WEST AFRICA BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE (WA BICC)
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WEST AFRICA BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE (WA BICC) Year Three Semi-Annual Report (October 2017–March 2018) May 2018 Disclaimer: This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by Tetra Tech. The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of its authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
This publication was produced for the United States Agency for International Development by Tetra
Tech, through a Task Order under the Restoring the Environment through Prosperity, Livelihoods, and
Conserving Ecosystems (REPLACE) Indefinite Quantity Contract (USAID Contract No. AID-OAA-I-13-
00058, Order Number AID-624-TO-15-00002).
This report was prepared by:
Tetra Tech
159 Bank Street, Suite 300
Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA
Telephone: (802) 495-0282
Fax: (802) 658-4247
Email: international.development@tetratech.com
Tetra Tech Contacts:
Stephen Kelleher, Chief of Party (Stephen.Kelleher@tetratech.com)
Vaneska Litz, Project Manager (Vaneska.Litz@tetratech.com)
Ed Harvey, Deputy Project Manager (Ed.Harvey@tetratech.com)
Citation: Tetra Tech. (2017). USAID/West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC),
Third Annual Work Plan, 2nd Labone Link, North Labone, Accra, Ghana. 84 pp.
Cover photo: Fisherman casting his net into the river near Kiega, a coastal village in the Bonthe Shebro
District in Sierra Leone (Credit: David Aduama, WA BiCC)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents........................................................................................................................... i
Acronyms and Abbreviations...................................................................................................... iii
1.0 Overview .............................................................................................................................vii
1.1 Key Milestones ........................................................................................................vii
1.1.1 Component 1: Combating Wildlife Trafficking............................................................... vii
1.1.2 Component 2: Increasing Coastal Resilience to Climate Change............................. viii
1.1.3 Component 3: Reducing Deforestation, Forest Degradation, and Biodiversity Loss
..................................................................................................................................................... ix
2.0 Program Strategy ................................................................................................................ 1
2.1 Component 1: Combating Wildlife Trafficking .................................................... 1
2.2 Component 2: Increasing Coastal Resilience to Climate Change ...................... 1
2.3 Component 3: Reducing Deforestation, Forest Degradation and Biodiversity
Loss ........................................................................................................................... 2
3.0 Activities and Results .......................................................................................................... 1
3.1 Component 1: Combating Wildlife Trafficking .................................................... 1
3.1.1 Strategy 1A: Improve Policy and Enabling Environment for Wildlife Protection ..... 1
3.1.2 Strategy 1B. Build Capacity for CWT Enforcement and Prosecution ........................ 7
3.1.3 Strategy 1C. Strengthen Regional and National Coordination and Cooperation in
Data Generation, Sharing and Use for Enforcement ...................................................... 9
3.2 Component 2: Increasing Coastal Resilience to Climate Change ...................... 9
3.2.1 Strategy 2A. Identify and Promote Effective Interventions............................................ 9
3.2.2 Strategy 2B. Developing an Enabling Policy Environment ............................................ 17
3.3 Component 3: Reducing Deforestation, Forest Degradation, and Biodiversity
Loss ......................................................................................................................... 18
3.3.1 Strategy 3-A Promote Effective Interventions for Forest and Mangrove
Conservation .......................................................................................................................... 18
3.3.2 Strategy 3B. Improve Policy and Enabling Environment for Forest and Mangrove
Conservation .......................................................................................................................... 21
3.3.3 Strategy 3C. Identify, Develop and Implement Strategies for Threatened Species22
3.4 Grants ..................................................................................................................... 23
3.4.1 Grantee 1. UNU-INRA ........................................................................................................ 23
3.4.2 Grantee 2: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)..................................... 23
3.4.3 Grantee 3: Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) ........................................................ 24
3.4.4 Grantee 4 & 5: FAuna and Flora International (FFI) ...................................................... 24
3.5 Cross-Cutting Activities ........................................................................................ 24
3.5.1 Policy and Partnerships ........................................................................................................ 24
3.5.2 Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting .............................................................................. 26
3.5.3 Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) ................................................................... 27
3.5.4 Advocacy.................................................................................................................................. 27
3.5.5 Communications .................................................................................................................... 27
3.5.6 Capacity Development and Sustainability ........................................................................ 31
3.5.7 Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................................... 33
4.0 Grants Management.......................................................................................................... 47
5.0 Program Management ...................................................................................................... 49
5.1 Overview ................................................................................................................ 49
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | i
5.2 Staffing .................................................................................................................... 49
5.3 Activity Planning .................................................................................................... 50
ANNEX ........................................................................................................................................ 51
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | ii
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
AAWP Abidjan Aquatic Wildlife Partnership
AFR African Forest Landscape Restoration
APIP Agence de Promotion des Investissements Privés
BCC Behavior Change Communication
CCAP Climate Change Adaptation Plan
CCNRMN Coastal Chiefdoms Natural Resources Management Network
CCVA Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
CERSGIS Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System
CFMB Community Forestry Management Body
CIESIN Center for International Earth Science Information Network
CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora
CLA Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting
CMS Convention on Migratory Species
CoP Chief of Party
COP12 12th Conference of the Parties to the Abidjan Convention
COP17 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
COP21 21st Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change
COP22 22nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change
CSA Climate Smart Agriculture
CSSL Conservation Society of Sierra Leone
CWT Combatting Wildlife Trafficking
DOE Department of Environment
EAP Environmental Action Plan
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | iii
EMMP Environmental Management and Mitigation Plan
ERF Environmental Review Forms
ETP Endangered, Threatened and Protected Species
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FD Forestry Department
FDA Forest Development Authority of Liberia
FEC Forest-Edge Community
FFI Fauna and Flora International
FFS Farmer Field School
FLR Forest Landscape Restoration
FY Fiscal Year
GESI Gender and Social Inclusion
GHG Green House Gas
GRC Gola Rainforest Conservation
GRNP Gola Rainforest National Park
ICT Information and Communication Technology
ICZM Integrated Coastal Zone Management
IFSS Improved Fish Smoking Systems
IJSI Integrated Justice Systems International
IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature
KAP Ministry of Environment and Forest Resources
MEP Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
MERF Ministry of Environment and Forest Resources
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
MP Member of Parliament
MRU Mano River Union
NAP National Adaptation Plan
NGO Nongovernmental Organization
NOFNA Notre Forêt Notre Nature
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | iv
NPAA National Protected Area Authority
NRM Natural Resource Management
OPRFT Observatoire pour la Protection et la Reconstitution de la Faune et de la Flore
Tropicales
PIRS Program Indicator Reference Sheets
PMT Program Management Teams
PRCM Program on Coastal and Marine Areas
Q Quarter
RAMPAO Reseaux des Aires Protegées Marines de l’Afrique de l’Ouest
REDD+ Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
ROSCA Rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA)
RSPB Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
SCNL Society for the Conservation of Nature in Liberia
SIENA Senegalese National Environmental Information System
SLCLC Sierra Leone Coastal Landscape Complex
SLRE Sierra Leone River Estuary
SMT Senior Management Team
SWG Species Working Group
TA Threats Assessment
TGKS Tai-Grebo-Krahn-Sapo Transboundary Landscape Complex
TOR Terms of Reference
UNCCD United Nations Convention for Combating Desertification
UNEP United Nations Environmental Program
UNFCCC Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change
UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
USAID United States Agency for International Development
VA Vulnerability Assessment
WA BiCC West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | v
WASCAL West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use
WCF Wild Chimpanzee Foundation
WIOMSA Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association
ZWWF Ziama-Wologizi-Wonegizi-Foya Transboundary Landscape Complex
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | vi
1.0 OVERVIEW
This Semi-Annual Progress Report covers the reporting period October 1, 2017–March 31, 2018. The
overall goal of the West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC) program is to improve
conservation and climate-resilient, low-emission growth across West Africa. Although regional in scope
and design, WA BiCC focuses on targeted geographical areas within the region to improve governance
and policies that strengthen the conservation of critical ecosystems and the well-being of the people that
depend on these ecosystems. By working through the core regional partners Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS), Mano River Union (MRU), and the Abidjan Convention, and with
targeted national and sub-national institutions, WA BiCC increases the capacity of institutions at all
levels to address the three core WA BiCC components:
• Combating wildlife trafficking through the revision and operationalization of national and
regional policies, laws, tools, assessments and regulations. The program strengthens national and
regional networks and institutions by building their capacity to enforce trafficking laws.
• Increasing coastal resilience to climate change through integrated planning and strengthening the
capacity of local, national, and regional institutional frameworks. WA BiCC is building capacity
to generate and use climate information in coastal planning, supporting the National Adaptation
Planning processes and scaling up and sharing information on effective coastal adaptation
strategies, while generating evidence and knowledge on best practices from activities in two
coastal learning landscapes.
• Reducing deforestation, forest degradation, and biodiversity loss through technical and
knowledge management support. The program is improving capacity for economic planning and
development of low emissions development strategies, reduced emissions from deforestation
and forest degradation (REDD+), and transboundary conservation strategies while
simultaneously engaging the private sector and supporting the sustainable management of natural
resources and conservation of biodiversity, while generating evidence and knowledge on best
practices from activities in three transboundary forest learning landscapes.
Tetra Tech ARD implements WA BiCC together with a consortium of international partners, namely,
Palladium Group (formerly dTS), Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN),
PCI Media Impact and Pact Inc.
1.1 KEY MILESTONES
Annual work planning provided an opportunity to better integrate cross-cutting specialists and units into
component activities and has resulted in better coordination within the technical team. This
coordination has been further strengthened by the recent move of the Component Leads to Accra,
providing opportunities to strengthen management for implementation and refine WA BiCC’s
knowledge management and communications strategies. Building on this and the foundation set in Years
1 and 2, considerable progress has been made during the reporting period toward the achievement of
WA BiCC results. A summary of key milestones for each component is presented below.
1.1.1 COMPONENT 1: COMBATING WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING
To combat wildlife trafficking, WA BiCC implements three strategies: improve policy and enabling
environment for wildlife protection; build capacity for CWT enforcement and prosecution; and
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | vii
strengthen regional and national coordination and cooperation in data generation, sharing, and use for
enforcement. A summary of key achievements from the reporting period are presented below.
• A Scoping Study on the knowledge base for Aquatic ETPs was completed. This which will serve
as the basis for a position paper and a content for a side event at the 13th Conference of the
Parties (CoP) for the RAMSAR Convention in FY19. This report can be found here.
• A side event was co-organized with Abidjan Convention, OceanCare and Wild Migration at the
Convention on Migratory Species COP 12 in Manilla, Philippines to launch the Abidjan Aquatic
Wildlife Partnership (AAWP). This event resulted in the creation of a Task Force to monitor
the Trade in “Aquatic Wild Meat”. A report on this activity can be accessed here.
• A revised Regional Action Plan for the Western Chimpanzee was developed as the result of
coordination with partners to organize a meeting of over 70 stakeholders from across West
Africa, joined by subject matter experts.
• The Government of Liberia received comments from the CITES Secretariat on the recently
passed wildlife legislation at the 69th CITES Standing Committee Meeting in November as a
result of WA BiCC support for Liberian authorities to attend the proceedings. This feedback
triggered a revision process on CITES implementation.
• The Government of Guinea is now the 17th member state of the Elephant Protection Initiative, a
process facilitated by WA BiCC.
1.1.2 COMPONENT 2: INCREASING COASTAL RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
To increase coastal resilience to climate change and coastal adaptation, WA BiCC implements two
strategies: identify and promote effective interventions; and develop an enabling policy environment. A
summary of key achievements from the reporting period is presented below.
• A workshop was held in Lome, Togo in October 2017 to gauge the status of and provide
information to support the integration of coastal issues into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
The workshop, originally scheduled for late FY17, provided a platform to revise and refine the
FY18 Component 2 work plan.
• Twenty-four (24) communities in the Sierra Leone landscape established mangrove nurseries
and over 51,800 propagules/seedlings have been propagated for use in restoration efforts
consistent with the Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan. To date, over 25,220 seedlings
mangrove seedlings have been transplanted from nurseries. A photo story compiling some of
these activities can be found on our Exposure page here.
• The establishment of the Coastal Chiefdoms Natural Resources Management Network
(CCNRMN, formerly Traditional Chief’s Network was finalized. This group will provide local
leadership in efforts to increase resilience to climate change in the Sierra Leone Coastal
Landscape Complex (SLCLC).
• A Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) was undertaken in the Fresco Landscape.
Results from this assessment will inform the development of a future grant to support
adaptation activities in this landscape. The abridged CCVA report can be found here.
• WA BiCC participated in the 9th Forum of the Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine
Conservation (PRCM) in Guinea in October and organized the first ever West Africa Mangrove
Day. A write up on this activity can be found on the WA BiCC Website via this link.
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | viii1.1.3 COMPONENT 3: REDUCING DEFORESTATION, FOREST DEGRADATION, AND
BIODIVERSITY LOSS
To reduce deforestation, forest degradation, and biodiversity loss, WA BiCC implements three
strategies: promote effective interventions for forest conservation; improve enabling policy environment
for forest conservation, and identification and promotion of effective interventions. Activities during the
reporting period focused primarily on the award and startup of four large grants across the three
transboundary learning landscapes. A summary of key achievements from the reporting period is
presented below.
• Four grants were signed to support transboundary management of critical forest areas in the
Mano River Union States. These grants will run January 31, 2020 and include:
o An award (awarded in September but finalized in October) to the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds (RSPB) for Community Landscape Management to Reduce
Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss in the Gola Transboundary Forest Landscape
between Sierra Leone and Liberia.
o An award to the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) to support of Strengthening
Multi-Stakeholder Management of the Taï-Grebo-Krahn-Sapo Transboundary Forest
Landscape between Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire.
o An award to Fauna and Flora International (FFI) to support on-going efforts in the Tai-
Grebo-Sapo Landscape with a specific focus on the Sapo National Park in Liberia.
o An award to FFI to support Conserving and Connecting the Ziama-Wonegizi-Wologizi
Transboundary Forest Landscape between Guinea and Liberia.
• Inception Workshops for all grantees were held to provide orientation and build capacity
related to USAID compliance, branding and marking, financial and administrative reporting,
monitoring and evaluation, environmental management and mitigation planning, and relevant
grants management issues.
• Grantees are in various stages of work planning development, and implementation of activities
has begun for WCF and RSPB. Site visits were conducted and issues identified for follow-up
including learning and communications products.
• WA BiCC supported Guinea to finalize its REDD+ Roadmap and its participation at the
UNFCCC CoP in Bonn, Germany. The final Roadmap was the culmination of intensive support
during FY17 and the CoP support included short term technical assistance and logistical
guidance to organize meetings with other development partners who could potentially provide
additional financial and technical support to Guinea. Highlights from the official launch of
Guinea’s REDD+ Roadmap can be seen here.
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | ix2.0 PROGRAM STRATEGY
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) established the five-year West Africa
Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC) Program in 2015 with the overall goal to improve
conservation, climate resilience, and low emission development across the West Africa sub-region. WA
BiCC is the largest investment in the environmental sector in West Africa, at close to $50 million.
The WA BiCC Program is an ambitious effort that co-generates, documents, and shares knowledge and
learning to influence policy and practice, based on implementation experiences within WA BiCC-
supported “learning landscapes” and those managed by other practitioners and partners in the region.
Effective interventions are designed, implemented, and evaluated in partnership with three core regional
partners - the Environment Directorate of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS), the Mano River Union (MRU) and the Abidjan Convention. Knowledge and lessons
identified by ongoing work, or generated directly as a result WA BiCC investment, are communicated
broadly yet strategically to serve as model interventions to be adopted, adapted and replicated or scaled
up in the pursuit of most effective policies and practices.
WA BiCC is implemented by Tetra Tech ARD, in association with five main implementing partners, or
sub-contractors: Pact Inc. supports capacity building; Palladium Group supports Gender and Social
Inclusion (GESI), and Advocacy; PCI Media Impact supports communications; and the Center for
International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) supports efforts related to climate change
resilience, mitigation and vulnerability.
WA BiCC comprises three core technical components:
2.1 COMPONENT 1: COMBATING WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING
Component 1 addresses the growing demand for illegally traded wildlife and animal and plant products,
which is devastating the biological diversity of West Africa and beyond. Wildlife trafficking and the
concomitant criminal activities that accompany it must be more effectively and systematically
understood and addressed. While much attention is directed to this issue in the eastern, southern and
central African regions, there is a growing body of evidence that wildlife crime and trafficking are on the
rise in West Africa, with links to other illegal trades such as drugs, arms and precious minerals. This
component is an integral part of the budget allocation for biodiversity activities worldwide. To address
the increasing trade in wildlife from, or transiting through, West Africa, WA BiCC implements activities
to support through three strategies. These strategies include: improve policy and enabling environment
for wildlife protection; build capacity for CWT enforcement and prosecution: and strengthen regional
and national coordination and cooperation in data generation, sharing, and use for enforcement.
2.2 COMPONENT 2: INCREASING COASTAL RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
The effects of climate change, along with climate variability and vulnerability to climate change impacts,
are felt across coastal West African countries. While there is increasing understanding of the human-
induced causes of climate change, the full picture of the global climate system interactions and the
resultant impacts of climate change to humans and ecosystems along the coast of West Africa remain a
work in progress. It is anticipated that in the coming years, climate-induced events, such as coastal
flooding and stronger winds, will be more frequent and intense across the sub-region. In fact, these
events are already on the rise and impact coastal communities on a consistent basis. Coastal
communities and ecosystems will be exposed to more extreme weather events, increasing temperatures
and rising sea levels, which will negatively impact infrastructure, water quality, and natural resources
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | 1such as fisheries and mangroves, further increasing ecological, economic, and human vulnerability.
Against these advancing challenges to coastal communities and ecosystems, it is imperative to identify
and promote effective ecosystem-based adaptation strategies that explicitly address increasing coastal
resilience, and that can address threats while ensuring ecosystem sustainability and human well-being.
WA BiCC is working with partners to better understand the potential impacts of climate change
through the implementation of participatory vulnerability assessments (VAs) in focal coastal landscapes
to effectively minimize risk and build on opportunities to strengthen resiliency and develop adaptive
capacity. WA BiCC will also identify and trial effective interventions, promote these as models in focal
landscapes, and share them to improve practice and policy beyond the landscapes. VA methodologies
have already been developed and conducted and the results will be used to develop and implement
activities with stakeholders and partners to mitigate risk and reduce vulnerability in the two WA BiCC
coastal learning landscapes: The Sierra Leone Coastal Landscape Complex and the Fresco landscape in
Côte d’Ivoire. WA BiCC will use these learning landscape experiences to build the capacity of core
regional partners, inform regional and national policies and practices, and support the integration of
coastal issues into NAPs. The two key strategies under this component include: identify and promote
effective interventions; and develop an enabling policy environment.
2.3 COMPONENT 3: REDUCING DEFORESTATION, FOREST DEGRADATION AND
BIODIVERSITY LOSS
West Africa has lost 90% of its Upper Guinean Forests. Today only 10% of these forests (73 million
hectares) remain as fragmented blocks and patches, mainly within Mano River Union countries: Guinea
(6% of remaining forest), Sierra Leone (4%), Liberia (49%), Côte d’Ivoire (21%), as well as Ghana (18%)
and Togo (2%). This loss is caused by unsustainable or illegal practices that need to be reduced and
reversed to save the remaining forests and mangroves and curb the associated greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions resulting from deforestation and forest degradation. Steps toward this objective include
understanding and addressing the threats and driver for deforestation and mangrove loss and the root
causes of these threats.
Component 3 aims to better understand and address the policies, practices and research gaps to reduce
and reverse deforestation, forest degradation and biodiversity loss. WA BiCC will generate and
disseminate knowledge and scale up practices, policies and applied research actions within its three-
transboundary forest-learning landscapes, and from the experiences of other policymakers and
practitioners working on related issues in the region. WA BiCC has issued grants and/or subcontracts
to competent institutions to undertake activities in the three forest-learning landscapes in partnership
with ECOWAS and the Mano River Union (MRU) to understand and address issues related to
biodiversity conservation, forest conservation, and REDD+. The three key strategies to achieve
component activities include: promote effective interventions for forest and mangrove conservation;
improve policy and enabling environment for forest and mangrove conservation; and identify, develop,
and implement strategies for threatened species.
2.4 The components are supported by complementary crosscutting components essential to the success
of the program. These include GESI, Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA), communications and
capacity building that focuses on sustainability by increasing the organizational and technical capacities of
the core regional partners. A Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (MEP) with a clear set of indicators guides
activity development and reporting, which is complimented by a robust focus on learning.
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | 23.0 ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS
Activities and results for each component are presented below for quarters 1 and 2 (Q1 and Q2 of
Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18). These activities map to the activities presented in the recently approved
revised Annual Work Plan for FY18.
3.1 COMPONENT 1: COMBATING WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING
3.1.1 STRATEGY 1A: IMPROVE POLICY AND ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR WILDLIFE
PROTECTION
1. Strengthen Wildlife Protection Policies and Legal Frameworks
1.1 Regional review of current wildlife policy, legislative and judicial frameworks, action
plans, and enforcement activities finalized. In FY17, a series of desktop reviews of wildlife
policy, legislative and judicial frameworks was initiated to identify gaps that currently hinder the
harmonized enforcement of wildlife trafficking legislation and interventions across the region’s
15 states. In the first two quarters of FY18, WA BiCC drafted analytical reports for Nigeria,
Ghana and Sierra Leone and began data collection and analysis for Togo, Guinea, Liberia and
Nigeria. It is anticipated that these seven (7) reports will be finalized in Q3 and presented at a
regional validation meeting at ECOWAS in Abuja early in Q4, which will also serve as the setting
for developing the framework for a regional CWT Strategy, which will be further informed by
six additional national assessments and be a priority in FY19. Information and analysis from these
initial reports will be used in Q3 and Q4 to develop communications materials to inform the
development of CWT enforcement tools and trainings region-wise. Data collection and analysis
for the remaining country reports will begin in Q4, pending approval of a subcontract
amendment for Born Free, which is conducting the assessments.
WA BiCC has also reviewed concept notes and funding proposals to CITES Master’s graduate
students, one whose research focuses on the review and potential restructuring of roles and
institutional responsibilities for CITES implementation in The Gambia. This work is supported by
a $10,000 grant from GEF. The second student has been mentored in his established of a coastal
conservation NGO in Nigeria, focusing on sea turtle conservation.
1.2 Mapping of CWT Institutions. The objective of tasks under this activity is to better
understand the capacity and scope of regional institutional support for CWT. In Q1 and Q2 of
FY18, a methodology for Stakeholder Mapping was designed and tested using the aquatic species
sector as a pilot. A database and a desktop study are on-going. When complete, these will
expand the current database to include other threatened species of Regional Priority in West
Africa and will also analyze the influence, interests and potential capacity needs of various
stakeholders.
1.3 Scoping study on knowledge base for Aquatic Endangered, Threatened and
Protected species (ETPs). A Scoping Study on the knowledge base for Aquatic ETPs has
been delivered and will serve as the basis for a position paper and a content for a meeting of the
founding members of the Abidjan Aquatic ETP Partnership in Q3 and a side event at the 13th
Conference of the Parties (CoP) for the RAMSAR Convention in FY19. The Scoping Study
covered a range and breadth of issues that will enable a focus on programming for specific
geographies, species, enforcement of existing legal or policy instruments, and threats.
Information and recommendations from this study has been used to inform policy makers in the
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | 1region, and create relevant communications materials (see subsection 1.4 directly below) and
will continue to use information to develop additional outreach, awareness and advocacy pieces.
The report identified Senegal, Mauritania, Liberia, Ghana and Sierra Leone as the countries most
affected by illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and named 12 species of mammals,
14 species of chondrichthyans, 8 species of aquatic reptiles, and 7 species of aquatic birds the
most threatened by illegal harvesting for consumption and trade in West Africa. These species
are threatened by increased international market demand, new technologies that permit bulk
harvest or storage, weak or ineffective policies and/or policy enforcement, and socio-economic
or climatic vulnerability of coastal communities. These threats continue despite the fact that16
extant aquatic species are classified as endangered, threatened or protected under various
Conventions, MOUs, action plans, and strategies that target ETPs but are poorly enforced or
understood as threatened. Several priorities for regional action were identified based on the
findings of the report. These include: improved access to data on the context, trade volumes,
and status; support for stronger enforcement measures and increased and improved
coordination across wildlife, fishery and enforcement sectors; awareness raising and
coordination between local advocacy groups and regional and global networks; and the
provision of awareness raising and livelihood options for food insecure communities who rely
on these species for food.
1.4 Participate in existing CWT and CITES platforms and networks. WA BiCC
participated in a number of CWT and CITES events and provided inputs to various related
networks. In October 2017, two staff including the Component Lead and a Communications
Specialist attended the Convention on Migratory Species COP 12 in Manilla, Philippines. At this
event they co-organized a side event with Abidjan Convention, OceanCare and Wild Migration
to launch the Abidjan Aquatic Wildlife Partnership (AAWP). The launch event catalyzed the
establishment of a Task Force to monitor the Trade in “Aquatic Wild meat”. The Task Force,
set up by the CMS secretariat, has increased the profile and priority of aquatic wildlife for the
Parties to the CMS Convention and garnered the interest of many institutions that have
expressed interest in joining the AAWP including the Born Free Foundation, the CMS and
CITES Secretariats, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) of UNEP and, more
recently, the RAMSAR Convention. With growing interest, the AAWP has the potential to be
an effective platform for advocacy, improved data generation, and stronger coordination on the
management of threatened aquatic species. This was one of the priority recommendations from
the Aquatic ETPs scoping study. In addition, WA BiCC has supported the AAWP to develop an
Action Plan and a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan. A Communication Strategy will be developed
and validated with West, Central and Southern African parties to the Abidjan Convention in Q3.
The referenced Scoping Study on Aquatic ETPs was used to develop content for the COP 12
event, and for information dissemination to larger West African audiences through various
platforms. This included, a Twitter summary that was also disseminated on Facebook, printed
communication materials distributed during the CMS CoP 12 side event, at the Manilla airport,
and at the AAWP booth in the COP 12 venue. The materials were also shared via a mailing list
of all CITES and CMS focal points in West and Central Africa, and via the OceanCare website.
Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials produced included a PowerPoint
presentation, pull up banners and flyers, and a social media campaign conducted via twitter,
LinkedIn, and Facebook to disseminate key findings of the scoping study and the outcomes from
CoP 12.
1.5 Review existing Regional or National Action Plans for combating illegal trade in
wildlife. WA BiCC supports partners to review existing Regional and National Action Plans to
combat illegal trade in wildlife. The reviews will contribute to the development of a West Africa
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | 2Regional Framework to integrate CWT policies and legislation across ECOWAS in a region
wide strategy, catalyzed by WA BiCC work to date in Member States and a priority for Years 4
and 5.
In Q1WA BiCC co-organized a meeting of stakeholders in Monrovia to revise the Regional
Action Plan for the Western Chimpanzee. The event was co-funded with other partners
including USFWS, ARCUS Foundation, and IUCN, attended by 70 participants from seven
countries (Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Senegal)
and included a range of expert conservation organizations including Fauna and Flora
International, Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, Tacugama Wildlife Sanctuary and the Liberia
Chimpanzee Rescue Center. During the meeting participants were trained to use the Open
Standards approach to analyze threats to Western Chimpanzees living in varying habitat types
including forest landscapes, fragmented forests, and agricultural landscapes, and to develop
theories of change for mitigating these threats. The Open Standards for the Practice of
Conservation facilitates systematic planning, implementation, and monitoring of conservation
initiatives that enables learning about what works, what doesn’t work, and allows for adaptive
management of processes. A committee was formed to draft a revised Action Plan based on the
proceedings, and it is anticipated that the final Plan will include a “threats-response” perspective,
consideration of chimpanzee group culture, and recognition of a wider conservation role for
wildlife sanctuaries. This process is ongoing and according to the agreed timeline, and it is
anticipated that a first draft of the revised Action Plan will be ready for internal review by
September 2018, with a final version disseminated by January 2019.
1.6 Establish and/or Strengthen Species Working Groups (SWG). Based on preliminary
findings from the seven completed CWT Threats Assessment, one of the gaps identified in the
MRU Member States is the availability and access to current, valid data needed for decisions on
listing of species, and conservation strategies in West Africa, and the need for regional and
national level consultative platforms that bring together biodiversity and landscape specialists
practitioners with policy- and decision-makers. In Q1 WA BiCC supported SWG consultative
meetings in Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone to encourage and facilitate data and
information sharing, and the development of consultative platforms, including SWGs themselves.
The objective of these meetings was to raise awareness and catalyze support to establish SWGs,
which can then support data generation and sharing, and inform national level decision making
processes for biodiversity conservation. The meetings resulted in the development of a database
of in-country species specialists, a process for screening country specialists who could serve as
core team members of SWGs, ToRs for regional national SWGs, and roadmaps for their
establishment in Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire. Outcomes to date suggest that the SWG
concept could gain traction across in the MRU and could serve as an important platform for
information sharing, policy design, planning and coordination, which could ultimately lead to
greater compliance with CITES, CBD and CMS regulations. Reports from these proceedings will
be available in Q3.
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | 3Local chief from Fresco making a submission during the Species Working Group Meeting in Cote d’Ivoire
2. Enhance Public Awareness and Behavior Change
2.1 Public Awareness Campaigns. Several outreach campaigns have been undertaken during
the reporting period. In Q1, an issue brief and a significant social media campaign were
produced and designed to promote the findings of the Aquatic ETP scoping study. An “Aquatic
profile picture challenge” was used to highlight issues linked to illegal and unsustainable
harvesting of aquatic wildlife in West Africa, and the WA BiCC twitter account post of “41
species of Aquatic wildlife are threatened by illegal harvesting in West Africa”, was picked up
and relayed by the official CMS twitter account.
Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook campaigns were conducted in Q1 to share key information and
launch a video on “Building Capacity for Wildlife Enforcement in West Africa”. The video was
picked up and further disseminated on the CITES Secretariat twitter account under the post:
“an excellent short video with students from West Africa explaining how much they learned
from the CITES Master’s course”. Part two of the CITES Master’s training video documentary
series was also completed and published on YouTube.
WA BiCC partnered with the Wildlife Division of Ghana Forestry Commission, and A Rocha
Ghana to organize and celebrate World Pangolin Day in Ghana in February. The theme “Love
Pangolins, protect them” was used to promote awareness throughout the country. Interviews
with the WA BiCC Biodiversity Conservation Specialist were conducted by on Ghana TV3 and
3 FM. In addition,600 travelers and bush meat vendors at a rest stop along the Accra- Kumasi
highway was targeted for awareness raising using flyers, posters, banners, and T-shirts. A photo
story on this event can be found on our Exposure page here. Highlights were also published on
our website here.
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | 4Building on this collaborative effort with the Ghanaian government, WA BiCC also partnered
with Ghana’s Wildlife Division, US State Department, Ghana Wildlife Society and A Rocha
Ghana to organize an event to recognize World Wildlife Day in Accra. For this event, a social
media toolkit and an informational brief on the big cats of Africa were produced as was an
infographic version for children and a Fact Sheet on “Lions in Ghana”. A children’s outreach
program involving 4 schools and about 200 children was organized involving the screening of
three short videos and a presentation on Big Cats of Africa. Electronic versions of videos on the
big cats of Africa were translated into French and disseminated to partners and to multiple US
Missions in West Africa for wider distribution. Products produced for World Wildlife Day will
also be used by the Ghana Wildlife Division and A Rocha to conduct outreach in their field sites
over the next six months. Ghana Wildlife Society also committed to following up with other
schools to share the WWD 2018 message with those who couldn’t attend the event. A photo
story on this event can be found on our Exposure page here. Highlights were also published on
our website here.
2.2 Participate at symposia on wildlife trafficking issues. WA BiCC supported Liberia’s
CITES administrative and scientific authorities to attend the 69th CITES standing
Committee Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in Q1. The Standing Committee provides policy
guidance to the Secretariat concerning the implementation of the Convention and oversees the
management of the Secretariat's budget. Beyond these key roles, it coordinates and oversees,
where required, the work of other committees and working groups, carries out tasks given to it
by the CoP, and drafts resolutions for consideration by the CoP.
Coming on the heels of a new government and a change of leadership at the CITES
Administrative Authority in Liberia, coupled with the rejection by the CITES Secretariat of the
new Liberia Wildlife Legislation, it was important that the newly appointed authorities attend
the 69th Standing Committee meeting to prepare for the uptake of their new responsibilities.
CITES Secretariat comments on the new law were made to the Liberian delegates during the
proceedings which has triggered a revision process in Liberia to take into consideration the
Secretariat’s observations with the objective to achieve CITES compliance.
Building on the Master’s degrees conferred on the first cohort of CITES students and West
African wildlife professionals, mentoring and guidance as well as occasional financial was
provided to support the graduates. In Q2 support was provided to student Felix Abayomi from
Nigeria with financial and technical support to his NGO, “Wildlife for Africa Conservation
Initiative”, to co-organise a World Wildlife Day event in collaboration with the US Embassy in
Abuja, Nigeria on Tuesday March 6th. Support comprised identifying invitees, providing
education materials including an info-brief on big cats of West Africa, an infographic version for
children and a social media toolkit, as was done in Accra. The event was attended by the US
Ambassador, the Conservator-General of the National Parks Service, The Director-General of
National Environment Standard Regulation and Enforcement Agency and other participants
including the ECOWAS Commission, the ECOWAS Commission Environment Directorate and
representatives of various Civil Society Organizations. As part of the event the Wildlife
Conservation Film Festival screened two films: The Silent Death of Lions (Tanzania) and Tree
Lions (Uganda), to inform subsequent discussion about how various stakeholders including
government and local communities in Nigeria could contribute to the conservation of
threatened species.
On March 8, the first ever Ghana National Sea Turtle Conference was held in Accra and hosted
by the Forestry Commission’s Wildlife Division, with support from WA BiCC, United States
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | 5Fish & Wildlife Service, Florida Gulf Coast University and Voltic Water. The event brought
together governmental and non-governmental agencies as well as representatives from
businesses, tourism and other relevant sectors. Individual and institutional participants shared
experienced and perspectives on their respective activities and challenges related to sea turtle
conservation. Challenges identified included inadequate human and financial resources, low
awareness levels about the status and threats of sea turtles, weak stakeholder and advocate
coordination and poor information generation and dissemination. Presentations generated
informative discussions on how to address challenges, increase collaboration and more
systematically collect and share information and data to establish more rigorous baselines on
species, nesting areas, poaching and other evidence required to effectively monitor the status of
sea turtles in Ghana. A social media campaign was simultaneously conducted during the event to
create awareness on the presence, importance, and plight of the sea turtles in Ghana, and the
various ongoing conservation efforts to protect them. Highlights of this event can be found here.
Taking advantage of the Conference participants being in Accra, WA BiCC hosted a
brainstorming and informational meeting the following day to highlight sea turtle conservation
efforts in other West African countries and to discuss the establishment of a network to
coordinate on a regional level through the exchange of best practices and sharing information.
The CITES Master’s student from Nigeria was on hand to share his experience as the founder of
a local sea turtle conservation NGO in his country. The participants’ interest in establishing a
regional network was unanimous and they agreed on a set of next steps to guide the process of
identifying and establishing a network:
• Creating a database of sea turtle conservation initiatives in Ghana and extending this to
other ECOWAS member states;
• Creating a google group for the sea turtle conservation projects in Ghana; and
• Drafting a concept note for the Regional Network and making linkages with the Abidjan
Aquatic Wildlife Partnership.
Participants during the informal discussion of sea turtle conservation following the sea
turtle conference in the WA BiCC office
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | 63.1.2 STRATEGY 1B. BUILD CAPACITY FOR CWT ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTION
A core group of experts trained in various aspects of CWT drawn from government wildlife
management and judicial authorities has been built and strengthened as CWT activities have advanced. In
FY18, a limited number of CWT related training programs are supported within targeted countries
where opportunities for co-funding exist along with a training manual and training team.
Key Year 3 activities and results under Strategy1B include:
1. Identify, develop and/or adapt training tools for wildlife legislation, wildlife enforcement and
prosecution and implement trainings.
1.1 Enforcement Training and Awareness Raising. In Q2, WA BiCC contributed to a
Francophonie Symposium on the effectiveness of environmental law and integration of
environmental issues in training for judiciary officers. During the Symposium indicators were
validated and training materials designed to assist judiciary with CWT-related enforcement.
Lessons learnt from two previous trainings for judges and prosecutors, organized with US
Departments of Justice and State and UNODC were provided to inform deliberations. WA
BiCC partnered with the ECOWAS Commission to prepare a presentation to link organizers to
resource persons and participants in West and Central Africa. Following the workshop,
discussions with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie were initiated to explore
the possibility of piloting the use of the training manual adopted during the workshop in at least
two other West African countries.
1.2 CITES Master’s Degree Training. Outcome/impact assessments targeting the initial cohort
of CITES Masters Students was initiated. The findings indicate that the Master’s investment is
making a positive impact to capacity building in the CWT sector. For example, over 50% of the
students have been involved in drafting new legislation or national strategy documents related to
wildlife and/or threatened species, and over 600 persons have benefited from training or
awareness raising campaigns on CITES organized/led by the CITES Master’s graduates. An
example of how some of the impacts of these students can be seen in this story.
A second 15-member cohort of CITES graduate students was selected from fourteen countries
(Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali,
Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo), including three women. All administrative
issues including logistics for travel, payment of tuition and accommodation and purchase of and
distribution of laptops were handled in a timely manner. Arrangements for simultaneous
translation of course material and interpretation into French and English within and outside
classroom has also been finalized. Discussions are also ongoing with the USFWS who are
sponsoring a group of 15 students from Latin America to attend the same course. The objective
of these discussions is to ensure coordination between the two USG programs, and initiate
south – south collaboration between the students. The candidates are scheduled to mobilize in
Q3 after a planned orientation workshop planned for Accra before departure.
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | 7The 14 West African students in Spain for the CITES Masters Course
2. Analyze lessons learned from CWT models in Asia and Africa to identify lessons to develop,
strengthen and sustain initiatives in West Africa.
2.1 Lessons learned analysis and dissemination. This activity has been delayed but will
commence in the second half of FY18.
2.2 Strengthen existing networks. WA BiCC facilitated the process for Guinea to join the
Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI), making Guinea is the 17th member state of the EPI network.
The EPI will link Guinea to a Regional Network of elephant conservation specialists, as well as
provide support to Guinea for fund raising efforts and the design of Ivory Action and Elephant
Conservation Action Plans. Furthermore, EPI membership will provide coaching and support to
achieve highest level (Head of State) involvement in ratification of the Elephant and Ivory Action
Plans, once drafted. EPI provides a network of expertise on how to develop and implement
elephant inventories and Elephant Conservation Action Plans, and provides advocacy at Head of
State level for the conservation of elephants. This will strengthen the political will for combatting
ivory trafficking and killing of elephants and has direct relevant to the transboundary forest
landscapes where WA BiCC is investing, including the Ziama-Wonegizi-Wologizi between
Guinea and Liberia.
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | 83.1.3 STRATEGY 1C. STRENGTHEN REGIONAL AND NATIONAL COORDINATION AND
COOPERATION IN DATA GENERATION, SHARING AND USE FOR ENFORCEMENT
The application of new cutting-edge tools and approaches to generate digital data may well serve as a
tipping point in the fight against wildlife trafficking. These tools need to be associated with platforms for
communication and data sharing. WA BiCC continually supports the generation and dissemination of
new data and exchange of information through informal channels including networks, social media,
workshops, meetings and more formal discussion platforms.
Key Year 3 activities and results under Strategy1C will target the following Institutions: ECOWAS,
CITES scientific authorities, and research and academic institutions in each ECOWAS country, in
partnership with USFWS, IUCN, TRAFFIC. Activities are described below.
1. Increase the Availability of Tools, Data and Information
1.1 Biodiversity Threats Assessments. The CWT/Biodiversity Threats Assessment will be
expanded to add six additional countries to the seven already completed. These will be Benin,
Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The TAs will get underway in Q3 (pending
approval). TAs will also integrate mapping of CWT institutions across West Africa and identify
enforcement training priorities.
1.2 Identify and promote the use of innovative technologies. In collaboration with
implementing partner Born Free, a scope of work has been developed to produce a West
African version of WildScan. Work will get underway in Q3 and continue into FY19 (pending
budget approval). WildScan is a species identification mobile application designed to help wildlife
conservation officers, and the general public correctly identify CITES listed species in the field,
and thus combat wildlife trafficking. It provides critical information and pictures on endangered
species and their products or parts, and allows users to report wildlife crime. The initial
WildScan application developed for Southeast Asia contains a comprehensive species library of
more than 250 endangered animals commonly smuggled into and throughout that region.
3.2 COMPONENT 2: INCREASING COASTAL RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
3.2.1 STRATEGY 2A. IDENTIFY AND PROMOTE EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS
Key Year 3 activities and results under Strategy 2A include:
1. Better understand coastal knowledge needs and identify, generate and disseminate
information and data on climate change impacts in West Africa to facilitate increasing
coastal resilience
1.1 Build capacity in climate information for adaptation planning. A NAP workshop was
held in Lome in October 2017. The objective of the workshop was to support the ‘Integration
of Coastal Issues into National Adaptation Plans’ (NAPs). The workshop was scheduled to be
held in FY17 and inform the FY18 activities for Component 2, but was pushed into Q1 due to
competing activities. The October workshop thus provided the opportunity to further define
and refine FY18 activities, and to assess the capacity needs of practitioners and institutions in
the region. One identified need was for additional (and costly) meteorological stations, however
follow-on activity was designed for Q3 to focus on supporting practitioners, policy makers and
their institutions to access available data and apply this to planning efforts. The workshop will
target Meteorological Services and those responsible for generating relevant information to
further inform the integration of coastal issues into NAPs (e.g. hydrology, geospatial services,
WA BiCC: YEAR THREE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT (OCTOBER 2017–MARCH 2018) | 9You can also read
