Adapting to climate Change Induced Coastal Risk Management in Sierra Leone

INCEPTION WORKSHOP

STATEMENT

By: Dr. Samuel Gbaydee Doe, Country Director UNDP

Date: 19 July 2018

Venue: Golden Tulip, Kimbima, Off Bintumani Road, Aberdeen

Mr. Chairman,

Representatives from the Government of Sierra Leone,

Private Institutions,

NGOs,

CSOs,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Representatives of Civil Society Organisations

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Greetings from UNDP

I am highly delighted to be at the inception of this important project. You will all agree that Climate Change is one of the global challenges severely affecting sub-Sahara Africa that have limited resources in mitigating its effect.

The coastal zone in Sierra Leone is highly vulnerable to the increased frequency of coastal erosion, flooding and storm surges. This negative impact severely affects social and major economic livelihoods of the communities. It is evident that the Coastal communities are already experiencing considerable impacts, notably on their livelihoods with reduced fishing productivity, ecosystem degradation and low farming activities.

Various studies relating to climate change revealed that rainfall and temperature patterns of the country have been changing. The anticipated results especially on the coastal areas will see an acceleration of the rate of recession on sandy shores due to the rise in sea level; and increases in littoral transport capacity arising from increases in the intensity and duration of storms.

The land at risk includes significant areas that are currently wetland and substantial amounts of mangroves. In addition to loss of properties and beaches, coastal erosion and sea level rise’s consequences include population displacements, coastal flooding and saline intrusion, which threaten coastal aquifers, fresh water resources and agricultural water resources, undermining subsistence of local communities.

As a partner in resilient development and in line with the UNDP's mission to empower lives and build resilience nations; the UNDP has been supporting the government of Sierra Leone to have measures and strategies in place to address the impacts of climate change in ways that are compatible with Sierra Leone’s domestic development and poverty reduction agendas.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF), through the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) approved the Project Identification Form (PIF) in October 2015 that was presented by UNDP on behalf of the Environment Protection Agency of Sierra Leone (EPA) on “Adapting to Climate Change Induced Coastal Risks in Sierra Leone”. The project seeks to address some of the major challenges facing government institutions in collecting and disseminate scientific and reliable climatic data.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen:

Today, I am happy to announce that UNDP together with GEF have agreed to fund a 10 million USD project to alleviate climate challenges in six coastal zones located in Freetown, Shenge and Port Loko districts.

Through this project, it is hope that we can achieve sustainable development by building the capacity of government and private sector institutions. Capacity building provided by the project will enable key government agencies and departments to be better equipped to implement adaptation planning and policy. It is hoped that in the long-term, the investments of the GEF project will generate continuous benefits for coastal communities. 

In conclusion, I believe this inception workshop will provide a platform for effective coordination and collaboration with the Key stakeholders and partners to better understand the process for the successful implementation of the project and achieving the project’s

goal.

I Thank You All.