Guinea-Bissau, located in West Africa, is relatively small in size (36,000 km2) and population (1.5 million), with a low-lying land mass and an archipelago comprising a large number of islands. These characteristics render the country highly vulnerable in particular to sea level rise, flooding, and related saline intrusion associated with climate change. Guinea-Bissau falls within two climatic regions. The sub-Guinean region covers the coastal zone and is characterised by intense rains (1,500-2,500 mm/year), relatively limited variations in temperature, and high humidity. The drier eastern part of the country is characterised by low rainfall (1,000-1,500 mm/year) and large variations in both temperature and humidity between rainy and dry seasons. This eastern part of the country, home to the majority of the population, is vulnerable to desertification due to intensified farming practices and climate change.
Guinea-Bissau is impoverished, with low levels of human development and high levels of indebtedness. Guinea-Bissau ranks 173 out of 182 countries in the world for its levels of human development (UNDP HDI 2009). The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is USD430m, with 66% of the population below the poverty line and a Gross National Income per capita of USD524 (WB 2010; WB 2009). Guinea-Bissau’s economy is highly reliant on rain-fed agricultural production: the agricultural sector, dominated by cashew, is the most important sector of the country’s economy, contributing 55% of GDP and employing 82% of the population. The country’s remaining GDP comes from the services (32%) and industry (13%) sectors (WB, 2009). Guinea-Bissau’s natural environment is vulnerable to increasing desertification in the Sahelian zone, deforestation due to domestic fuel demands, overfishing and saline intrusion in agricultural areas. Guinea-Bissau is a significant carbon sink due to prevalence of mangrove, tropical and savanna forest vegetation.
Awareness of climate change amongst national level decision makers in Guinea-Bissau is gradually increasing, though remains low amongst other sectors of the population. Inclusive and consultative processes employed to develop the First National Communication on Climate Change and the NAPA have assisted this shift. As part of both processes, key decision-makers discussed climate-change-related challenges that the country will be likely to face in the future. Awareness of environmental considerations is also increasing: the President of the Republic recently called for the inclusion of environmental considerations into all spheres of the country’s governance and civil society activities (3/18/2010, Bissau Digital). However, adaptation to climate change is not yet internalised or mainstreamed within key institutions at technical, strategic or political levels.
Against this background, support from the LDCF will be used to address systemic, institutional and individual capacity gaps to manage water resources and agrarian resources (including agriculture and livestock) in the face of a changing climate. If successful, the project will pave the way for Guinea-Bissau to make tangible long term progress towards climate change adaptation through a more comprehensive and sustained approach. The proposed interventions aim to increase resilience and adaptive capacity towards addressing the additional risks posed by climate change upon the country’s agricultural and water sectors.
The programme will be conducted along a three-pronged approach:
- Firstly, the project will focus on increasing the capacity of key stakeholders to integrate climate change concerns into the policy frameworks, management and operational mechanisms of the water and agriculture sectors. Appropriate changes to strategies, policies, and measures, as well as sectoral budgeting and monitoring systems, will be introduced, based on assessments of climate risk and mainstreaming into the regulatory frameworks and decision-making processes relevant for integrated agriculture and water resource management.
- Secondly, the project will demonstrate how strengthening resilience to climate pressures can be successfully carried out on a pilot/demonstration basis, through site-level interventions. Based on the priority criteria, defined in the NAPA, the programme will be targeting the eastern region of the country (Pitche and Pirada sectors in the Gabú region).
- Thirdly, based on lessons learned in the process, the project will outline a strategy for replicating successes and best practices, for use in other highly vulnerable areas within Guinea-Bissau and in other countries facing similar climate risks.
Information taken from Guinea-Bissau UNDP Project Document dated March 15th, 2011
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