Ecosystem Services In Climate Change Adaptation Projects In The Least Developed Countries Of West Africa

ABSTRACT 

Ecosystems are largely dependent on the prevailing climatic conditions. The ever changing climate across the world has necessitated climate change adaptation projects as a coping mechanism to the adverse effects of climate change. The main objective of the study was to assess ecosystem services in climate change adaptation projects in the least developed countries of West Africa. Specifically, the study sought to; (i) assess the ecosystems changes in the Least Developed Countries of West Africa between 2000 and 2010; (ii) assess the trends in the climate change adaptation projects in the Least Developed Countries of West Africa between 2000 and 2010; (iii) evaluate the extent to which the climate change adaptation projects have incorporated ecosystem services in the Least Developed Countries of West Africa between 2000 and 2010 and (iv) evaluate areas of redesigning and improving climate change adaptation projects to enhance their ecosystem services. Different approaches were used in the study. Satellite images were used to sample the changes in the ecosystems to understand how it has changed in the entire region. Ecosystems degradation and changes have a direct impact on the climatic conditions of the region, noting that they play the essential role of capturing and storing the excessive carbon in the atmosphere. The study used desktop review approach to review 168 adaptation projects listed under the country specific National Adaptation Programs of Action in the studied least developed countries. The results showed a clear trend in the ecosystem changes. The forest covers in the three sampled countries i.e. Burkina Faso, Mali and Sierra Leone reduced by between 11% in Burkina Faso and 42% in Mali, while the Savanna increased by between 9% in Burkina Faso and 34% in Mali. The loss in forest cover translated to loss of carbon sinks and positively contributed to climate change in the region. There was also an increase in cultivated ecosystem in all countries and reduction in wetlands which all contributed towards climate change. The adaptation projects took a predicable trend whereby 32% were within agricultural sector, had generally low budget (63% had less than one million American Dollar budget) and midterm implementation duration (46% had 3 years implementation duration). About 55% of the studied projects directly mentioned one or more ecosystem services, with provisioning services being mentioned in 50% of these projects. The study also revealed that there exists opportunities to redesign the projects and improve their activities to enhance the community adaptation and mitigation to climate change effects. The adaptive measures included strengthening the ability of natural resources to play their roles while mitigation measures included creation of more carbon sinks through soil conservation and reforestation measures, investment in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. The study concludes that the adaptation projects have considered different types of ecosystem services. It recommends increased contextualization of the climate change adaptation projects to address the community and environmental needs through more community engagement and use of technology to understand the social and environmental dynamics in a given area. The study also recommends further research on the impacts of the Great Green Wall project on the ecosystem services.