Participatory governance of Senegal's marine protected areas

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by Aissatou NIASSE, Direction des Aires Marines Communautaires Protégées Senegal

Plastic waste cleaning by local residents of the Abéné Marine Protected Area in Casamance-Senegal

Paul Moise Diedhiou

Participatory governance is a new experience developed by Senegal in the process of organizing, setting up and managing its network of marine protected areas. This approach enables Senegal to better fulfill its commitments under international conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted in 1994, and to move from a regalian management model to a participatory process enabling it to transfer its powers to local authorities for the governance of their natural resources. This is an iterative and participatory process, encouraged and supported by the State to enable local communities to create and manage protected areas as a tool for the sustainable management of natural resources and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits.

Last update: 02 Jul 2019

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Context

Challenges addressed

Drought

Erratic rainfall

Extreme heat

Floods

Increasing temperatures

Land and Forest degradation

Loss of Biodiversity

Ocean warming and acidification

Salinization

Sea level rise

Unsustainable harvesting incl. overfishing

Conflicting uses / cumulative impacts

Pollution (incl. eutrophication and litter)

Poaching

Erosion

Ecosystem loss

Lack of alternative income opportunities

Lack of technical capacity

Lack of public and decision maker’s awareness

Poor monitoring and enforcement

Lack of infrastructure

Poor governance and participation

Social conflict and civil unrest

Lack of food security

Unemployment / poverty

Scale of implementation

National

Ecosystems

Estuary

Lagoon

Mangrove

Open sea

Seagrass

Seamount / ocean ridge

Coastal forest

Beach

Theme

Biodiversity mainstreaming

Species management

Ecosystem services

Restoration

Protected and conserved areas governance

Coastal and marine spatial management

Protected and conserved areas management planning

Location

Senegal

West and Central Africa

Impacts

The principle of subsidiarity is taken into account in the establishment of MPAs, as local authorities can, in accordance with the provisions of the laws governing local authority codes and the transfer of powers, issue communal and departmental resolutions for the establishment of MPAs ;
Integration of local natural resource management charters and agreements into the regulatory framework (internal regulations);
Compliance with the criterion of stakeholder representativeness within governance bodies (management committee, scientific committee and steering committee):
Improving the knowledge base on marine fauna:
Contribution to achieving the Aïchi objectives (MPA coverage rate increased from 0.6% in 2012 to 2% in 2019);
Rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems (immersion of artificial reefs, reforestation, biological rest, seeding, erosion control, etc.):
Reducing conflicts over access to and use of resources;
Better involvement of stakeholders in management and decision-making processes.
Responsible use of biological resources

Respect for the principle of social equity in the sharing of benefits arising from resource development activities (profit distribution key).