SCALA The Gambia
Introduction
The Gambia is the smallest country in mainland Africa and is one of the most densely populated countries on the continent. The IPCC lists The Gambia among the top 100 countries most vulnerable to climate change and among the top ten countries most vulnerable to coastal erosion and sea-level rise worldwide. The country is facing significant challenges in the face of climate change, including more frequent and intense droughts, flooding, coastal erosion, windstorms, high temperatures and erratic rainfall in recent years. These extreme weather events severely hinder the country’s sustainable development and poverty eradication efforts. The Gambia initiated the formulation of its National Adaptation Plan in 2015. In 2021, the country submitted an updated NDC which is guided by the aspiration to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the country conducted a review of circular economy opportunities and applied a more comprehensive approach to its second NDC. The Gambia’s NDC2 priorities include agriculture and land use, energy and transport, waste management and industrial processes measures.
Country Climate Plans
In 2021, the country published The Gambia 2050 Climate Vision (LTV), outlining a set of specific targets including the aim of becoming a climate-resilient, middle-income country through green economic growth supporting sustainable, low emissions development to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The recently validated 2050 Climate Vision of The Gambia established the political aspiration for The Gambia to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, guiding the country’s NDC2. In July 2022, the Government of The Gambia expressed their interest in receiving support from the SCALA programme, which supports countries in building adaptive capacity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to meet targets set out in their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and NDCs. The support of the SCALA programme’s PSE Facility is expected to enhance research that can strategically contribute to key NDC emission reduction targets across priority areas including biogas from waste management (including wastewater) and landfills, organic waste recovery, integrated waste management, substitution of firewood and charcoal from natural forests, and to upscaling deployment of fuel-efficient biomass combustion stoves.
Project details
The Gambia requests assistance to conduct a country-wide biogas resource potential assessment, and a cost-benefit analysis for three champion scenarios: small-scale (farm-level manure management), medium-scale (waste from farms and industrial processing) and large-scale (landfill/waste disposal industry) biogas investments.
Sustainable investments potential will be demonstrated, and private sector players will be involved in the multistakeholder discussions. Moreover, this work is expected to provide an indication of biogas’ potential contribution to adaptation through increased livelihood opportunities and household resilience, because of sound waste management and renewable energy generation.
The technical assistance from the SCALA PSE Facility Programme will be delivered in close collaboration with the UNDP The Gambia Country Office, FAO, the SCALA Global Private Sector Engagement team, and other partners to assist the government in the collection of data and gain insight on adaptation’s perspectives from different private sector stakeholders. This will involve drawing from existing climate-related studies and analysis but also, through data collection in the field.
Scope of work
1) Data Collection
2) Country-wide biogas resource potential assessment
3) Cost-Benefit Analysis
4) Validation workshop
- Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources (MECCNAR)