CCLME mangrove project

This CCLME demonstration project will be implemented as part of Component 3: Biodiversity, Habitat and Water Quality

Participating countries: The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea

Mangroves are highly important ecosystems in terms of natural productivity and biodiversity, and they also play an extremely important socio-economic role as many people depend on them for their livelihood. Mangroves are threatened throughout the world and according to FAO, 25% of the mangrove surface area has been lost since 1980. In the CCLME region, generic underlying causes such as dam construction, urban development, climate change, upland deforestation, mariculture, irrigation schemes, absence of alternative energy sources and a lack of habitat conservation strategies have been linked to the degradation.

The project will promote multi-country agreement on sub-regional policies and plans for the sustainable management of mangrove forests which are distributed from southern Senegal (including waters of the Gambia) as far south as Guinea and into Sierra Leone.