Patrick Kwabena Ofori-Danson

Impacts of Coastal Inundation Due to Climate Change in a CLUSTER of Urban Coastal Communities in Ghana, West Africa

The increasing rates of sea level rise caused by global warming within the 21st century are expected to exacerbate inundation and episodic flooding tide in low-lying coastal environments. This development threatens both human development and natural habitats within such coastal communities. The impact of sea level rise will be more pronounced in developing countries where there is limited adaptation capacity. This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the expected impacts of sea level rise in three communities in the Dansoman coastal area of Accra, Ghana. Future sea level rises were projected based on global scenarios and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization General Circulation Models—CSIRO_MK2_GS GCM. These were used in the SimCLIM model based on the modified Bruun rule and the simulated results overlaid on near vertical aerial photographs taken in 2005. It emerged that the Dansoman coastline could recede by about 202 m by the year 2100 with baseline from 1970 to 1990. The potential impacts on the socioeconomic and natural systems of the Dansoman coastal area were characterized at the Panbros, Grefi and Gbegbeyise communities. The study revealed that about 84% of the local dwellers is aware of the rising sea level in the coastal area but have poor measures of adapting to the effects of flood disasters. Analysis of the likely impacts of coastal inundation revealed that about 650,000 people, 926 buildings and a total area of about 0.80 km2 of land are vulnerable to permanent inundation by the year 2100. The study has shown that there will be significant losses to both life and property by the year 2100 in the Dansoman coastal community in the event of sea level rise.

Records of Fraser's dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei Fraser 1956 from the Gulf of Guinea and Angola

Although Frasers dolphins Lagenodelphis hosei are considered to inhabit deep tropical waters worldwide, their occurrence in the tropical eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Guinea southwards to Angola is only represented by two specimen records from Ghana. During cetacean surveys carried out concurrently with geophysical seismic surveys off Nigeria in 2004 and off Angola in 2007 and 2008, a pod of 150 probable Frasers dolphins was videoed 130 km south of Nigeria and schools of 120 and 60 animals were photographed 170 km and 140 km respectively off the coast of Angola. All records occurred in deep water (>1 000 m). Cetacean bycatch was monitored at six artisanal Ghanaian fishing ports between 1998 and 2000. Four Frasers dolphin specimens comprising one adult, one juvenile and two calves were photographed at two ports. Drift gillnets were identified as the probable cause of mortality for at least two specimens. Two sightings of Frasers dolphins off Angola provide the first at-sea records for the Gulf of Guinea region and, together with bycaught specimens, confirm new southern and eastern distribution limits for the species within the Atlantic Ocean. Further information is required on the status of Frasers dolphins and the potential impact of fisheries bycatch on this species within the Gulf of Guinea.

Corrigendum to importance of fisheries for food security across three climate change vulnerable deltas Science of the total Environment 640–641 (2018) 1566–1577

a Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth PL13 DH, United Kingdom b Institute for Coastal Marine Environment (IAMC), National Research Council (CNR), Via L. Vaccara n 61, Mazara del Vallo, TP 91026, Italy c School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, 188, Raja S. C. Mullik Road, Kolkata 700 032, India d ARAID (Aragonese Agency for Research and Development) Researcher, Agrifood Institute of Aragon (IA2), Department of Economic Analysis, Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, University of Zaragoza, Gran Vía, 2-50005 Zaragoza, Spain e BC3-Basque Centre for Climate Change – Klima Aldaketa Ikergai Edificio Sede 1, Planta 1a|Parque Científico de UPV/EHU, 48940 Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain f BC3 Basque Centre for Climate Change, Scientific Campus of the University of the Basque Country, 48940 Leioa, Spain g Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG99, Legon, Ghana h TARA, 1 Purbachal Road, Nartheast Badda, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh i Department of Fish, Biology and Genetics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh j Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy and Resources Division, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Rome 00153, Italy k AZTI, Herrera Kaia Portualdea z/g, E-20110 Pasaia, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Importance of fisheries for food security across three climate change vulnerable deltas

Deltas are home to a large and growing proportion of the worlds population, often living in conditions of extreme poverty. Deltaic ecosystems are ecologically significant as they support high biodiversity and a variety of fisheries, however these coastal environments are extremely vulnerable to climate change. The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (Bangladesh/India), the Mahanadi (India), and the Volta (Ghana) are among the most important and populous delta regions in the world and they are all considered at risk of food insecurity and climate change. The fisheries sector is vital for populations that live in the three deltas, as a source of animal protein (in Bangladesh and Ghana around 50-60% of animal protein is supplied by fish while in India this is about 12%) through subsistence fishing, as a source of employment and for the wider economy. The aquaculture sector shows a rapid growth in Bangladesh and India while in Ghana this is just starting to expand. The main exported species differ across countries with Ghana and India dominated by marine fish species, whereas Bangladesh exports shrimps and prawns. Fisheries play a more important part in the economy of Bangladesh and Ghana than for India, both men and women work in fisheries, with a higher proportion of women in the Volta then in the Asian deltas. Economic and integrated modelling using future scenarios suggest that changes in temperature and primary production could reduce fish productivity and fisheries income especially in the Volta and Bangladesh deltas, however these losses could be mitigated by reducing overfishing and improving management. The analysis provided in this paper highlights the importance of applying plans for fisheries management at regional level. Minimizing the impacts of climate change while increasing marine ecosystems resilience must be a priority for scientists and governments before these have dramatic impacts on millions of peoples lives.

Hydropower Generation and Its Related Impacts on Aquatic Life (Fisheries)

Abstract This chapter looks at the impacts of hydropower development on fisheries resources using the Bui dam project as a typical case study. Specifically, the chapter focuses on the following areas: impacts of impoundments on riverine ecosystems, food security and fish consumption, fish diversity, fish and fishers’ migration. The increasing demand of energy for social and economic development of the world and in particular the Ghanaian economy has resulted in the creation of dams to generate electricity. Amidst poor planning, construction and monitoring of dams has adverse effects on fishers and fishing communities, evidence in the loss of many livelihoods. There is therefore the need to better manage dams to sustain livelihoods of fishing communities and fish stocks.