http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/32 2026-04-05T15:40:45Z http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/534 The Impacts of Saline-Water Intrusion on the Lives and Livelihoods of Gambian RiceGrowing Farmers Bagbohouna, M'koumfida; Yaffa, S.; Bah, A. In most developing countries, agriculture plays a key role on the livelihood of generations of poor rural farmers. Climate change is projected to undermine agricultural production and exert more stress on the livelihood of many farmers, including in The Gambia. Rice Oryza sativa L is the main dietary food in The Gambia and River Gambia serves as the country’s major source of freshwater irrigation for tidal rice farming. River Gambia is seriously affected by saline water intrusion which in effect threatens the country’s main freshwater source. This phenomenon is blamed on climate change as a result of sea-level rise coupled with the worrying trend of increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall. Consequently, rice growers who solely depend on tidal irrigation from River Gambia have encountered low rice production over the past years. Saline-water intrusion has significantly impacted the livelihood of Gambian rice farmers and this has led to farmers not cultivating their fields any more in some instances. This paper attempts to review the impacts of saline-water intrusion on the livelihood of Gambian rice-growing farmers, particularly for those involved in swamp rice cultivation along River Gambia. It is noticed that with increased climate change, the tributaries of River Gambia will become more saline. The saline-water intrusion will significantly impact the quality of water in the tributaries which in consequence will greatly reduce the productivity of the rice plant which is not saline-tolerant. As a result of saline-water intrusion in the rice-growing tributaries, food security of the rice-growing farmers in these ecologies is expected to be threatened. This paper recommends series of measures necessary to help farmers adapt to the negative impacts of saline-water intrusion as a result of climate change. These measures include but are not limited to regular monitoring of the salinity of the river and its tributaries, the construction and/or reinforcement of new embankments/dikes that prevent intrusion of salinewater in the rice-growing areas, review government policies that relate to frequency and volume of water that is pumped from the river that could enhance saline-water intrusion in the river, development and provision of saline-tolerant rice cultivars, and increase training support for rice farmers on best cultural and land use practices. Research Article 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/533 The Socio-economic Impact of Climate Change on the Coastal Zone of the Gambia Amuzu, Joshua; Jallow, Bubu P.; Kabo-Bah, Amos T.; Yaffa, Sidat Coastal systems are predominantly delicate to three key drivers related to Climate Change (CC): Sea Level Rise (SLR); ocean temperature and; ocean acidity. This study focused on the impacts realized from SLR. These variables are anticipated to increase with significant threats to the populace and structures of social, cultural or economic importance along Coastal Zones (CZ). This study seeks to: characterize the trend of annual rainfall, minimum and maximum temperatures from 1986- 2016; estimate the land at-risk of being lost to inundation under a 1m SLR scenario and the estimation of the rate of annual land loss for each coastal cell in The Gambia. This study estimates the monetary value of land to be lost and the population at risk of CC impacts in the study area. The results of the study reveal mean annual rainfall increased at a rate of 0.237mm per annum over the CZ. The annual minimum temperature showed a decreasing trend of 0.026o C while the maximum temperature showed an increasing trend of 0.028o C annually. By the end of this century, under a 1m SLR scenario, the total land to be lost due to inundation is ~12.46 km2 (1,246 ha) with a corresponding economic loss of ~US $788 Million (GMD37 Billion) over the CZ. This land loss is predicted to occur at an approximate rate of 6m annually along the CZ of The Gambia. Over 15,560 people per km2 of land are estimated to be at risk of coastal flooding events in the study area. Research Article 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/532 The experience and impact of urban floods and pollution in Ebo Town, Greater Banjul Area, in The Gambia Kavegue, Afi; Eguavoen, Irit The unplanned settlement Ebo Town is flooded almost every year with polluted water from uphill Kanifing Municipality because of a lack of infrastructure for sanitation and drainage. When droughts occurred in the 1970s, destitute people started to move to the peripheral swamp of Tambi Wetland Complex first to cultivate rice and later to settle. Today, after wetland conversion, Ebo Town is blocking the runoff to the lagoon. Most inhabitants subsist on very low incomes. Based on interviews with teachers, school children and their families, the authors analyze how lives and family income change as a result of floods. Accessing school on safe ways may not be possible during the floods and the risk of becoming ill increases. The study also investigates what schools, authorities, parents and external agencies do to improve the situation. The key findings show that Ebo Town residents undertake minor modification on their houses, carry valuable property to safe places and restrict school attendance in order to protect their children from floods and illness. They pursue reactive and concurrent strategies on household level rather than mobilizing the Ebo Town community for more effective action. Many people thought they would not be able to change the situation anyway and waited for government support. Research Article 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/531 The Climate Change Vulnerability and Risk Management Matrix for the Coastal Zone of The Gambia Amuzu, Joshua; Jallow, Bubu P.; Kabo-Bah, Amos T.; Yaffa, Sidat Global Climate Change is one of the dire challenges facing the international community today. Coastal zones are vulnerable to its impacts. An effective approach with long-term prospects in addressing climate change impacts is it’s mainstreaming into development agenda of sectoral policies. A comprehensive risk and vulnerability assessment is a pre-requisite to ensure that the right adaptive response is taken for effective integration into developmental plans. The objective of this study is to evaluate and prioritize risks, vulnerability and adaptation issues of current and anticipated impacts of climate change on the coastal zone of The Gambia. The study will also give a methodological contribution for assessing risks, vulnerability and adaptation from the sub-national to local levels. The relevance of this study will be to create a link between the sub-national and local levels in order to facilitate the integration and mainstreaming of climate change into sectoral and local policies for more climate-resilient communities. This will aid in the promotion of strategic investment of constrained developmental resources to actualize successfully dynamic coping strategies, elude ‘maladaptation’ and less compelling responsive measures. A purposive expert sampling technique was used in selecting respondents for the study. The findings of the study reveal that by the end of the 21st century, the climatic variables likely to have the highest impact on the coastal zone of The Gambia are ‘increased flood severity’ and ‘increased temperature’. The coastal zone of The Gambia showed a high vulnerability to these climate change variables. The suggested adaptive response in addressing the impacts of increased flood intensity in the study area includes; improving regulations for restricting agriculture and livestock grazing activities to improve land cover; strengthening of early-warning systems, among others. The suggested adaptive response in addressing the increase in temperature includes: increase crop diversification and rotation to reduce total crop failure; switching to drought-tolerant crop and animal species, among others. Research Article 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z