West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC) Project

This five-year, $48.9 million dollar project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) addressed direct and indirect drivers of natural resource degradation to improve livelihoods and natural ecosystems across the West Africa region. The project worked with partners at the community, national, and regional levels, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Manu River Union (MRU), to strengthen policies and systems that will improve natural resource management and the health and resilience of selected coastal and upland forest ecosystems. The project was divided into three components: combating wildlife trafficking, building coastal climate resilience, and improving forest conservation through a landscape approach.

An implementing partner with Tetratech, CIESIN contributed to the last two components through coastal vulnerability assessment, climate information for adaptation, and remote sensing analysis for forest carbon assessment.

PUBLICATIONS

  • Trzaska, S., E. Boytinck, A. de Sherbinin, S. Smith, and A-L.White. 2020. Review of Coastal Adaptation Practices in Developing Countries. A new report led by CIESIN, published under contract with Tetra Tech for the USAID West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC) project.
  • A Living Manual for Climate Information for Adaptation Planning (May 2020, online). Written by CIESIN researchers, this manual is meant for those preparing National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) or specific adaptation interventions, offering guidance for using climate information in the context of adaptation planning in the context of a coastal adaptation project in West Africa—the USAID-funded West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change project—but recommended for anyone interested in the application of climate information for adaptation planning and development interventions.
  •  Mondal, P., S. Trzaska, and A. de Sherbinin. 2018. Landsat-derived estimates of mangrove extents in the Sierra Leone coastal landscape complex during 1990–2016. Sensors, 18(1): 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18010012.

CIESIN conducted an in-depth vulnerability assessment of the coastal (mangrove) communities of Sierra Leone, addressing both social and ecosystem vulnerability:

     Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment in Mangrove Regions of Sierra Leone Full Report (January 2018, 200 pages, 13 MB PDF) and Abridged version (May 2017, 48 pages, 8.6 MB PDF 8.6 MB).

MORE INFORMATION

For more information on WA BiCC, visit the project Web site or [Facebook] page.