of the allocations.
Malagen has learnt that the Department of Parks has since 2021 asked the Attorney General’s Office to clarify the legal status of the land allocations. “Unfortunately, to this day, our letter has gone unanswered,” the senior official at Parks said. The Ministry of Justice has not responded to our request for an interview.
Essa Faal however argued strongly that the land given to him does not fall under Tanji Bird Reserve. “Reservation areas are created by law,” he said in a written response. “They are not wished into existence. You must note that the GTBoard holds the lease for the land in question. It is part of the TDA.”
Yet, the Reservation Order – a formal legal document that establishes Tanji Bird Reserve as a protected area in 1993 – and the official map, accessed from the Department of Parks and Wildlife, defined the exact boundaries using GPS coordinates. A Malagen team, guided by Tanji Bird Reserve ranger Baba Janneh, toured the Reserve to confirm the details. When we checked the coordinates using a mapping tool, they matched exactly with the area the ranger indicated as the boundaries. “As you can see,” Mr. Janneh said, pointing to the plots he identified as having been given out. “Their allocations are clearly well within the Reserve.”
The Birds Will Die
Of up to two hundred thousand tourists that visit the country annually, bird watching is a key attraction for at least 70 percent of them. Tanji Bird Reserve, boasting of over 300 species of birds, is the most popular site. Dozens of these bird species are endangered, meaning they are at risk of extinction. Some are found nowhere else in the country except in Tanji, and conservationists said most of the bird species there are likely to be forced out with any encroachment.
But Essa Faal said his resort will promote the biodiversity of the Reserve. “I’m a Gambian who wants to invest in my homeland,” he said, citing local and international examples of where investments in hotels have led to promotion of conversation. “My resort is going to be eco-friendly.”
Omar Malmo Jr., an environmental activist, however said the de-reservation of the area for any other purpose will compromise the ecosystem’s health and vitality. “The Reverse is not connected to any other forest where the animals can use it as a corridor to move,” he said. “Therefore they will all die.”
So far, none of the people allocated land in these contested areas have been able to begin development. Standing in their way are youth from Brufut, alongside the rangers who are holding the line and sending away anyone who tries to start construction.
Continue at: https://malagen.org/investigations/the-big-story/tanji-bird-reserve-carved-up-for-sale-inside-deals-to-turn-protected-land-into-profit/
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11733 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2025 : 15:44:42
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The Looting of Our Land!
By Madi Jobarteh
Once again here’s another groundbreaking investigative story from Malagen written by the award winning journalist Dija Jawo! It’s a heartbreaking story of greed, corruption and a scandalous disregard of the best interest of people and nature!
This is a story of the plunder of our collective heritage by those who bear primary responsibility to protect public interest. This story requires urgent and tough action from all citizens. It is yet another reminder of the Cancer of Corruption prevailing in this country with impunity. This must be confronted!
“It is not clear who influenced the various allocations. Mr. Faal had admitted meeting President Barrow over his application for the said land, but rejected claims that Mr. Barrow had influenced the GTBoard’s decision. But President Barrow had publicly admitted to allocating land to Mr. Faal.” Malagen
Essa Faal, Nandkishore Rajwani, and Khalilou Wague and whoever got land within the Tanji Bird Reserve should return our land! ASAP. There is no justification whatsoever for encroaching on the Tanji Bird Reserve.
The President has no authority or power to give public land especially a protected forest to any individual. To influence such is also illegal and unethical. The President must be severely held accountable.
Essa Faal should know that a reserved land; a bird sanctuary is off limits. He has a duty to protect the best interest of the country including its flora and fauna. As someone outraged by the bad governance and corruption in this country prompting him to seek the presidency in order to salvage the Gambia, then Mr. Essa Faal should know better how to pursue his personal and business interests. No one needed to tell him that no amount of eco-friendliness of a hotel warrants occupying a bird sanctuary!
This story once more highlights that the greatest threat to the peace, stability, development and prosperity of the Gambia has been the Government of Pres. Adama Barrow and before him, Tinpot Dictator Yaya Jammeh. They have demonstrated that they do not care at all about this country and her people. Like Yaya Jammeh, Pres. Barrow continues to mortgage the destiny and future of this nation with total disregard of the law and ethics. |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11733 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jul 2025 : 12:53:40
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Beyond Juridical Fiat: Contesting Elite Capture within The Gambia's Land Governance Framework
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Banjul, The Gambia – 19 July 2025
By Dave Manneh - Research Lead
Securing Futures: Land Rights Action Collaborative
In my capacity as a Brufut indigene, with deep connections to the customary landowners of the land the state calls the Tanji Bird Reserve, and as Research Lead for SFLRAC, I feel it necessary to offer a critical perspective on the recent investigative report by Malagen. This report transcends mere journalistic exposé; it represents a crucial empirical document shedding light on the systemic inefficiencies of The Gambia's land governance system and the continuity of injustices across political transitions.
I present this analysis on behalf of my community, whose hold on their ancestral heritage remains precarious amidst the unrelenting assault.
Understanding Elite Capture and Accumulation by Dispossession
The Malagen investigation corroborates a disturbing pattern SFLRAC has consistently critiqued: the questionable transfer of communal assets--a dynamic that has persisted beyond the previous authoritarian regime. The detailed allocation of substantial tracts within the Tanji Bird Reserve to private entities, including prominent political and business figures, constitutes a stark violation of established legal norms, and represents "elite capture."
Gambians must understand this phenomenon within the broader framework of "accumulation by dispossession"--the systematic transfer of communal assets to private interests through extra-economic means. Such practices reveal how ostensibly democratic governance structures can facilitate the instrumentalisation of state power to enrich elites at the expense of communities.
Constitutional Violations and Procedural Irregularities
The Karenti Land Question
Critically, the land identified as the Tanji (or Tanjeh) Bird Reserve is, in fact, Karenti (the land of Brufut clans). It was part of the tract of lands the community leased to the state as part of the Tourism Development Area (TDA) under specific conditions. When the "primary use" changes from its original purpose, the state bears an obligation to revert the land to its rightful owners rather than proceeding with redistribution amongst the elite.
This reallocation represents not merely a policy misjudgement but a violation of the original terms by which the community entrusted the land to the state. Moreover, it constitutes a direct affront to the ancestral land rights of the Kombonkas, reinforcing patterns of systematic dispossession that have historically characterised state-community relations.
The Janneh Commission and Legal Precedent
The Malagen report confirms that the Janneh Commission had determined the de-reservation of this land by the former presidency to be illegal. Despite this legal pronouncement and the corresponding recommendation that the state reinstate the land's protected status, the Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard) proceeded with parcel distribution, justified under the rubric of a "tourism designated zone."
This action is indefensible. As SFLRAC has written in similar cases, the GTBoard is potentially enabling the appropriation of communal lands without transparent consultation or seeking community consent.
Environmental Impact and Sustainable Development Concerns
The environmental implications of these allocations are profound and far-reaching. Karenti is a critical refuge for hundreds of bird species, representing a significant ecological asset both nationally and internationally.
The prioritisation of private commercial development contradicts principles of sustainable development and environmental stewardship. This act raises fundamental questions about development models that generate wealth for elites whilst yielding minimal returns to communities.
Characterising these activities as "rent-seeking" rather than authentic "value creation" is apt. Notably, presidential aspirant Essa Faal (a beneficiary of these allocations) has previously described communal lands as "dead capital" in a radio interview. Such framing reflects a reductionist approach to land that privileges market activation, thereby legitimising the transfer of community and national assets to elites like him.
Procedural Irregularities and Governance Failures
The Malagen report highlights troubling procedural irregularities that warrant investigation. Allegations that Nandkishore Rajwani used multiple identities to accumulate land whilst receiving allocations without fulfilling financial prerequisites exemplify the endemic corruption in land dealings. These practices mirror patterns whereby officials divert public-purpose lands to colleagues, friends, family, and other connected individuals rather than serving genuine development needs.
The reported interaction between Faal and Barrow regarding land applications highlights concerns about opaque processes and conflicts of interest within public asset management. Faal's own account of his presidential meetings, though meant to show transparency, highlights the problem of privileged access and informal decision-making processes that bypass established institutional safeguards.
Historical Context and Structural Analysis
The State Lands Act Legacy
This situation serves as a reminder that the State Lands Act 1991 needs reviewing. It vests the Minister of Lands with extensive powers often without requiring community consultation or participation in decision-making processes.
This legislation leaves communities vulnerable to precisely the abuses we are seeing in Karenti. The continuation of the Jammeh playbook under Barrow suggests that despite regime transition, structural reform remains incomplete.
Continuity Across Political Transitions
The situation also demonstrates how elite capture mechanisms can persist across political changes. The pattern of dispossession that has historically favoured external interests over indigenous communities continues unabated. This suggests that regime change alone is insufficient to address embedded structural issues within land governance systems.
Community Resistance and Democratic Engagement
SFLRAC commends the stance and courage Brufut youth and forest rangers demonstrated by resisting construction on these allocated plots. Their actions represent the sort of community-centred approach and sustained vigilance that land rights advocacy and protection requires. Such grassroots efforts are even more crucial when administrative guidelines prove meaningless, lack enforcement mechanisms, and lack genuine political will.
This collective resolve points towards the possibility of governance systems where such forms of community resistance become unnecessary, and where development enhances rather than undermines community rights and environmental sustainability.
Policy Demands and Reform Framework
Considering these pressing concerns, SFLRAC demands:
1. Immediate Cessation and Land Restitution
The GTBoard must cease further allocations and development activities within Karenti. The state must return the land to its rightful customary owners, given that its primary use has changed from its lease agreement with the landowners.
2. Implementation of Legal Directives
The state must implement the recommendations of the Janneh Commission, ensuring the restoration of the Karenti’s protected environmental status. Legal pronouncements cannot remain mere symbolic gestures; they must translate into administrative action and policy implementation.
3. Comprehensive Transparency and Accountability
The state must investigate all land allocations within Karenti, ensuring accountability for anyone implicated in illegal or corrupt practices. It must make accessible and public all documentation, including land valuation reports, transaction records, and decision-making processes.
4. Community Empowerment in Governance
The voices and rights of communities must be central to all land governance decisions, ensuring meaningful participation prior to rather than subsequent to development decisions. The state must adopt legal empowerment approaches to strengthen communities' capacity to assert their rights effectively within formal governance structures.
Towards Justice and Sustainable Development
The situation in Karenti is not an isolated incident but part of a systematic pattern throughout Kombo that favours elite interests over rights and even environmental sustainability. SFLRAC remains committed to using research and advocacy to address the knowledge gaps concerning land laws whilst empowering communities to reclaim lost rights and protect heritage.
We call upon all stakeholders--policymakers, civil society organisations, international development partners, and the broader Gambian public--to act decisively in ensuring that heritage preservation and community rights take precedence over narrow economic interests.
ADDENDUM - 19 July 2025
Following initial circulation of this analysis, Mr Essa Mbye Faal released a comprehensive statement through the APP-Sobeyaa Party addressing his land allocation.
Response to Faal's Statement: We've read Faal's statement carefully. His characterisation of the dispute as jurisdictional (between GTB and Parks and Wildlife) ignores the fundamental question of land rights. His argument that the bird sanctuary should remain limited to 401 hectares, whilst technically referencing existing legislation, does not address whether this original designation itself violated the customary tenure rights of the Brufut clans over Karenti.
His claim of having "followed due process" works within a system that excludes communities from decisions about their own lands and treats customary ownership with legal irrelevance if not an annoyance. The fact that Faal paid substantial sums and received governmental encouragement does not resolve the core question of whether the state had legitimate authority to lease or allocate these lands in the first place, given the TDA lease and customary ownership status.
Faal's defence, though detailed, misses the point entirely: whether allocations follow formal governmental procedures is less significant than whether those procedures themselves respect the ancestral rights of communities. The competing narratives surrounding these allocations underscore the need for governance frameworks that centre community voices rather than treating them as peripheral concerns it can address after it has made administrative decisions.
Our position remains unchanged that procedural compliance within flawed systems cannot substitute for genuine recognition of customary land rights. We're open to discussions with anyone genuinely committed to land justice.
Securing Futures: Land Rights Action Collaborative (SFLRAC) is a registered NGO-think tank hybrid based in The Gambia. Committed to empowering Kombo’s dispossessed land-owning communities, SFLRAC combines participatory action with rigorous research to secure ancestral land rights, advocate for equitable governance policies, protect cultural heritage, and advance sustainable development. |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Tanji Bird Reserve Carved Up? Inside Deals
