The 2000 National Greenhouse Gas Inventory of The Gambia shows national emission total of about 20.02 Million Tons CO2 Equivalent (TCO2E) and per capita emissions of 13.5 TCO2E. This is insignificant compared to other country emissions. However, as a Party to the Climate Change Convention and its Kyoto Protocol, Gambia is willing to participate in mitigating global emissions and their concentrations in the atmosphere with the first step of conducting a mitigation assessment and developing this NAMA document. Trend analysis of climate data from 1951 to date shows a progressively warming and drier Gambia. Using General Circulation Model outputs, national temperatures are projected to increase by about 0.3OC in 2010 to about 3.9OC in 2100. Rainfall is also projected to decrease by about 1% in 2010 to about 54% in 2100. This confirms previous results of in the First National Communication that with increase in temperatures under a warming climate, rainfall in The Gambia would correspondingly decrease. The development challenges of The Gambia will be significant as the country faces complex economic, social and technological choices based on the climate change impacts already enumerated in the preceding paragraph. This is compounded by the inadequate capacities, inadequacies in the existing technologies and the non availability of domestic funding from both the public and private sectors for climate change.

The overall objective of the NAPA is to contribute to the alleviation of the adverse effects of climate variability and changes on the most vulnerable populations with the prospect of a sustainable development. In this area, some adaptation measures, consistent with the orientations of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) contained in the Rural Development Strategy (SDR), were identified. These adaptation measures are all in synergy with the measures of the Post-Rio convention adopted by Niger, especially the United Nations Framework on Climate Changes (UNFCCC), Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), and the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD). The NAPA process started in 2005.

NAPAs provide a process for the LDCs to identify priority activities that respond to their urgent and immediate needs with regard to adaptation to climate change - those needs for which further delay could increase vulnerability or lead to increased costs at a later stage. The rationale for NAPAs rests on the limited ability of the LDCs to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. In the NAPA process, prominence is given to community-level input as an important source of information, recognizing that grassroots communities are the main stakeholders. NAPAs use existing information and no new research is needed. They are action-oriented, country-driven, are flexible and based on national circumstances. In order to effectively address urgent and immediate adaptation needs, NAPA documents are presented in a simple format, easily understood both by policy-level decision-makers and the public.

The Government of The Gambia is committed to reducing poverty and improving the well-being of its population. This commitment is driven by the Government’s long-term strategy, Vision 2020, which is being executed through a series of medium-term development plans since 1994. The Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE) is The Gambia’s development strategy and investment programme for 2012 to 2015. PAGE 2012-2015 is based on Vision 2020 and various sector strategies, and is consistent with the Paris Declaration’s resolutions on aid effectiveness and the ownership of development. PAGE is the main interface between the Government and The Gambia’s development partners and is fully aligned with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and is a medium term strategic plan leading to a developed and prosperous Gambia. The focus of PAGE is to accelerate pro-poor growth and generate employment. The implementation of PAGE 2012-15 will be done through the Priority Action Plan (PAP) that will require private sector participation and heavy financial support from development partners. This support will help consolidate the gains of recent years, boost employment, and sustain development in The Gambia. The preparation of PAGE was highly participatory at all levels of society ensuring national ownership. It was coordinated by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.

NAPAs provide a process for the LDCs to identify priority activities that respond to their urgent and immediate needs with regard to adaptation to climate change - those needs for which further delay could increase vulnerability or lead to increased costs at a later stage. The rationale for NAPAs rests on the limited ability of the LDCs to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. In the NAPA process, prominence is given to community-level input as an important source of information, recognizing that grassroots communities are the main stakeholders. NAPAs use existing information and no new research is needed. They are action-oriented, country-driven, are flexible and based on national circumstances. In order to effectively address urgent and immediate adaptation needs, NAPA documents are presented in a simple format, easily understood both by policy-level decision-makers and the public. Adaptation to increasing climate variability and climate change is a very important topic in Liberia. While some national coping strategies have already been developed to deal with extreme climatic phenomena, they are only a beginning. As such, the NAPA process has afforded Liberia the opportunity to reflect systematically and in concert with a comprehensive set of stakeholders, the type of measures that could increase the capacity of vulnerable communities to cope with the urgent and immediate needs associated with increasing climatic volatility and future climate change.

The Government of Sierra Leone has recognised that climate change related disasters such as flooding, drought, coastal erosion, deforestation and biodiversity loss etc. are natural phenomena aggravated by human activities including the emission of green house gases. Damage and losses from such disasters are however the consequence of human action. The National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) for Sierra Leone has been prepared by the Ministry of Transport and Aviation (MTA), as a response to the decision of the Seventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The preparation process has followed the generic guiding principles outlined in the NAPA annotated Guideline according to the project coordinator. The whole preparation process was guided by the high powered Project Steering Committee headed by the Chairman, Director of the Environment, of the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and the Environment. The basic approach to NAPA preparation was in consonance with the sustainable development goals and objectives of the country where it has recognized the necessity of addressing environmental issues and natural resource management with the participation of stakeholders.

NAPAs provide a process for the LDCs to identify priority activities that respond to their urgent and immediate needs with regard to adaptation to climate change - those needs for which further delay could increase vulnerability or lead to increased costs at a later stage. The rationale for NAPAs rests on the limited ability of the LDCs to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. In the NAPA process, prominence is given to community-level input as an important source of information, recognizing that grassroots communities are the main stakeholders. NAPAs use existing information and no new research is needed. They are action-oriented, country-driven, are flexible and based on national circumstances. In order to effectively address urgent and immediate adaptation needs, NAPA documents are presented in a simple format, easily understood both by policy-level decision-makers and the public.

NAPAs provide a process for the LDCs to identify priority activities that respond to their urgent and immediate needs with regard to adaptation to climate change - those needs for which further delay could increase vulnerability or lead to increased costs at a later stage. The rationale for NAPAs rests on the limited ability of the LDCs to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. In the NAPA process, prominence is given to community-level input as an important source of information, recognizing that grassroots communities are the main stakeholders. NAPAs use existing information and no new research is needed. They are action-oriented, country-driven, are flexible and based on national circumstances. In order to effectively address urgent and immediate adaptation needs, NAPA documents are presented in a simple format, easily understood both by policy-level decision-makers and the public.

NAPAs provide a process for the LDCs to identify priority activities that respond to their urgent and immediate needs with regard to adaptation to climate change - those needs for which further delay could increase vulnerability or lead to increased costs at a later stage. The rationale for NAPAs rests on the limited ability of the LDCs to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. In the NAPA process, prominence is given to community-level input as an important source of information, recognizing that grassroots communities are the main stakeholders. NAPAs use existing information and no new research is needed. They are action-oriented, country-driven, are flexible and based on national circumstances. In order to effectively address urgent and immediate adaptation needs, NAPA documents are presented in a simple format, easily understood both by policy-level decision-makers and the public.

Occupying a total area of 11,300 sq km, with a population density of 130 persons per sq km, The Republic of the Gambia is one of the most densely populated countries on continental Africa. Because The Gambia possesses only minimal commercial mineral resources and manufacturing sector, agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for many Gambians, employing more than 68% of the workforce and accounting for about 40% of the Gambia’s export earnings contributing about 26% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Agriculture is predominantly subsistence and rain-fed with farmers relying on traditional shifting cultivation and livestock management practices. Over the last fifty years cropland area increased from under 100,000 ha to over 300,000 at the expense of natural woodland and wetland ecosystems. Over 51% of The Gambia’s population resides in urban areas. Driven by variable and degrading climate, decline in agricultural productivity in rural areas, and changes in economic activity (tourism, petty trade and small scale manufacturing) in the ecologically favorable West Coast Region, urban population has increased from 110,000 in 1973 to 680,000 in 2003. Between 1980 and 2001, built-up area in the Gambia has increased from 2,725 ha to more than 19,000 ha with over 50% of the increase occurring in Kombo (KMC and the districts of Kombo). The Gambia’s climate is Sahelian characterized by high variability in the amount and distribution of annual precipitation. Analysis of long-term climate data shows that the past 50 years have seen a decrease in total amount of precipitation, length of rainy season, and increase in length and frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts and dust storms. The low-lying topography, combined by high dependence on subsistence rain-fed agriculture and inadequate drainage and storm water management system in a context of rapidly expanding un-regulated urban expansion has placed the Gambia among those countries most vulnerable to climate change. This study examines threats associated with anthropogenic climate change; vulnerable ecosystems and ecosystem services; and examines how to integrate responses to climate change and adaptation measures into strategies for poverty reduction, to ensure sustainable development.