Description

The project “Action Plan for Sustainable Livelihoods in Protected Coastal Areas of West Africa in the Context of Climate Change” was funded by the MAVA Foundation, and executed by UNEP-WCMC and ENDA Energy. The general objective of the project was to improve the livelihoods of populations by increasing the socio-ecological resilience of protected coastal areas in West Africa in the face of the negative effects of climate change. ENDA Energie implemented the project activities in Senegal and The Gambia.

Major issue

Provision of an appropriate and practical methodology for assessing vulnerability and planning community adaptation to the negative effects of climate change

Goals

1. Assess the social vulnerability to climate change of populations dependent on natural resources, and living in or around marine protected areas (MPAs), and

2. Strengthen the capacities of managers of marine protected areas, and communities living in or around them through the use of information for adaptation measures.

Expected results

The implementation of project activities led to the following results:

1) the development of a participatory action research manual, with an appropriate and practical methodology for the regional context;

2) capacity building of a local team of research facilitators in Gambia and Senegal, in the area of using participatory action research tools to undertake vulnerability assessment and planning. 'adaptation

3) the development of adaptation actions in the two (2) MPAs following the assessment of vulnerability to the impacts of extreme climatic events

4) the implementation, by community members, of certain community adaptation actions, planned in the pilot areas. Among these initiatives were beekeeping, the planting of mangroves and trees, in Gambia; and in Senegal, community gardening and the provision of improved stoves;

5) the production of a guide for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of activities implemented in each MPA. Based on this guide, the members of the MPA management committee in the two (2) pilot zones were trained in M&E during a special session.