USAID West Africa
Coastal Communities in Sierra Leone Make Strides to Protect and Restore Their Mangroves
Jul 02, 2019Adaptation, Climate Change, Coastal, Livelihoods, mangroves, RAMSAR, Sierra leone, USAID West Africa
The Sherbro River Estuary is one of four Sierra Leone coastal regions that was declared a Marine Protected Area in March 2012, recognizing the value of mangrove forests as critical to the success of the fisheries sector in the country. While this decision was a major step in the right direction, ongoing unsustainable practices and…
Sierra Leone Validates Climate Change Adaptation Plan as Stakeholders Prepare for Action
May 23, 2019Abidjan Convention, Adaptation, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation Plan, Coastal, Conservation, ECOWAS, Livelihoods, ocean, Partnership, USAID West Africa, WA BiCC, West Africa, workshop
Sierra Leone is ranked among countries highly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change; in 2017, Sierra Leone ranked third most vulnerable nation after Bangladesh and Guinea Bissau to adverse effects of climate change (GlobalSecurity.org, 2017). In the midst of this, the National Government and development partners are committed to taking urgent actions critical…
Strengthening Regional Partnership for Sustainable Natural Resource Management
May 22, 2019Climate Change, Conservation, Mano River Union, MRU, Partnership, Policies, USAID West Africa, WA BiCC, Wildlife Conservation, workshop
In a bid to further strengthen the working relationship between the Mano River Union (MRU) and the West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC) Program, the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Freetown, Sierra Leone on February 20, 2019. The MOU was designed to support activities to combat wildlife trafficking; increase…
In the Fight against Wildlife Crime, ECOWAS Member States adopt the “Abuja Declaration on Conservation Priorities for the 18th Meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties 2019”
Apr 08, 2019CITES, Conservation, ECOWAS, Trafficking, USAID West Africa, Wildlife Conservation
Abuja, Nigeria, 29 March 2019 – In the face of continued levels of illegal wildlife trade, which is destroying the natural and cultural heritage of their region and undermines sovereign efforts to manage their own resources, West African nations, under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met to define a…
Nigeria Gears Up to Combat Wildlife Crime
Mar 29, 2019Biodiversity, Biodiversity Loss, Capacity Building, CITES, CITES COP 18, ECOWAS, Partnership, Ramsar COP13, Trafficking, USAID West Africa, West Africa, Wildlife Conservation
Porous borders. Lack of awareness. Commit to change. Certain phrases kept resonating at a high-level stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, March 27, 2019, that convened government agencies and their private sector and civil society partners intent on combatting wildlife crime in Nigeria and along its borders. Wildlife crime, which includes trafficking and illegal trade…
Strengthening Climate Change Resilience in the Fresco Coastal Landscape, Côte d’Ivoire
Mar 20, 2019Abidjan Convention, Aquatic ETP, Climate Change, Coastal, Conservation, mangroves, RAMSAR, USAID West Africa, West Africa
The Fresco coastal landscape includes the Fresco Lagoon and the Bolo and Niouniourou rivers which feed the lagoon with fresh water. Known locally as Koyiri, the lagoon lies in the administrative region of Gbokle. It has been classified as a Ramsar Site due to its rich biodiversity, including several endangered species like the manatee and…
Three Steps Forward for Transboundary Collaboration between Guinea and Liberia
Mar 19, 2019Biodiversity Loss, Capacity Building, Conservation, Mano River Union, Partnership, USAID West Africa
Representatives of two of West Africa’s most important forest nations, Guinea and Liberia, have made strong commitments to continue conserving the Upper Guinean forest ecosystem, and to manage these globally unique forests for the wellbeing of people on both sides of the border. Converging at the Voinjama, Liberia City Hall on February 5-6, 2019, stakeholders…
Community Forestry Brings Opportunity to Disadvantaged Farmers, Increases Income
Mar 19, 2019Biodiversity, Biodiversity Loss, Capacity Building, Conservation, Deforestation, Degradation, Livelihoods, USAID West Africa
In rural Sierra Leone, 60-year-old Vandi Sama sits on a stool and patiently weaves together the skin-like bark of a rattan stem. Although he has already harvested the poles, steamed them to shape a chair frame and separated the plants’ various parts based on how they can be used, it might be another whole day…
Into the Limelight; Fresco Project Launches
Mar 13, 2019Abidjan Convention, Capacity Building, Climate Change, Coastal, Conservation, USAID West Africa, West Africa
The Fresco coastal landscape in Côte d’Ivoire harbors some of the country’s rich biodiversity hotspots and is noted for its contribution to fisheries food security. It was selected by USAID as a focal landscape for interventions by USAID’s West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change Program (WA BiCC) based on scoping work undertaken during Program design.…
Coastal Resilience Project Launches in Fresco – Cote D’ivoire, to Protect Ecosystems and Improve Lives of Thousands
Feb 21, 2019Abidjan Convention, Aquatic ETP, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Coastal, USAID West Africa, West Africa
Fresco – Cote d’Ivoire, February 13 – A new Initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is being launched in Fresco, southern Côte d’Ivoire, on Wednesday, February 13, to promote the wellbeing of households living in an area that is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and an urgent need…