Climate Sense

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daptation

and

itigation

trategies

during the regional inception meeting, which took

place in November 2008.

The ACCC project is one of the various sub-regional

efforts to adapt to climate change in costal zones, includ-

ing: the West African Economic and Monetary Union,

with its project on coastal erosion; the International

Development Research Centre, with its programme

on Adaptation to Climate Change in Africa; and Le

Programme régional de Conservation de la zone Côtière

et Marine en Afrique de l’Ouest, which is a consor-

tium of NGOs focused on protecting the marine and

coastal areas of West Africa. The point of this ACCC

project is to promote multiple adaptation responses to

combat coastal erosion, since no single option can fit all

circumstances. The inclusion of stakeholders through

sensitization campaigns and activity-integration is an

important aspect of this project. By involving stake-

holders the project benefits from a wide variety of

experiences, as well as becoming a larger network.

The actions taken during this project are also

expected to promote the development of biodiversity,

since improving the marine environment improves the

well-being of the wildlife that depends on it – includ-

ing turtles and marine birds. Combating coastal erosion

by developing adaptation systems clearly works, while

preserving biodiversity and involving all stakehold-

ers are efficient ways to prepare communities and

ecosystems for better adaptation to climate change and

its consequences along West Africa’s coastal zones.

Integrated coastal management will also contribute to

the resilience of coastal ecosystems and populations to

a future environment affected by climate change.

ing biodiversity and strengthening the adaptive capacities of local

communities and ecosystems. The project will also try to include

climate change considerations in different development plans – for

example, tourism strategy and master plans for coastal towns.

One of these pilot projects will take place in Varela, Guinea Bissau,

where extremely rapid coastal erosion is occurring. Activities on the

site include cleaning the beach (mostly material left by a former tourist

industry infrastructure), mangrove restoration and afforestation. These

activities will be conducted with local non-governmental organizations

(NGOs) and represent an opportunity to conduct awareness training

with different levels of society, including women and the young. At a

national level, agreements have been made with the Ministry of

Tourism to include climate change aspects, as well as integrated

coastal management, in its strategy development.

Regional components will aim to develop training on a variety

of related matters. Three regional training workshops have already

been organized on climate change and coastal zones, techniques

for mangrove restoration and littoral dune afforestation. A shared

environment consisting of a website, network and database is

being created. This will enable exchange of experiences, support

sub-regional activities to increase the opportunities for decision

makers to act, and increase the design and implementation of inte-

grated coastal zone management policies.

In the coming months there will be a forum of sub-regional

parliamentarians to discuss how they can contribute to better

management of the coastal zones in a context of climate change.

A ‘training of trainers’ will be organized to launch the Sandwatch

programme, which is supported by UNESCO in the Caribbean

and Pacific islands regions, and seeks to teach scholars how to

monitor beaches effectively. Appropriate communication tools

will be developed to enhance the visibility of the project and find

co-funding. A monitoring and evaluation framework was defined

Image: Joao Raimundo Lopes

Coastal erosion along the beach of Varela (Guinea Bissau)