APRIL NEWSLETTER

Breakdown of the IPCC Report and What It Means For Gambia 

When the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Sixth Assessment Report earlier this year, it was alarming to see the documented consequences and its impact including its comparison to 2014, the year that the Fifth Assessment Report was released, just before the Paris Agreement treaty.

The collective data states that global temperatures are already more than 1 degree Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels and specifies that the effects of climate change are not being evenly distributed worldwide, but rather are affecting certain ‘high-risk’ areas; made up of mostly coastal and tropical countries located near the equator.

An excerpt from the IPCC AR6 Africa Fact Sheet indicating the current projections of annual temperatures and precipitation over 1.5,2 and 4 degree C increases in global warming.

The increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere are destroying marine biodiversity and changing the distributions of animals and vegetation. There has also been a notable increase in the presence of waterborne and zoonotic diseases as a consequence of the rise in temperature1.

How does this affect countries like The Gambia?

The Gambia is a low-lying country with a high population density in the coastal areas and is at risk of storm surges (sea level rise)2. As the population grows and urbanisation in coastal areas continues, this is expected to be a major driver of exposure to climate change over the next 50 years2.

Unfortunately, the infrastructure in The Gambia is not prepared for future climate change, especially with regard to sea-level rise and coastal erosion. This also applies to our cultural heritage sites, which are already at risk from various climatic hazards.  Also, there has been a notable decrease in crop and livestock yield mostly due to heat-induced loss of labour productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. This has its own repercussions, as it often leads to an increase in food prices and malnutrition in rural communities. 

Within the rivers of tropical areas like the River Gambia, the effects of climate change are more severe and noticeable. There has already been a recorded decrease in freshwater habitats and there are projected decreases in the capacity for endemic and specialised fish species to adapt to the elevated water temperatures2. This also means that there is currently an increase in the number of freshwater fish species that are vulnerable to climate change. The IPCC report states that there will be extreme variability in rainfall, ranging between a 50% decrease and a 50% increase. This will lead to large displacements and a potential increase in fluvial flooding on the river banks, which will negatively impact the rural communities living there. 

How can The Gambia combat climate change now?

The protection and restoration of The Gambia’s coastal, wetland, and riparian areas are essential to its development. The lack of data and research in The Gambia is one of the major constraints in its path to building climate change resilience. However, there is the potential to improve and educate the most vulnerable communities and use local knowledge to adapt to the changes in the environment, in order to better prepare for the future. Improving evidence-based climatic data and education can drive policies that protect the people and the environment. After the recent COP26, a total of US$100-billion per year pledge was made to support climate financing for developing countries by developed nations. The Gambia should take advantage of these resources to mainstream climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. The GREAT Institute takes pride in using education, research, and local knowledge to strengthen climate resilience. 

The GREAT team presented the work and data collected over the past few years to the British High Commissioner David Belgrove OBE, the UK Regional COP26 Ambassador Ms. Janet Rogan, and the West Africa Senior Climate Change and Natural Resource Advisor Dr. Julian P Wright.

1zoonotic diseases that are transferred from animals to humans like the COVID-19 virus.

2IPCC, 2022: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. In Press

The UTG students demonstrating their knowledge to the Baja Kunda Senior Secondary students.

The EbA project funded by the Global Climate Fund (GCF) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)  is a six-year project with the purpose of building climate-resilient natural resources across The Gambia, establishing and strengthening natural resource-based businesses, and institutional strengthening and knowledge generation to support large-scale implementation of EbA in The Gambia. Many of the activities for the project include the replanting of degraded tree species, developing agriculture farms, introducing beekeeping centres, establishing multipurpose centres, developing food processing centres, and capacity building for local community members. 

The UTG students learning about carbon sequestration and quantification from a member of the GREAT team, Muhammed Nyass.

The purpose of the study tour was to build the capacity of UTG environmental science students in efforts to strengthen the support of the large-scale implementation and sustainability of the EbA project in The Gambia.  The students were exposed to the various EbA projects sites, learned how to quantify the amount of carbon storage in various trees, and gained field experience for environmental monitoring.  During the study tour, the UTG environmental science students had the chance of putting the knowledge into action by teaching students from Baja Kunda Senior Secondary School the techniques learned from the GREAT team. 

The students at Baja Kunda Senior Secondary School learning how to use a refractometer.

Below are the EbA project sites that the GREAT team and UTG students visited :

  • Kiang West National Park

  • Bureng Nursery

  • Agroforestry Farm and Assisted Nature Regeneration in Central River Region South

  • Baja Kunda 

  • Nyakoi 

  • Sare Sambel Tree Nurseries

  • Fitu Wollof Bee farms

  • Njau Agroforestry Farm

A map of The Gambia showing the EbA sites visited by the GREAT Institute team and the UTG students.

Thanks to our team members Betty Jahateh, Muhammed Nyass, and Dawn Pratt for conducting the EbA study tour!

The GREAT team that participated in the EbA tour and conducted environmental monitoring along the River Gambia.

GREAT Institute's Visit to Swansea University

The Great Institute team visited Swansea University for a 10-day research travel grant funded by Swansea University’s Internal Global Challenge Research Fund. The purpose of the trip was to further build collaboration between the two institutions. The GREAT Institute team visited various research labs and held meetings to discuss future projects.

The signboard at Swansea University’s Singleton Park Campus in Wales, UK.

The partnership with the two institutions began in 2019 when a team from Swansea University visited The Gambia to conduct consultations and garnish support from key stakeholders to develop projects that support evidence-based management and policy. Since the partnerships between the two institutions, GREAT Institute has produced essential and up-to-date environmental data through two of the funded projects, the West African Continuous Environmental Monitoring (WACEM) programme and Planetary Health Gambia (PHG) project funded by Swansea University’s Internal GCRF.

A member of the GREAT team, Adesina Davies presented the environmental monitoring data results to Swansea University’s team.

At the end of the trip, the team presented the research findings from the WACEM programme and the PHG project to the Swansea collaborators. The trip provided a lot of insight for potential research in The Gambia and allowed the GREAT team to gain perspective on how to improve current research activities and expand its research portfolio.