The document discusses emerging issues and future challenges facing the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem. It identifies key issues as declining productivity due to climate change, overexploitation of fish and fisheries, pollution and degradation of critical habitats, socioeconomic impacts of lost incomes and revenues, and governance challenges of managing resources sustainably without concerted mechanisms. It provides background on the GEF/UNEP/FAO project to reverse degradation through an ecosystem approach. Challenges include ensuring stakeholder participation, expertise sharing, political commitment to action plans, operational partnerships across organizations, demonstrating benefits of cooperation, and long-term resource mobilization.

1. GEF / UNEP / FAO
CANARY CURRENT
LARGE MARINE ECOSYSTEM
EMERGING ISSUES & FUTURE
CHALLENGES
by
Birane SAMBE
Regional Coordinator
GEF INTERNATIONAL WATERS SCIENCE
CONFERENCE
Bangkok , 24-26 September 2012

2. EMERGING ISSUES
• Productivity : Climate change
• Fish & fisheries : Overexploitation
• Pollution & ecosystem health : Critical
habitats and main pollution sources
• Socio-economic : Loss of incomes and
revenues
• Governance : Lack of concerted mechanism
to maintain resource sustainability

3. Project information
• Implementation of the full
phase started 1 April 2010
• FAO and UNEP (through
Abidjan Convention)
• GEF funding with co-
financing from
countries/partners
• 7 participating countries in
West Africa
• RCU in Dakar, Senegal

4. CCLME project objective :
“To reverse the degradation of the
Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem
caused by over-fishing, habitat
modification and changes in water quality
by adoption of an ecosystem approach”

5. Productivity
North West Africa
Warm period: 1930-1960
Cold period: 1960 - 1980
Warm period: 1980-
Continue

6. Fish and Fisheries
EVOLUTION OF FISH CATCHES IN CCLME AREA
1950 to 2010
1.1
22.4
31.116.0
17.3
7.3
4.00.70.6
Thons
Sardinelles
Sardine
Chinchards
Autres petits
pélagiques
Poissons démersaux
Cephalopodes
Crustacés
Sélaciens
0
1000000
2000000
3000000
4000000
5000000
6000000
7000000
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Tons
Years
TOTAL
CRUSTACEA
CEPHALOPODS
DEMERSAL
SMALL PELAGIC
TUNA
YEARS
Overexploitation demersals and vulnerability of small pelagics

7. GOVERNANCE INSTRUMENTS
& STRUCTURES
Orientation provided by global conventions, declarations & codes
Some significant regional instruments & structures:
• 1966 – ICCAT (international tuna commission)
• 1967 – CECAF Fisheries Committee C E Atlantic
• 1972 – OMVS (River Senegal)
• 1978 – OMVG (River Gambia)
• 1981 – Abidjan Regional Seas Convention
• 1985 – Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission
• 1991 – ATLAFCO fisheries convention
• 2003 – regional marine protected areas strategy
• Regional trade organisations (ECOWAS, UEMOA)
• Bilateral agreements in fisheries, trade, oil & gas etc. (e.g. AGC)
MANY PARTNERS TO WORK WITH…

8. The major challenges ahead
• General & specific priority trans-boundary issues identified by the
countries of the CCLME (decline marine resource, habitat degradation
and water quality)
• Ensure the full participation of stakeholders in the assessment and
planning process
• Mobilizing all the sources of expertise to share knowledge and
information and contribute to the assessment process
• Achieving political commitment to an ecosystem based action plan
(SAP)
• Bringing diverse regional organizations (fisheries commission, river
basin authorities, agencies) into operational partnership
• Demonstrating the benefits of joint actions using an ecosystem
approach
• Develop effective operational links with other African programs –
NEPAD, other LMEs, GOOS etc.
• Mobilize the necessary financial resources and political commitments
for the long term

9. Thank you for your attention