In the face of falling fish catches, diseased coconut trees, and increased worries about flooding and seaweed on the shores of the Western Region, WRCF is working with communities to raise awareness about these issues and find innovative new ways to mitigate their exposure to climate and environmental risk.
PARTNERING TO EDUCATE COMMUNITIES ON CLIMATE RISKS
In 2017, WRCF partnered with the USAID sponsored Coastal Sustainable Landscapes Project (CSLP) to engage communities in climate focussed discussions for the first time. Together, we will train volunteers who work on our dialogue platform in climate risks and mitigation strategies, and run climate discussions parallel to the regular community engagement sessions in 47 communities.
The communities taking part in the climate discussions will be those who have been affected by the arrival of the oil and gas industries, or who are experiencing environmental issues such as flooding or coastal erosion. The hope is that the sessions will not only give residents a basic understanding of climate risks, but they will also gain a better understanding of how their own actions feed into these risks. Eventually, communities will begin making changes in their own behaviour, and adapting mitigation strategies that allow them to reduce their exposure to climate and environmental risk in the future.
INTEGRATING CLIMATE ADAPTATION INTO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
WRCF also keeps climate and environmental risk in mind when designing our pilots to promote sustainable economic development.
In our aquaculture pilot conducted in August 2016, we introduced a number of measures to help farmers avoid losing fish in times of heavy rainfall and flooding. We taught the associations how to build monks - concrete water outlets - to help moderate the water level. Working with the Water Research Institute, we also developed a best practice training manual, which advocated for the use of netting. Now, even in extremely wet seasons, if the monk fails and the water continues to rise, the netting will prevent the farmers’ fish stocks from washing away.