ENHANCING CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE IN THE BENGUELA CURRENT FISHERIES SYSTEM

The Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) spans some 30 degrees of latitude, extending from Angola's Cabinda Provide in the north, to just east of Port Elizabeth in South Africa. It is one of the world's richest marine ecosystems and supports an abundance of life; sustaining both artisanal and large-scale fishery activities which contribute to local food security and employment for hundreds of thousands of people in areas of limited alternatives, and serve as important drivers of economic development.  Climate variability and change form an additional challenge that could potentially push the natural ecosystem beyond its limits and the institutions established to manage human uses of and impacts beyond their capacity to do so. Impacts are already being felt through changes in surface water temperatures, an increased frequency of Benguela Niños and other such intrusions of warm, nutrient-poor water from southern Angola, an increase in winds in the summer months, a general decline in oxygen concentration, and sea level rise. Changes in the aquatic food web have also been observed, including distribution shifts in important fisheries resources with marked negative social and economic impacts. Angola, Namibia and South Africa have made significant efforts to address threats to the BCLME. These include the development and signature of a legally binding Benguela Current Convention.  

A project, "Enhancing Climate Change Resilience in the Benguela Current Fisheries System", is a combined effort by the Benguela Current Convention, the governments of Angola, Namibia and South Africa, FAO and the Global Environmental facility (GEF). The goal of the project is to build resilience and reduce the vulnerability to climate variability and change of the marine fisheries and mariculture sectors within the BCLME through strengthening adaptive capacity and implementing participatory and integrated strategies in order to ensure food and livelihood security.

The project has been structured into three interlinked technical components:

∙βComponent 1 which aims to ensure that national and regional policies and plans give due consideration, including well defined actions, to the likely implications of climate change and variability;

∙βComponent 2 to put adaptation actions into practice in selected small and large scale fisheries  as well as mariculture and communities in order to bring about measurable improvements in the pilots and to learn lessons for application on a wider scale; and

∙β Component 3 to increase both awareness and capacity to enable and promote a proactive, forward-looking approach to climate change.