The discovery of oil and gas in West Africa’s coastal and marine ecoregion has raised both fears and hopes among the population, as the environmental issue of this new industry seems to be receiving little attention in the debates. Indeed, if the industry is not regulated by adequate rules, its activities can harm the overall health of the marine ecosystem. In this context, information sharing and communication are essential to raise awareness among the various stakeholders.
To this end, several NGOs with the support of the Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation in West Africa (PRCM) have carried out activities that have led to the establishment of Environmental Watch and Warning Committees in Senegal, Sierra Leone and Mauritania.
In Kayar and Saint – Louis in Senegal, the NGO Green Senegal has set up Environmental Watch and Warning Committees consisting of about twenty members, each from a socio-professional organization active in the fishing industry and related businesses. Their main mission is to ensure, effectively and efficiently, the preservation of the environment and the defense of the interests of communities affected by the discovery of gas deposits in these areas. A training session for the committee members followed. In order to be able to carry out their advocacy later on, participants received extensive information on the legal principles related to the fishing industry.
In Sierra Leone, the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL), in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency, has been active in the establishment of local watch and warning committees in 7 coastal communities including Rokupr, Mambolo, Sulima, Gbondapi, Shenge, Aberdeen and Tombo and in the urban and rural districts of Kambia, Pujehun, Moyamba and Western Area respectively. The committees are composed of key stakeholders directly or indirectly concerned with marine resources. These include boat owners, fishermen, farmers, harbormasters, marine officials and local authorities.
The team then explained to the various stakeholders the value of forming committees to monitor their marine environment for potential risks related to oil and gas activities.
In Mauritania, the NGO BiodiverCités has set up three environmental watch and warning committees in three villages of the Banc d’Arguin National Park. This operation was carried out during village assemblies that validated the applications of volunteers. The committees are each composed of a village chief, two ship captains, a civil society organization, a representative of women’s cooperatives and a youth association. Their role is to act as a relay between the village communities and the authorities in charge of managing pollution and disasters related to oil and gas activities.
