Gas exploitation in Saint-Louis: Fama Sarr denounces the lack of involvement of local communities by the companies

The situation of fishing communities on the Langue de Barbarie remains worrying in light of the consequences linked to gas exploitation by the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project. On the sidelines of an advocacy training workshop organized by Greenpeace in Saint-Louis, Fama Sarr, a fish processor and deputy secretary of the Local Artisanal Fishing Council (CLPA), denounced the lack of involvement of local communities and called for greater consideration of their concerns.

For Fama Sarr, Greenpeace's presence alongside the communities of Saint-Louis is an important initiative. The community leader welcomed the organization of a training session focused on advocacy, particularly in a context marked by the difficulties faced by those involved in fishing.

"We thank Greenpeace for its presence once again in St. Louis to support communities with training, especially on advocacy," she said.

According to her, communities have numerous concerns to raise with authorities and companies operating in the hydrocarbon sector. Among the issues raised are gas exploitation with the GTA project, difficulties in the fishing sector, coastal erosion, the situation at the mouth of the Senegal River, and the establishment of fishmeal factories.

"The communities were not involved from the beginning."

Fama Sarr believes that several current difficulties originate from the lack of involvement of local populations during the early stages of the gas project.

She points out that seismic research began in 2014 and regrets that the communities directly concerned were not sufficiently involved in the process from the outset.

"We know that since the seismic surveys in 2014, the communities have not been involved from the beginning," she lamented.

In his view, this lack of participation has contributed to increasing the tensions and difficulties faced today by fishermen and other actors in the fishing industry.

The head of the CLPA thus argues for a real involvement of the populations in projects likely to have consequences on their activities and their living conditions.

BP and Cosmos questioned

The workshop organised by Greenpeace made it possible to focus in particular on advocacy aimed at multinationals involved in the GTA project, notably BP and Cosmos.

Fama Sarr believes that these companies should take greater account of the recommendations from environmental and social impact studies carried out before operation.

She points out that several recommendations had been made to limit the environmental and social consequences of the project, but that some of them are still not being sufficiently implemented.

"The communities expect the government to provide studies and follow-ups on the environmental and social impact assessment, where many recommendations were made that have not been respected by multinationals," she said.

A call to the government to review the contracts

Faced with this situation, Fama Sarr also calls on the public authorities. She points out that the review of contracts related to the exploitation of natural resources was among the commitments announced by the current government during the election campaign.

"The government told us that, once elected, the first thing they would do would be to review the contracts. So far, we are waiting," she stressed.

For the communities of the Langue de Barbarie, the challenge now is to reduce the negative impacts of gas exploitation on fishing activities and on the living conditions of the populations.

Fama Sarr believes that advocacy should enable communities to better voice their demands, but also to directly challenge the various actors, including the State and multinationals.

"The communities are waiting for the government," she insisted, calling for concrete actions to ensure better monitoring of environmental and social commitments related to the GTA project.