AfO Marine Protected Areas (RAMPAO) Funding Opportunities through Climate Finance Gambie, Guinée, Guinée-Bissau, Mauritanie, Cap-Vert, Sénégal

Context of the service

At the beginning of 2013, the West African Marine Protected Areas Network (RAMPAO) had 22 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Cape Verde, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Guinea. An MPA was being established in Sierra Leone and was to join RAMPAO.
For several years, these MPAs have benefited from support for the protection of ecosystems and the sustainable management of natural resources, particularly forests. These actions contribute to mitigating climate change by preserving forest carbon sinks and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions due to their degradation.
The Banc d'Arguin International Foundation (FIBA) wanted to analyze the opportunities to support these activities through climate finance, both on the mitigation and adaptation components.
The study therefore aimed to verify that MPA support has a beneficial impact on the climate and to identify opportunities and constraints for access to REDD+ finance, through the development of pilot projects.
The experts mobilized also explored the possibility of financing for adaptation to climate change.

Services provided

The identification of areas of interest for the study was made on the basis of (i) the availability of data on carbon stocks and their evolution, (ii) the presumed size of those stocks, (iii) the pressures identified and opportunities to reduce those pressures, (iv) the integration of the activities envisaged in national policies to combat climate change, adapt to climate change, as well as other sectoral policies, and (v) funding already mobilized in these areas.
Three areas have been identified:
- The Saloum Delta Biosphere Reserve (Senegal),
- Rio Cacheu River National Natural Park (Guinea Bissau),
- Orango National Park (Guinea Bissau).
At these sites, REDD+ and afforestation projects, registered with voluntary certification standards, and alternative projects for the use of non-renewable biomass and energy efficiency, certified with the CDM, were proposed.
The available financing, risks and expected co-benefits were analysed and the stages and constraints for the development of these projects were described.

Summary of the service

Study of funding opportunities for AfO Marine Protected Areas (RAMPAO) through climate finance: Identification of areas of interest (data on carbon stocks, pressure factors on forests, integration of activities into national policies, etc.); In-depth analysis on three areas (Saloum Delta Biosphere Reserve / Senegal, Rio Cacheu River National Natural Park / Guinea Bissau, Orango National Park / Guinea Bissau); Project proposals (afforestation, REDD+, biomass energy efficiency).