MAY NEWSLETTER
Salty Much?
Ms. Betty Jahateh, the Programme Director at GREAT Institute was recently awarded a microgrant from National Geographic and The Nature Conservancy to assess potential salt intrusion at various sites along the Bintang Bolong.
Each month, Ms. Jahateh and her team participate in data collection and analysis, site monitoring, and discussions with local community members. Salinity levels are collected in both water and soil samples from 7 different sites. The team also assesses the environmental conditions to determine any correlations between the salinity levels and the terrestrial environment.
The field and data technician, Adesina Davies, collecting environmental data.
The team communicates with local fisherfolk, village heads (“Alkaloes”), and community-based organizations to investigate the understand the historical local knowledge on agricultural land loss, existing vegetation, and their livelihoods. In one of the communities, the team spoke with elementary school students and allowed them to join in the data collection process while explaining some of the parameters being assessed.
Students participate in collecting data for the at Sinet, Lower River Region.
School Outreach by Gambia Ocean Heroes Team
The Gambia Ocean Heroes (GOH) team from GREAT Institute conducted another school outreach event on Thursday, 12 May 2022 in order to promote the GOH’s activities and spread awareness about pollution in aquatic systems and what students can do to help reduce the risk of pollution.
Gambia Ocean Heroes team with some of the students and teachers from Maahad Senior Secondary School.
The team went to Maahad Senior Secondary School, located in Brikama, The Gambia to talk to over 200 students from grades 10-12. The students were motivated in making a change as one of the representatives, Mr. Abdourahman Fanneh, from the Gambia Ocean Heroes is an alumnus of Maahad Senior School. Mr. Fanneh revisited his time spent as a student at the school and inspired the students to continue their education at the University of The Gambia where Mr. Fanneh is a Geography major.
The Gambia Ocean Heroes Coordinator, Muhammed Nyass, discussing the work GOH does and how to become a volunteer.
As the Assistant Coordinator to Gambia Ocean Heroes, Mr. Fanneh spoke about the importance of education, volunteerism, and participation in making a positive impact in conserving the aquatic environment.
The Assistant Coordinator of Gambia Ocean Heroes, Abdourahman Fanneh, talking to students at his alma mater.
The students were so impressed with the visit from the team and have pledged to start an environmental club at Maahad Senior School so they too can be a part of the solution and not the pollution.
Quarterly Beach Clean Up by Gambia Ocean Heroes and Partners
Gambia Ocean Heroes (GOH) in partnership with Gambia Maritime Administration (GMA), Gambia Environmental Alliance (GEA), National Environment Agency, and Area Councils (Banjul City Council, Brikama Area Council, and Kanifing Municipal Council) coordinated a massive beach cleanup on Saturday, 21 May 2022. The clean up was conducted at 12 different locations along the 80 km coastline of The Gambia. Each site was led by a community-based organisation under the GEA to build synergy among stakeholders involved in marine management and conservation.
Some of the volunteers and representatives from the coordinating team.
The team from the Gambia Ocean Heroes was at Bijilo beach by Lemon Creek Hotel with the Gambia Environmental Alliance and other volunteers. A total of 79 empty potato sacks were filled with solid waste that were segregated into plastic, metal, and organic waste. From our records, we collected 65 sacks of plastic waste, 3 sacks of organic waste, 2 sacks of metal waste, and 9 large plastic items that could not fit in the potato sacks. The wastes were later dumped at the Bakoteh dumpsite with the help of our usual and reliable partner MFH Group.
The total solid waste collected from Bijilo Beach.
The next 80 km coastal clean up is scheduled for Saturday, 17 September 2022 to commemorate International Coastal Cleanup Day (ICCDay). To volunteer or to sponsor this event, please email GOH at gambiaoceanheroes@greatinstitute.org
On the 26th and 27th of April 2022, the member states of ECOWAS held a two-day high-level workshop along with its stakeholders in order to discuss the implementation of their long-term climate strategy1. The meeting took place under the chairmanship of the Hon. Dr. Kwaku Afriyie from the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation of Ghana in Accra, Ghana1.
ECOWAS logo (Source: ECOWAS).
The ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy is the product of numerous collaborative efforts between the fifteen member states and various institutions over the duration of the past year. The implementation of this strategy would help reinstate ECOWAS’ commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as their Vision 20501.
The Regional Climate Strategy itself involves a long-term multi-sectoral approach, promoting climate-related issues as a priority as it will act as a framework for future ECOWAS actions3. The sectoral objectives involved will act toward various climate change mitigation strategies including transport, health, agriculture, water, energy, and land use1.
As stated by the ECOWAS Commissioner of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, Sekou Sangare, most of the targets for the strategy are set for 2030 with a scheduled review in 20501. This follows the theory of a continuous process for improvement and allows for necessary changes to be made in accordance with potential obstacles in the future1. The planning and development for the ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy have also been supported (both technically and financially) by the European Union, as well as Intra-ACP GCCA+ West Africa (through Expertise France)2.
This will be the first regional climate strategy to be implemented in West Africa, which has multiple areas projected to be influenced by more potential extreme climate events and changes if global warming continues at its current rate3. Even though most of the countries contribute less than 2% of global CO2 emissions in total, it is difficult to secure the necessary funding internationally due to a lack of technical resources3. This strategy could potentially facilitate funding, as it is a regional call of action versus an international call for action3.
References
African Business 2022, ‘Validation of the ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy: The Fifteen Member States United for a Solidary and Coordinated Action Against Climate Change’, APO Partner Press Releases, 30 April 2022, <https://african.business/2022/04/apo-newsfeed/validation-of-the-ecowas-regional-climate-strategy-the-fifteen-member-states-united-for-a-solidary-and-coordinated-action-against-climate-change/>
GCCA+ 2021, ‘ECOWAS develops a long-term Regional Climate Strategy to strengthen coordination of climate action in West Africa’, Intra ACP GCCA+, 07 December 2021, <https://intraacpgccaplus.org/story/ecowas-develops-a-long-term-regional-climate-strategy-to-strengthen-coordination-of-climate-action-in-west-africa/>
Le Monde 2022, ‘West Africa adopts its first regional climate strategy’, Climate, Le Monde Africa, 09 May 2022, <https://www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2022/05/09/west-africa-adopts-its-first-regional-climate-strategy_5982934_124.html>
The oceans are primarily impacted by climate change due to the global increase in temperatures caused by human activities. The ocean’s average temperatures have increased by 1.5 degrees Celsius and the annual average temperatures have been some of the highest ever recorded over the past 10 years3. This increase in temperatures has a negative effect on fishing fleets, ocean managers, and coastal communities dependent on the resources from the ocean1.
Extreme temperatures observed over the sea surface in September 2020 (Source: NOAA 2020).
The upper, shallower layers of the ocean have absorbed over 90% of the excess heat arising from human activities, and because of this, an average rate of 0.15°C per decade over the past 40 years has been observed in surface ocean water layers, with a record-high average ocean temperature2.
Extended periods of extreme warming in seas and oceans have increased in frequency by 50% in the past 10 years and are becoming more severe due to increased greenhouse gas emissions3. These prolonged periods are also known as marine heatwaves (MHWs)2. This phenomenon has a lot of negative consequences, including copious amounts of biodiversity and habitat loss due to an increase in ocean stressors2.
Some of the drastic impacts that marine heatwaves can cause, and which have been recorded over the past decade, include1:
Algal blooms and coral bleaching due to extreme temperatures in their habitats
A large decline in fish and shellfish populations due to the rise in temperature also results in large-scale financial losses for the global fisheries industry
Displacement of various marine species and populations leads to more human-wildlife conflict, especially in regard to fishing rights
A poster depicting the negative impacts of marine heatwaves in our aquatic ecosystems (Source: IUCN 2021).
Since marine heatwaves have such a large, irreversible effect on marine ecosystems, researchers have developed global forecasts that could give a notice about potential marine heatwaves a year in advance in order to manage and mitigate their impacts1. These forecast systems have been helpful to fishing fleets, ocean managers, and coastal communities to adapt to future marine heatwaves as climate change continues to be an ongoing crisis for the world1. Most of these forecasts can be accessed online through NOAA’s Physical Sciences Laboratory1.
The latest marine heatwave forecast for September 2022 by NOAA’s Marine Heatwave Tracker (Source: NOAA 2022).
In terms of efficiency, the Marine Heatwave tracker at NOAA is most accurate alongside periods that have been influenced by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, which is a common climate pattern observed in the Pacific Ocean1. However, these global forecasts do have a limitation; they cannot predict heatwaves in areas with rapid fluctuations in their oceans and atmosphere (eg. the Mediterranean Sea)1. They are more effective in areas with observed ocean-climate patterns like the Indo-Pacific region (north of Australia)1.
The use of these global forecasts is vital in the conservation of our marine species and our ocean biodiversity. While it may not be able to eradicate marine heatwaves and their impact on our aquatic systems, this will at least help us in making better decisions regarding the efficiency of protection and restoration procedures that are used in the future.
References
NOAA 2022, ‘New Global Forecasts of Marine Heatwaves Foretell Ecological and Economic Impacts’, NOAA News Feature Story, 20 April 2022, <https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/new-global-forecasts-marine-heatwaves-foretell-ecological-and-economic-impacts>
IUCN 2021, ‘Marine Heatwaves’, Issues Brief, October 2021, <https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/marine-heatwaves>
New Scientist 2022, ‘Extreme marine heatwaves are now normal for the world's oceans’, Environment, 01 February 2022, <https://www.newscientist.com/article/2306423-extreme-marine-heatwaves-are-now-normal-for-the-worlds-oceans/#ixzz7U6mWVJEW>