Global Environment Facility

Proposal for PDF Block B Grant

Country:Sénégal

Project:Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Management

Requesting Agency:The World Bank

GEF Focal Area:OP 2, Coastal, Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems

Project Cost & Financing Plan:TBD, Preliminary total estimate US$ 16 Million
(GEF, US$ 5 Milion)

Project Co-funding:TBD; potentially Netherlands, Canada, EU, French Government, IDA

Amount of PDF RequestedUS$ 294,215US$343,496

PDF Co-FundingYes: GOS (US$ 48,000), Canada (US$ 36,000), Netherlands/IUCN (US$ 100,000),
TOTAL (US$ 184,000)

Block A or Block B awarded:No

1.Background

1.1Marine and Coastal Biodiversity in Senegal

Senegal, the westernmost country in Africa, includes over 700 km of coastline just South of the Sahara desert. Hence, it represents the northern limit of distribution for a large number of coastal and marine animals and plants. It also constitutes critical resting and wintering areas for several palaearctic migrant birds. Major coastal habitats include:

i)Floodplain depressions and salt flats in the deltas of the three major rivers (the Senegal, the Saloum and the Casamance) that flow into the Atlantic Ocean. These depressions host important wintering waterfowl and waders (most notably the Avocet), serve as nesting sites for pelican and flamingo, and function as nurseries or spawning ground for coastal species, including shrimp, mullet (7 species) and Fimbriated herring (Ethmalosa fimbriata).

ii)The Niayes, a series of small depressions located amongst the coastal sand dunes found North of Dakar, which hold a high plant biodiversity.

iii)Large expanses of mangrove forests found at the mouth of the Saloum and Casamance rivers (over 1,800 km²). Small patches of mangrove subsist at the mouth of the Senegal River and on the edges of coastal lagoons south of Dakar, such as the Somone. The mangrove host severely threatened populations of the West African Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis), the African hump-backed dolphin (Sousa teuszii), crocodiles, and even hippopotami in Casamance. They also contain huge tidal mudflats where large concentrations of waders feed off an abundance of invertebrates and shellfish. They are a critical wintering site for palaearctic ospreys (Pandion haliaetus). Finally, the mangroves play a critical role in the life cycle of several commercially important coastal fish species.

iv)Sandy beaches, where five species of sea turtles are known to nest: Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Green (Chelonia mydas), Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). Small islands and sandbars strewn along the coast also hold large nesting colonies of pelicans, gulls and terns.

v)The Cap Vert volcanic outcrop that stands out along the otherwise sandy coastline. The rocky shores have a distinct fish fauna, with some coral patches off the Island of Gorée. Offshore islands also harbor a colony of Red-bellied tropic birds (Phaeton aethereus), the only one along the coast of West Africa.

The northern half of Senegal’s coast is subjected to a permanent upwelling, driven by the Canary current. As a consequence, it is a particularly rich fish production area. The productivity of Senegal’s coastal waters is boosted by the nutrients carried by its rivers, most particularly the Senegal River. Several cetaceans, most particularly Pilot whales (Globicephalea macrorhynchus), Bottle nosed dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), and spotted dolphins (Stenella sp.) further offshore, also populate coastal waters.

The Government of Senegal has created a string of protected areas (see Annex 1) to preserve coastal biodiversity. These include: the Djoudj National Park, the Ndiaël Nature Reserve, the Gueumbeul Nature Reserve, the Langue de Barbarie National Park, the Îles de la Madeleine National Park, the Popenguine Nature Reserve, the Saloum Delta National Park, the Kalissaye Bird Reserve, and the Basse Casamance National Park. Three of these areas are Ramsar sites (Djoudj, Ndiaël and Saloum). Moreover, the Saloum is also a Biosphere Reserve.

1.2Threats

Despite the Government’s effort, Senegal’s marine and coastal biodiversity is under severe pressure, both within and outside of protected areas. The most immediate threat is habitat destruction. Senegal’s coast hosts more than half of the country’s population within only 1/6 of its area. Population migration is motivated by the geography of economic opportunities, and is aggravated by large-scale land degradation in the hinterland. This trend is likely to continue in the foreseeable future. The coast also attracts over 90% of tourists visiting Senegal. As a result, relatively untouched natural habitats along the coast are being settled. The marshlands in and around the Cap Vert have been filled or contaminated. Industrial pollution and untreated waste have transformed the Baie de Hann into an ecological wasteland and created a major human health hazard. Agriculture is impinging on floodplain wetlands and mangrove forests, destroying spawning grounds and fish nurseries. Large-scale tourism has greatly reduced available habitat, most notably the availability of nesting grounds for sea turtles.

The migration of populations and economic activities towards the coast has also led to a harsher exploitation of coastal and marine resources. Tree cover, an important source of fuelwood, is rapidly decreasing. In specific areas, mangrove trees are been used to smoke fish, in the absence of other means of conservation. Ironically, increased commercialization of smoked mangrove oysters has, in certain localities, led to both the disappearance of the oysters and of the trees on which the oysters grow, leaving behind unproductive flats. The international market for shark fins is decimating shark stocks. Bird colonies are subjected to collecting of eggs. Manatees and sea turtles are hunted down. The establishment of large fish landing points in the Saloum delta, such as Missirah and Djifère in the Saloum, is also putting considerable pressure on local fish and shellfish stocks. More generally, the catch by commercial fishermen tends to exceed annual growth for most species (including tuna, groupers and Sardinella sp.), and as a result breeding stocks are being compromised.

The absence of an explicit management plan for Senegal’s coast, with a specific biodiversity conservation focus, and the lack of a forum bringing together all the stakeholders compound the above problems and weaken the measures that have been taken to preserve biodiversity. Coastal and marine resources are currently affected by a multiplicity of planning instruments, including the Orientation plan for Economic and Social Development, the National Land Use Plan, the Tourism Development Plan, the National Environment Action Plan, the National Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan, the Forestry Action Plan, the Urban Development and Management Plan, the Fisheries Master Plan, and the Water Protection and Conservation Action Plan. There is no shared vision regarding the fate of coastal resources. Most often, an issue will concern several stakeholders, which unknowingly hold contradictory views.

The regulatory framework is weak and seldom applied, and does not fully confer to local populations the right to manage the coastal resources on which they depend. The lack of participation of these populations in decisions affecting them limits economic opportunities, and incites them to mine coastal resources until exhaustion.

Lastly, insufficient in-country capacity to survey, monitor, plan and manage coastal biodiversity constitutes a major risk for its maintenance (some capacity exists for fisheries monitoring). In fact, the status of many of the threatened species is so poorly known that they risk silently becoming extinct within Senegal. The country has received little support to develop the scientific, technical and managerial skills required for coastal zone management.

Senegal has invested considerable effort in establishing a network of protected areas, but effective protection remains inadequate. Protected areas are under-equipped, under-funded and understaffed. Moreover, their establishment in the 1960s and 1970s created deep-rooted latent conflicts with neighboring populations that undermine conservation measures.

1.3Strategic context

Because of its strategic importance, Senegal’s coastline has been the focus of several planning initiatives. Thus in the early 1990s, the Ministry of Planning prepared an action Plan for the Protection of Waters and the Conservation of the Coast (Framework Program 1B, SEN/92/011), that identified priority actions. More recently, IUCN has helped Government formulate and implement certain components of a National Program for Coastal Zone Management with the support of the Government of the Netherlands, focusing on the Saloum delta. The Ministry of Economy, Finance and Planning is currently preparing a development plan for the Grande Côte, north of Dakar. Most promising are community-

i)support from the African Development Foundation to the Fishermen of Fatick and for the Regeneration of Mangroves in the Saloum Island;

Support frombased initiatives supported by the Fondation Nicolas Hulot, Wetlands International and the European Union forUnion, targeting the development of Community Heritage Areas, focusing on the island of Teunguene-Yoff,Kër Cupaam in Popenguine, in the Somone lagoon, and the Gandiole lagoon (near Saint-Louis) and the Dindefelou waterfall;Saint-Louis).

ii)Support by CIDA to PROPECHE, to promote fisheries;

iii)Support by CIDA to the PAEP (Projet d’Appui a l’Entreprenariat Paysan dans les Niayes);

The major challenge now is to bring coherence to all of these efforts

The Project will provide additional resources to Senegal’s Program for Coastal Zone Management, which includes:

In addition, the coastal and marine biodiversity of Senegal and neighboring countries is interdependent with that of neighboring countries. Fish, marine mammals and birds migrate freely across national borders, so that what happens in one country affect the biodiversity of another. Similarly, many Senegalese fishermen travel the coast, following fish stocks across borders. Cooperation amongst Senegal and its neighbors is thus highly desirable, to share information on the status of this shared biodiversity and to harmonize management policies.

The international dimensions of coastal and marine biodiversity in Senegal will be addressed through West African Coastal Planning Network. This network was established under the auspices of UICN and regroups existing national networks in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania and the Cape Verde Islands. Already, projects similar to the one proposed for Senegal are under preparation in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.

2.Project Objectives

The proposed project will strengthen the conservation and management of globally significant marine and coastal biodiversity in Senegal. Consequently, it will answer priorities identified in the National Biodiversity Strategy and the National Environment Action Plan.

The project’s specific objectives will be to:

  • Strengthen the management of existing coastal and marine protected areas;
  • Develop and implement participatory systems for managing biodiversity in a sustainable manner.
  • Improve capacity to protect and conserve coastal and marine biodiversity by: i) establishing a coherent institutional framework involving all stakeholders, ii) developing and nurturing required scientific, technical and magerial skills, and iii) improving the regulatory framework for coastal zone management;

3.Project Description

The project’s intervention strategy is founded on an integrated and participatory approach designed to ensure synergy among coastal zone management initiatives, and to gather the support of local communities for project activities. Project implementation will rely mainly on existing institutions, as well as the national and sub-regional coastal planning networks.

The project will have 4 main components:

3.1Conservation of endangered species and globally significant ecosystems

The project will support the preparation and implementation of management plans for coastal sites with globally significant biodiversity (see Annex 1). These plans will include specific measures to protect seriously threatened species and habitats, and to restore seriously degraded sites building on the experience developed by the Women’s Cooperative in Popenguine. As necessary, the project will promote the establishment of new protected marine and coastal areas.

3.2Community Based Management of Marine and Coastal Biodiversity

The project will promote measures to alleviate the pressure on biodiversity resources, as well as to enhance sustainable use, including:

  • Sustainable management of natural resources by local communities
  • Development of eco-tourism
  • Promotion of aquaculture outside of protected areas
  • Use of alternative energy sources

These measures will be implemented through micro-projects in communities, some of them are expected towhich would be identified during project preparation, and through public information and awareness campaign.

3.3Strengthening of the institutional and legal framework

The institutional weakness of the agencies responsible for managing marine and coastal resources is a major obstacle to sound biodiversity management. Lack of familiarity with relevant instruments and their applicability also pose serious problems. Moreover, an analysis of traditional methods for managing marine and coastal natural resources has demonstrated the positive impact of traditional practices governing the allocation of aquatic and land areas and of entrusting responsibility for natural resources to local communities. These management arrangements have been undermined in some instances by “modern” regulations. The regional approach (decentralization) introduced in Senegal in 1996 provides an opportunity to restore some of the practices followed under traditional management arrangements. Thus, the establishment of a clear land management policy for coastal areas should be considered a priority.

  • Establishment of a national forum for coastal zone management, to improve coordination amongst the various actors.
  • Strenghtening of the national institutions responsible for the management of coastal and marine biodiversity.
  • The review and the harmonisation of the regulations affecting coastal and marine biodiversity.
  • Dissemination of regulations affecting coastal and marine biodiversity.

3.4Capacity building in integrated participatory management for the actors involved

This component will serve to increase the capacity of government and non-government institutions to manage coastal and marine biodiversity. Target groups include staff from Government ministries, local officials, local NGOs, academics and researchers. The component will include:

  • Training courses and on the job-trainingjob training for concerned stakeholders regarding existing tools and approaches for the sustainable management of coastal and marine biodiversity.
  • Support for targetted research activities to fill knowledge gaps on species and habitats.
  • Creation of a reference database that will consolidate the scientific and technical data needed by those managing marine and coastal biodiversity.
  • Establishment of a coastal zone monitoring program.
  • Awareness campaigns, both at the national and local levels.
  • Programs to facilitate the exchange of information between communities involved in the different biodiversity sites in Senegal and in neighboring countries.
  • Twining arangements with similar initiatives in Africa.

4.Description of PDF activities

The PDF grant will serve to fund the following activities:

4.1Assessment of the current situation

A diagnostic assessment will be conducted (bibliographic and map reviews, list of activities undertaken, analysis of the institutional and legal framework) and additional studies to fill the gaps. Available information concerning Senegal’s coastal and marine environment will be made available to all stakeholders. A specific focus will be placed on the areas of high biodiversityvalues as listed in annexAnnex 1.

4.2National participatory planning workshops

At project start-up, a participatory planning workshop will be organized to launch project preparation and to publicize its activities as widely as possible. The workshop will also help to clarify the roles and responsibilities of all actors concerned with the marine and coastal environment of Senegal. This will facilitate the establishment of mechanisms to ensure synergy, complementarity, and technical, institutional, and financial coordination among the various program donors. A validation workshop will be organized upon completion of project preparation.

4.3Project preparation involving local communities

This activity will support the identification and analysis of specific needs and requirements as expressed by local groups (including fishermen, fish merchants, artisanal fisheries, processors, and ecotourism enterprises) through active participatory rural appraisal methods (PRA) and the organization of participatory planning workshops and public information and awareness campaigns. The preparation will assess the best opportunities for improving the sustainable involvement of stakeholder at the very local level in biodiversity conservation oriented activities.

4.4Promotion, exchanges, and awareness campaigns

The effort to inform and motivate the actors will be pursued via different means, including an Internet discussion group and distribution of the project awareness campaign leaflet. The project will elaborate and disseminate other adapted audiovisual materials. Educational forums and discussions with local communities will be organized. Radio and television broadcasts will inform as many inhabitants as possible of the issues involved in conserving Senegal’s marine and coastal biodiversity. Coordination of the working group and preparation of the project document.

This component will focus on consultation and training workshops, exploratory missions, and facilitating communication among the actors. The working group will also consolidate the work on preparing project proposals conducted with local communities and will reorganize information from the diagnostic assessment of the setting with a view to preparation of the final project document and its approval by all stakeholders. The Government of Senegal will provide contributions in kind (offices and experts).

4.5Study of the socioeconomic impact of the project

The study will make identify and anticipate the project’s impact on the population, particularly the poorest groups, thereby enabling planners to adapt it appropriately. The overall goal of project preparation and implementation is to have a significant leveraging impact vis-à-vis coastal planning and investment policy in order to secure long-term coastal and marine biodiversity conservation.