Responsible exploitation of coastal resources for the protection of the mangrove biodiversity

Casamance is the region of Senegal south of The Gambia including the Casamance River. It consists of Zinguinchor region (Basse Casamance) and Kolda region (Haute Casamance) (28. 350 km2). The Casamance River Estuary comprises extensive wetland areas with large span of mangroves with Rhizophora racemosa and Avicennia nitida species. This region is very rich in fishery products which traditionally were exploited by a less populated local community who practiced regulated subsistence fishing with rudimentary tools. The potential for coastal fisheries production is estimated to 100 tons//km/year. Annual catches estimates between 1988 and 1992 are: shrimps 1650 tons, Laguna fish 7428 tons, deep sea fish 4004 tons, oysters 1000 tons and for crabs 10 tons. Over time however, the abundance of fishing resources in the estuary attracted the influx of many migrants who introduced unsustainable practices (over-harvesting of mangrove for charcoal production) leading to overexploitation and further depletion of the resources. The mangrove area is seriously threatened due to these human activities aggravated by decreasing rainfall over the last twenty years. This depletion is estimated at 0.8 ha / year thus destroying the breeding and fattening sites for oysters shrimps and fishes. Due to increasing demand shrimps are more and more over harvested, attributed to lack of enforcement of fishing legislation in the area and the use of unsustainable fishing equipment. Government agencies responsible for surveillance do not have adequate equipment for or the required personnel for the enforcement. Idee Casamance, a local NGO which has been working in the area, seeks through this project to mobilize the local community to fill this institutional gap for a sustainable management of their resources to further mitigate this trend of destruction. To this aim, consultations will be initiated amongst all the stakeholders including government services, local fishermen, communities living in the vicinity of the estuary, local chiefs, traditional and government services representatives in the area; to develop sustainable resource use agreements. This active participation of all the local stakeholders in the development of the agreements may ensure its implementation and lead to a sustainable management of their resources thus contributing to the preservation of the biodiversity, ensure steady income to households.