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.

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.

With a national electrification rate of an estimated 40 per cent and with certain rural areas having an electrification rate as low as 6 per cent, the time is ripe in The Gambia for the Rural Electrification with Renewable Energy (RE) Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA). A number of building blocks have already been put in place in the country. The 2013 Renewable Energy Act provides the framework for both on and off-grid renewable energy tariffs and net metering, as well as establishing a national RE Fund. There has been development of pilot renewable energy projects as well as diesel powered multi-function platforms, which provide energy access for economic activities in rural areas. The NAMA has five key objectives which are: 1. Increase the level of renewable energy (for electricity) and contribute to the national long-term target of increasing the share of renewable energy within the power generation sector. 2. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the power generation sector. 3. Increase the rural population’s access to sustainable electricity. 4. Encourage an increase in rural community income generation, and improve rural livelihoods. 5. Increase the level of private sector participation within the power sector. These objectives will be accomplished through a number of activities, divided into Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 1 activities will include the establishment of two types of ventures which will connect unelectrified rural communities: RE Community Energy Centres (RE-CEC) and RE Micro-Grids (RE-MGs). Phase 2 ventures will comprise RE systems which will displace thermal generation at existing regional grids (referred to as RE Displacement Systems—RE-DIS) and RE independent power producers (RE-IPPs).

A Renewables Readiness Assessment (RRA) is a holistic evaluation of a country’s conditions and identifies the actions needed to overcome barriers to renewable energy deployment. This is a country-led process, with IRENA primarily providing technical support and expertise to facilitate consultations among different national stakeholders. While the RRA helps to shape appropriate policy and regulatory choices, each country determines which renewable energy sources and technologies are relevant and consistent with national priorities. The RRA is a dynamic process that can be adapted to each country’s circumstances and needs. Experience in a growing range of countries and regions, meanwhile, has allowed IRENA to continue refining the basic RRA methodology. In June 2013, IRENA published a guide for countries seeking to conduct the process in order to accelerate their renewable energy deployment.

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.

The Republic of The Gambia ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994 committing the country to the adoption and implementation of policies and measures mitigating the causes of climate change and adapting to its adverse effects. This Second National Communication (SNC), prepared and submitted in fulfilment of Articles 4 and 12 of the UNFCCC follows and builds on the Initial National Communication (INC) submitted in 2003. Similarly, its preparation follows the UNFCCC guidelines and includes information on The Gambia‟s greenhouse gas inventory for the year 2000, a discussion of measures to mitigate emissions in the energy sector, vulnerability and promising adaptation measures in key socioeconomic sectors as well as other activities contributing to building resilience to climate change.

This historical timeline summarizes the most important events of the CCA Policy Process in The Gambia.

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. 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.