Overview – The coastal systems of West Africa are rich in biodiversity and natural resources, providing ecosystem services that contribute to about 57% of the region’s GDP.
Despite their evidenced value, these ecosystems are under threat from climate change and human activities. Increased floods and landslides, rising sea-levels and temperatures, exacerbated coastal erosion, loss of species habitats, widespread ecosystem degradation, and the proliferation of invasive species are some of the visible changes that climate stressors and unsustainable human activities have induced in the region.
Approach
Sustainable management of coastal environments cannot occur without consideration of what is happening on land. Because of this, WA BiCC also focuses on combatting wildlife trafficking and reducing deforestation, forest degradation, and terrestrial biodiversity loss. Based on the connectivity of systems and issues, we implement an integrated approach to increasing coastal resiliency that encompasses setting up an enabling policy environment and implementing interventions across various scales. In these landscapes, we work to improve governance and policy reform that enables the protection of mangroves, coastal forests, watersheds, and marine systems. These activities are complemented by regional policy actions and implemented in close collaboration with Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Mano River Union (MRU), and the Abidjan Convention.
Activities/Progress so far
WA BiCC is collaborating with Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) and NAP Global Network to strengthen the development of National Adaptation Plans (NAP) in six West African countries: Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Ghana. This initiative has increased the capacity of these countries to account for coastal issues into their NAPs and effectively use climate information for adaptation planning. Over the next two years, WA BiCC and CIESIN will continue to work with these countries to develop NAP frameworks and build capacities for climate change vulnerability assessments, climate information generation and use, gender integration, and vertical and horizontal integration within the NAP process. A brief of this activity can be downloaded here.
WA BiCC has completed two climate change vulnerability assessments for the Sierra Leone Coastal Landscape Complex and Fresco Lagoon Landscape in Cote D’Ivoire. Both assessments confirmed the vulnerability of coastal areas to the effects of climate change and human activities and highlighted varying levels of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. For instance, in the case of coastal Sierra Leone, people in the Scarcies region are more exposed to climate change threats but have a higher adaptive capacity and are willing to engage in mangrove restoration activities. On the contrary, in the Sherbro region, villages were less exposed to climate change impacts but had lower adaptive capacity. The mangroves of this region are in better shape than in the Scarcies, so the communities are less willing to restore degraded mangrove areas. These vulnerability assessments are helping Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire address the effects of climate change in coastal areas by planning for adaptation. In Cote d’Ivoire, WA BiCC is collaborating with relevant ministries to explore possibilities for scaling up the best practices into coastal planning. An abridged version of the Sierra Leone CCVA report can be found here.
WA BICC started its community-based mangrove rehabilitation work in 2017. With the aim of increasing coastal protection and diversifying livelihood options for communities, the project sought to understand land use practices, land tenure issues, and approaches for empowering local communities. This approach includes activities for delivering science-based mangrove ecosystem restoration and adaptation planning. In a year, close to 80,000 mangroves seedlings and wildlings were planted, with the rehabilitation of 120 hectares of degraded and depleted mangrove forest well underway in the Scarcies, Sierra Leone River Estuary (SLRE), Yawri Bay and Bonthe Sharbro Estuary.
One of the key findings of the vulnerability assessment in the Sierra Leone Coastal Landscape Complex was the sensitivity of coastal communities to the effects of climate change, exacerbated by fewer livelihood activities, more constrained access to markets and facilities, and poor access to information. To this end, WA BiCC is working with communities to protect their assets from rising sea levels by developing embankments, restoring mangroves, implementing integrated rice/mangrove cultivation, promoting climate-smart agriculture, increasing disaster preparedness, and setting up Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs).
WA BiCC facilitated the adoption of additional protocols (an update and refinement of the legal text of the Convention to improve implementation and address new challenges) to the Abidjan Convention, adding sustainable mangrove management, integrated coastal zone management, and a regional strategy on invasive species that focuses on sargassum. The program will continue to collaborate with the Abidjan Convention and its partners to support and encourage parties to sign, ratify, and implement them. Lessons learned from these pilots will be shared with target countries, the Abidjan Convention, ECOWAS, and the Mano River Union. The program is already using the results of piloted interventions to inform the NAP process in six countries.
A careful analysis of the socio-political and cultural context of the Sierra Leone Coastal Landscape Complex revealed that a key driver triggering excessive exploitation of natural resources is the uncoordinated way through which councils, chiefdoms, and community-level institutions operate. To address this issue, WA BiCC has worked with development agencies and government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to establish 24 natural resource management committees and a Coastal Chiefdom Natural Resources Management Network. Over the coming years, WA BiCC will train these newly established institutions in various aspects of natural resource and climate change adaptation management.
WA BiCC is striving for at least a 40% management effectiveness rate in the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Ramsar sites of Sierra Leone. Currently these MPAs and Ramsar sites are subject to unrestricted access. WA BiCC will work closely with National Protected Areas Authority (NPAA), fisheries, and the Coastal Chiefdom Natural Resources Management Network, to develop community co-management plans in order to improve management effectiveness in the MPAs, empower and build community capacities, and sustain and diversify livelihoods.
A Climate Change Adaptation Plan has been developed to contribute towards increasing resiliency and protecting coastal ecosystems across the Sierra Leone Coastal Landscape Complex (the Bonthe-Sherbro River Estuary, the Scarcies Region, the Sierra Leone River Estuary and the Yawri Bay landscapes) and beyond. The plan proposes a fundamental shift in the way practitioners and climate change risk managers work together to protect and restore critical coastal ecosystems and bolster sustainable livelihoods. In addition, the plan advocates for the use of proven best practices, building on previous and ongoing efforts to create fair, equitable and lasting adaptation solutions in coastal West Africa. It is anticipated that this plan will also foster a new culture that prompts practitioners and policy-makers to mainstream consideration of climate change risks, vulnerabilities, and adaptation into decision-making
