Correspondents to the project

Core Team Gambia & UK:

UK Team

John Tucker is the Management Plan’s Project Manager and he will write the Management Plan for presentation in April 2010. website

Peter Tucker is a design, online and publishing consultant based in Oxford, is responsible for the overall project identity including online presence, signage, printed materials and other materials website

Gambian team

Mamadou W Jallow is the KBC's Public Relations Officer and is the Gambian Team Project Manager working closely with Alieu Barry.

Alieu Barry is the KBC's Cashier and Gambian Team Fund Manager working closely with Mamadou W Jallow.

KBC/village

Kuloro Bird Club (KBC). The KBC is comprised of local bird experts and national bird guides resident in Kuloro/Tunjina villages and its committee members are especially helpful to the whole project.

Contributors/Participants:

UK University courses

Dr Roy Armstrong is responsible for the Project Gambia initiative based at Cumbria University.

Dr Charles Bishop is responsible for the MSc Conservation and Land Management course at Bangor University (course students will be in The Gambia 2-9 November when we are there).

Overall

Dr David Penney knows The Gambia’s wildlife very well and is the author of three recent books on the subject by Siri Scientific Press website:

Penney, D. 2009. Field Guide to Wildlife of The Gambia: an introduction to common flowers and animals. Siri Scientific Press, Manchester. 120 pp, 21 x 15 cm, 554 colour photos, 1 colour illustration. ISBN 978-0-9558636-1-5.

Penney, D. 2009. Field Guide to Butterflies of The Gambia, West Africa. Siri Scientific Press, Manchester. 80 pp, 21 x 15 cm, 235 colour photos. ISBN 978-0-9558636-2-2.

Penney, D. 2009. Common Spiders & Other Arachnids of The Gambia, West Africa. Siri Scientific Press, Manchester. 80 pp, 21 x 15 cm, 173 colour photos. ISBN 978-0-9558636-3-9.

David is an academic, knows the Gambian conservation scene, is a specialist in spiders and is an invaluable advisor to the project.

Birds

Clive Barlow is co-author of Bird of The Gambia and Senegal and senior ornithological consultant to the project.

Dr Hazell Thompson is African Regional Director for Birdlife International and is based in Nairobi. Birdlife is supportive of the scheme and is providing some technical help with the ornithological issues.

Dr Phil Thompson is the BTO’s coordinator for the Out Of Africa project to investigate the fate to declining migrant bird species while in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr Volker Salewski of the Max Plank Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell, Germany is operating a bird migrant bird census study site in Mali, data from which will contribute to the Out of Africa programme and link to the ringing patch close to Farasuto’s forest.

Plants

Jeremy and Ruth Jison of the UK are planning a visit to The Gambia in January 2010 and Jeremy, a highly skilled botanist is most generously offering that the two of them spend one for their two weeks holiday botanising in and around Farauso. That will be a great boost to the work being organized by Mucktarr Darboe, see below.

Reptiles

Luc Paziaud of the Gambia Reptile Farm is contracted to provide training at his centre for the local group from Kuloro and will visit the site later in the year, at night, to assess the forest and advise on its significance for reptiles.

Butterflies

Jon Baker is currently resident in The Gambia, due to return to the UK late 2009. Jon is a highly competent Lepidopterist and advisor to the project.

Mike Salter is a Lepidopterist and was responsible for the early coaching of Mamadou in the subject in January 2009 and has been very helpful subsequently.

Dragonflies

Ragnhild Möller is resident in Sweden and her specialism is dragonflies. Rangnhild will be visiting The Gambia and certainly also Farasuto in late 2009.

Advisors/watching brief:

Forestry Department

Mr Sanneh is Director of the Forestry Department for the Western Division and was largely responsible for guiding through the Forest Reserve status of Farasuto for Kuloro/Tunjina villages with the KBC and Mamadou W Jallow doing much of the footwork.

Kebba Sonko of the department has offered help in considering the methods to be used in extending Farasuto’s primary forest onto adjacent suitable land; wholly natural regeneration or encouragement with a nurse crop.

Meteorological Department

Saihou Colley is Meteorologist at Banjul International Airport, has provided 50-60 year back-record of temperature and rainfall and is helping with hydrological projects at Farasuto.

Department of Parks and Wildlife Management

Alpha Omar Jallow is the Director of the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management In Banjul. He was met with in January, is supportive of the project and is being kept informed of progress.

Department of Education

Mucktarr Darboe is Schools Science Advisor in The Gambia and coordinator of the plants survey contract being undertaken by Lamin D Sonko, Research Officer at the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) and Ansu Jatta, of the Department of Agriculture at the University of The Gambia.

Makasutu Community Forest

Malang Gambang, Executive Director of Makasutu Wildlife Trust, has kindly offered to meet us in November.