18 The draft report will be vetted through a workshop that assembles key conservation experts and
other stakeholder representatives to validate the information assembled and develop consensus among stakeholders about the level of threats and priorities the Program should address. A post-
workshop report will be prepared that takes into account workshop inputs. Timeline of Tasks
Task Q2 Q3
Q4
Identify and contract threats assessment team Jan
Team develops initial outline for the report Feb
Team develops draft report Feb
Conduct expert consultation meeting April
Produce final report May
Outputs
• Biodiversity threats assessment report that meets USAID requirements • List of priority research activities and Terms of Reference for each activity
3.1.5 Participatory Characterization of Coastal Communities and Environments Background
A field characterization of the coastal communities and shoreline environments in the Western Region will be conducted to provide local scale information for the Baseline of Coastal
Ecosystem Conditions and Governance in the Western Region
.
While Ghana has available considerable secondary data on the fisheries sector and coastal ecosystems in general, there are
many gaps in the ICFG Program team’s understanding of these systems at the community level—particularly in the Western Region. In addition, there exists in the coastal communities a
rich base of traditional ecological knowledge and local beliefs and these need to be documented and tapped. Equally important is the need to ground more fully the information on key resource
management issues and perceptions gleaned from stakeholder meetings conducted as part of the work planning process. This activity, therefore, will be a field-driven assessment that will
provide a community scale baseline of information on the more than 75 coastal communities within the Western Region. This will also provide staff and key local partners with an
opportunity to undertake a considerable amount of community consultation and socialization concerning the ICFG program. The activity is also expected to obtain stories from resource users
that can be used in communications activities and as case experiences that illustrate the human dimensions and individual impacts of issues described in the State of the Coast report. This
activity will be implemented by Program staff and the Friends of the Nation. Objectives
• Establish a community scale baseline of information on coastal communities, shoreline characteristics and resource management issues
• Introduce the ICFG Program to all coastal villages in the Western Region
19
Activities Preliminary baseline information collected on each community will be in the form of a
participatory rapid assessment and will include but not be limited to: population and social groups, public infrastructure roads and landing facilities, degree of dependence on fishing and
other household occupations, perceptions of changes in resource abundance, evolution of community institutions, and resource management issues. While a major emphasis will be on the
fishing sector as one of the primary livelihoods in these communities, the aim to also obtain information on other coastal livelihoods, local indicators of well-being or quality of life, coastal
management and community development issues, and a preliminary characterization of the physical shoreline and habitats. Such information will include but not be limited to:
• Fisheries—quantitative and descriptive data collection on the number and type of vessels and gear used and ownership; crew sizes and share systems; post harvest marketing and
processing systems; the role of women and children in the distribution of labor; traditional or defacto management practices and beliefs; mapping of fishing areas; the
role of the chief fishermen and fisherwomen in harvest and marketing systems; and systems for accessing capital and credit
• Water and sanitation issues: locations and sources of water supply; human waste disposal and presence of latrines; water seal toilets; and means of solid waste disposal and
drainage • Characterization of public health services: degree of access to family planning and
HIVAIDS prevention services, in particular • Identification of shoreline typology rocky, sandy, spit or barrier, urbanengineered and
assessment of historical erosion rates from interviews of elderly community residents, and types of major shorefront construction and development—private and public e.g.,
housing hotels, roads, landing facilities • Identification of key biodiversity assets—turtle nesting beaches, humpback whale-
feeding and nursing grounds, marine habitats of particular significance, etc. • Identification of basic conditions of coastal lagoons and wetlands, ecological functions
and services for local communities, and potential management issues such as pollution and filling
• Community institutions including chief fishermen, community-based fishery management committees CB-FMCs, fishermen associations, pre mix committees and
distribution points The sources for much of this information will be from direct observation and key informant
interviews and from locally available secondary data available at the community level. The team will also use participatory appraisals processes such as focus group events—especially to
identify key issues and opportunities at each community site. Once all coastal communities within a district have been surveyed, workshops will be held at the district level. These will
include District Assembly and other leaders who will receive a summary of the field findings and the key issues that have been identified.
This work will involve three small teams of three individuals each that will travel the coast by boat or car to visit each village. Depending on the size of the village, it will take one to three
days to complete the participatory rapid assessment. Each district has on average 10 villages.
20 Thus, the community surveys and district workshop are expected to take approximately one
month per district. Since there are six districts, each team will be charged with undertaking the assessment of two districts. It will require approximately two months to complete the field work
and workshops. A summary report will be completed in the subsequent month. Prior to fieldwork, teams will be trained and oriented to their assignments and to methods for
conducting the assessment. All three teams will work together as one team to conduct initial assessments in two villages. This provides the opportunity to test methods and processes and to
ensure that once the teams are working independently, they are collecting consistent information in a similar format. After this initial joint effort, each team will head to their respective districts
and conduct their assigned fieldwork. Timeline of Tasks
Task Q2 Q3
Q4
Identification of field team and contracting Jan
Training and orientation of field team Jan
Initial assessments in two villages Feb
Continuing community assessments by district team—first district
Feb First district workshop
April Teams reassemble and debrief
April Teams conduct assessments in second district
April Second district workshop
April Report preparation and assembly of
information for all six districts May
Preparation of maps May
Outputs
• Report summarizing community information by coastal district • Summary information on the major features of the coastline and coastal settlements in the
Western Region for inclusion in the State of the Coast report • Map of each district with location of coastal settlements, fish landings sites, fishing
grounds, critical habitats and areas of concern, and shoreline characteristics
3.1.6 Conduct a Fisheries Sector Review Background
