Biological assessment of and Eco-touristic project in the tanbi wetland complex, Banjul - the Gambia

The aim of the study was to make a biological evaluation of the best place to establish a tourist walkboard in the Tanbi Wetland Complex, Banjul, The Gambia. We identified the stakeholders that could be involved in the sustainable management of a walkboard project and we organized meetings with them. Amongst the different methods used to assess this were social mapping in small groups and group discussion of the results. We also used the '4R's method' in which we defined and distribute the Rights, the Revenues and the Responsibilities between all the stakeholders and found the Relationships between them. In a second research window we wanted to know what tourists visiting the Gambia think, what they are looking for during their holiday and what they think about the walking bridge by using semi-structured interviews. Finally, our study also served to sensitize tourists and local people about the nature and more precisely the mangroves. Most of the time they do not know what mangroves are, what they represent and what they offers to them, what their importance is for them. This project is supported by the city council of Oostende, who has a city link with Banjul, the capital of the Gambia