Stories from the Field: Adapting Fishing Policies to Address Climate Change in West Africa
Oct 19, 2010
- Description
"The 2009-2010 Annual Report of the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa Program (CCAA). Coastal Africa (Western); from Mauritania to Guinea, benefits from a marine upwelling of nutrient-rich cold water which makes it one of the world's most productive fishing zones. The fisheries sector is therefore extremely important to both national and local economies and to the food security of local people. But fish stocks are threatened by destructive fishing practices, ecosystem decline and competition within the sector. This crucial resource faces further uncertainties because of climate change. Led by the Dakar-based organization Environment and Development Action in the Third World (ENDA), the project "Adapting Fishing Policy to Climate Change in West Africa" (which goes by the French acronym APPECCAO) aims to integrate an improved understanding of climate change's potential impacts and options for adaptation into plans and policies governing fisheries. Through action research, it seeks to widen dialogue so that those whose livelihoods depend on the fisheries (fishers, boat owners,outfitters and those in the packing and processing industry) can contribute to sustainable management."
