Effective utilization of knowledge on
adaptation to climate change: “Fisheries and
Marine Protected Areas”
By: Anna Mbenga Cham
Principal Fisheries Officer
Department of Fisheries
The Gambia
Presentation Outline
• Introduction
• Fisheries and climate change
• Knowledge sharing on fisheries and marine protected Areas
Management
• Examples of some Scenarios:
• Mangrove regeneration
• Protected Areas as Adaptive Measures
• Aquaculture practices e.g Oyster Culture
• Village gardening
• Village banking
And Erosion control
• Conclusion
• Recommendation
Introduction
• Climate Change
• Has become the forefront of environmental
agenda
• A critical and complex environmental threat
facing humanity
• The (IPCC) concluded that the green house
gases have reached their highest recorded
levels in the 1990s and they have projected
that temperature rise will be from 1.8- 4.0 by
2100
Introduction Cont.
The River Gambia:
• Nutrient discharger nurturing our continental shelves
with nutrients confluence of canary and gulf of guinea
currents zone.
• The coastal area subject to natural and anthropogenic
changes, resulting to:
• Coastal erosion
• Mangrove die back
• Stalinization of soil and loss of rice fields
• Loss of marine habitats
• Drastic decline of fish stocks, etc.
Fisheries and marine protected areas
• Fish reproduction, growth and migration
patterns are all affected by temperature
rainfall and hydrology.
Fisheries and Marine protected Areas
Cont.
• Marine Protected Areas are to provide refuge to significant
biodiversity
Use as research ground
• For regular monitoring of species and habitat
• Recognized as a tool to take relevant measures to changing
feature for example ecological surveys on (dolphin, marine
turtle surveys, etc.)
• Promote sustainable utilization of resources for now and
future generation
Implementation Successes:
• Co-management and seasonal closure of
fisheries.
• Artisanal Fisheries Associations have taken
the initiative to set aside 1 nautical mile no
fish zone starting from the beach
• Regular monitoring of species
• Habitats recognized as a tool to take relevant
measures to changing features such as
ecological surveys, dolphin, marine turtle
surveys, PA rapid assessment, etc.)
Knowledge Sharing and Adaptation to
Climate Change
Scenarios at Sub-regional level: Mangrove
Regeneration, Oyster culture, etc.
• Networking visits discussed and implemented
at forums of Regional Coastal and Marine
Conservation Programs in West Africa (PRCM)
• Support from WWF, USAID (University of
Rode Island/ Ba – Nafaa project)
Mangrove degradation by communities
Settlements near the intertidal zone
Mangrove dieback / use for fuel wood
Implementation Processes in Mangrove
Regeneration
• Proceedings of the implementation with
community Base Organizations,
• Village Development Committees (VD Cs),
involved in environmental oriented activities
• Basically as entry points to penetrate the
communities and to acquire local confidence and
commitment.
• Followed with signing of Memorandum of
Understanding with Community Youth
Development Association.
Knowledge Sharing on Coastal and Marine
Biodiversity Management Cont.
Team in pirogues collecting matured propagules
Project Support
• The project supported the association with
funds to conduct:
• Sensitization on mangrove planting
• Collection of propagules
• Simple tools or materials required for the
planting exercise
• Food for the communities during planting and
• T-shirts to publicize the initiative.
Aquaculture practices
• As an alternative to capture fisheries and by
way of alleviating poverty and facilitating
improvement of the nutritional standard of
the population:
• Fish farming, and oyster culture established
for communities around the coast.
Exchange Visit to Senegal
• To exchange ideas in harvesting and
processing methods of oysters and cockles
• To learn new and improved methods of
harvesting and processing of oysters and
cockles.
• To learn method of culturing oysters in the
mangroves
• To share information on market channeling
and marketing of fish and fisheries products.
Improved Methods Adopted
• Improve harvesting methods of cockles and oyster
learned
Village Gardening as an Alternative
to livelihood
• The essence is to conservation and improved
livelihood of the MPA’s surrounding communities.
Vegetable Gardening Cont.
The processes:
• A consultant was hired for implementation the biological
gardening
• Together they establish gardening committees and identify
location for the garden and needed materials
• Define management rules for project, funded materials for
their sustainable use established
• Fencing, well digging, seed management, and biological
pesticide production done.
• During rainy season they cultivated rice at the same place
during rainy season.
Village Banking
Social cohesion were strengthened.
• For each village bank, the ICAM II project initially invested
€1, 300.00 as loan to fifty women
• Each receiving €26.00. At the end of each month a woman
saves in the bank a minimum of €1.00.
• At the end six-months period (or cycle) each of the fifty
women in a bank saves a minimum of €6.00.
• At the end of a cycle, the fifty women saves a minimum of
€300.00.
• The end of year the total savings for ten banks amounted to
€ 11, 325.00 representing 31% of total investment of €36,
147.00.
Meeting for the formation of Village
Banking
Dalasi
Village Banking Community savings
Number in the bracket indicate number of cycles
Erosion Control
• The coast of the Gambia is characterized by lowgradient sandy beaches vulnerable to sea-level rise
because of the low lying coast and heavy
development in many areas .
• Actions have been taken by government to protect
our coast and the biodiversity such as rhun palm
groynes, beach nourishment, construction of sea
wall, etc.
The Gambia Coast
Gabions, done with the
communities
Conclusion
• Preservation of biodiversity and its habitat along with
improving community livelihood have been achieved
in some areas. Particularly in marine protected areas.
• The village bank system has financially improved the
livelihood of the benefited communities.
• Involvement of the villagers have made them feel
ownership as a result to enhance adaptive capacity
by improving livelihood and food security in this
changing climate.
Recommendation
• Strengthen resilience promises to reduce poverty
and enhances food productivity now and posterity
• Local capacity building and sensitizationto
• Continued research necessary to quantify the change
and to assess the vulnerability
• Improve the Enforcement of regulations
• Identification of pilot protection and adaptation
actions in hotspots areas vulnerable to climate
change
• Adaptation funds in financing mechanisms
• THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION