K N O W L E D G E S H E E T 1 1 B | P R I VAT E  E CO NO M I C, SO CI A L A ND CU LTU R A L D E VELOPMEN T KNOWLEDGE SHEET 11B | PRIVATE How can the private sector benefit from balancing economic, social and cultural development whilst enhancing the environment Engaging the Private Sector on balancing economic, social and cultural development a number of local formal and informal businesses, for example hotels, fish landing sites, agriculture, logging, and • The West Africa coastal region is an economi- pastoralism among many etc. are affected. Other major cally important area accounting for more than industries will also be affected by climate change, these 50% of the entire region’s GDP. include offshore petroleum exploration and production, • Climate change and human-induced activities and tourism etc. Through the sustainable management of are destabilizing the economic, social and the West African coast, the future prospects for regional cultural development of the area. businesses are promising. Tourism is estimated to rise in the coming years. Legally captured fish amounts to more • Business opportunities do exist to develop 1.6 million tons captured in West African waters each year, blue-green infrastructure otherwise called with an estimated wholesale value of USD$ 2.5 billion. Oil “building with nature”. and gas reserves furthermore provide enormous potential for the local economy. • The West African fishing sector has a wholesale value of USD $2.5 billion but can be greater if correctly managed. Challenges Of the many climate change impacts on coastal regions, coastal erosion has probably the widest impact on all The loss of habitats and ecosystem services has a businesses, inducing the loss of infrastructure and com- significant economic, social and cultural impact in the munication networks such as roads. It also threatens West African coastal region. Climate change in West populations, who can no longer live close to the coastline Africa is exacerbated by unsustainable human activities. and therefore forces the local workers to migrate. Despite The reducing coastlines and the rising ocean jeopardises the major role the fishing industry plays in West Africa 1 K N O W L E D G E S H E E T 1 1 B | P R I VAT E  E CO NO M I C, SO CI A L A ND CU LTU R A L D E VELOPMEN T it attracts a very low financial assistance of only USD$71 services in the coastal areas. However solutions or studies million in 2013 (OECD, 2016). Local businesses, therefore, should be culturally sensitive and should ensure that the face a lack of long term funding in the coastal regions. opinions of the local community are taken into account as Furthermore, they have difficulty in mobilizing financial certain trees or animal species have cultural significance. resources with mature markets, which are primary com- modity dependent. Tourism is a growing industry and will be important to the economic growth of local busi- ness, however tourism has a significant impact on fragile ecosystems, natural parks and coastal infrastructures. Potential Solutions The coastal farming sector improves the coast when sustain- able cropping systems include crop varieties that withstand higher temperatures—these are resilient to droughts, pests, weeds, salinity and flooding. Farmers can integrate trees with crops to act as nutrient pumps to enhance soil nitrogen Hotel Chain development in Sub-Saharan Africa showing a substantial with a higher guarantee on continued crop yield. Local market share for West Africa. Source: ADB, 2015 farmers in the coastal regions can implement technologies to capture and retain the increased run-off from changing The coastal area should not only be in balance for economic climatic conductions (such as small reservoirs) for storage activities but for cultural and social development as well. for the dry season (Van de Giesen et al. 2010). One example Although an increase in tourism brings more people to is Zäi cultivation, a traditional form of agriculture in Burkina the coastal area, it’s the attention to culturally significant Faso and Mali that involves planting crops in small, circular crafts which can bring in an alternative economic income pits perpendicular to the slope to capture rainwater and to the local community while preserving and enhancing retain soil moisture. cultural development. Local businesses can also implement Farming does not have to be confined to the coastal land. eco-tourism activities by involving people from the local With declining natural fish stocks, local companies can communities as tour guides knowledgeable of the local set-up aquaculture areas to farm certain fish. For example area. Further, growth in West Africa’s tourism will have in Ghana it is estimated that the production from ponds a positive knock-on effect to the construction sector for and culture-based fisheries is worth about US$ 1.5 million building hotels etc. (see chart). Through bringing in and a year. This aquaculture sub sector in Ghana comprises building climate resilient and eco-buildings, it allows local largely of small-scale subsistence farmers who practice companies to diversify their activities resulting in sustain- extensive aquaculture in earthen ponds in contrast to the ability in the tourism industry. intensive practices of commercial farmers (FAO, 2005). The aquiculture sector in West Africa provides a massive opportunity to take up the challenges of providing inputs BEST PRACTICE such as fish feed as viable commercial activities to support the development of the industry. Local businesses can also develop innovative solutions to create ecological ocean Restoration of an island landscape, barriers and technologies for controlling fishing catch Tiengemeten - Netherlands quotas, which will aid the local fishing industry. Tiengemeten is a 1000 ha. island lying in the Haringvliet estuary in the Dutch Rhine-Maas Other than farming, coastal protection also offers economic delta, just south of Rotterdam (Netherlands). It opportunities while preserving the social and cultural devel- was a predominately agricultural area. Severe opment. For instance, local engineering companies can storm damage of floods and sea intrusion had a undertake studies or implement solutions to protect the disastrous effect on the agriculture, and thus the coastlines. For example implementing blue-green infrastruc- economy of the local community. A number of tures (mangrove plantation and restorations, landscaping, sea defence structures were built to protect the water systems to act as buffers – treated wastewater to buffer the salinization of aquifers) will all improve ecosystem 2 K N O W L E D G E S H E E T 1 1 B | P R I VAT E  E CO NO M I C, SO CI A L A ND CU LTU R A L D E VELOPMEN T agricultural land from future storm damage. The area was well protected from the rising sea and storms, but the consequence was that the tidal nature completely changed with severe fish and plant loss. In this case, although a solution was found for the first problem, it created a secondary problem for another industry that then also faced significant economic losses. Therefore, the restoration of the tidal movements became part of a wider estuary restoration project. Floodgates were built (2007) to allow for a natural tidal range to return to the way it was before the sea defense systems were constructed. This has resulted in plant and fish life returning to near their 1970 Photo showing the floodgates that were built in the Haringvliet estuary. levels, triggering a boost in economic livelihood Photo: Vladimír Šiman improvement at the local community. This solution shows that through adapting to the challenges, taking a holistic approach and focussing businesses on more sustainable, ecological and environmentally friendly practices, companies can grow economically while enhancing the environment and bringing benefit to local communities and cultures. REFERENCES • African Development Bank (ADB). 2015. African • FAO. 2005. National Aquaculture Sector Overview. Toursim Minitor. https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/ Ghana. National Aquaculture Sector Overview Fact uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/Africa_ Sheets. Text by Awity, L. Fisheries and Aquaculture Tourism_Monitor_-_Unlocking_Africa’s_Tourism_ Department [online]. Rome. Updated 10 October Potential_–_Vol_3_–_Issue_1.pdf 2005. [Cited 5 September 2017]. http://www.fao.org/ fishery/countrysector/naso_ghana/en • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 2016. Creditor reporting • van de Giesen. N., Liebe, J., Jung. G. 2010. Adapting system. Paris: OECD (http://stats.oecd.org/Index. to climate change in the Volta Basin, West Africa aspx?QueryId=58192).
 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 98, NO. 8 The West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program (WACA) is a convening platform that aims to assist West African countries to sustainably manage their coastal areas and enhance socio-economic resilience to the effects of climate change. The program also seeks to facilitate access to technical expertise and financial resources for participating countries. www.worldbank.org/waca 3