15 Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources …
347
5.3 Climate Change Impacts on Inland Fisheries
and Adaptation Strategies
Fishing is the primary livelihood of many residents around the main surface water
bodies, both natural and artificial, such as the Lake Volta (Mul et al. 2015). The
majority of fish species found in the basin are edible. Along the shoreline of Lake
Volta are over 1,200 fishing villages inhabited largely by impoverished rural populations whose livelihood is primarily fishing in the lake. It is estimated that over
80,000 fishers and 20,000 fish processors and traders are involved in Lake Volta
fishing (UNEP-GEF Volta Project 2013). Inland fisheries are the major livelihood of
many communities along the Volta River, and fish provide about 60% of total protein
requirements of Ghana; inland fisheries and aquaculture contribute about 20% of
Ghana’s total production of fish (UNEP-GEF Volta Project 2013).
Fisheries encompass a wide range of ecological and socioeconomic components
within the Volta Basin; artisanal fishery dominates employment in the fishing industry
and is active year-round. Artisanal fishermen use traditional wooden boats, sometimes motorized, with a variety of gear, including nets, lines and seines. In addition
to natural fish resources in the basin, aquaculture development, particularly caged
fish production, is increasing, especially in Lake Volta and in downstream reaches
of the river. Traditional processing methods include smoking, drying, salting and
curing (UNEP-GEF Volta Project 2013).
Climate change is projected to impact fisheries and aquaculture through water
stress and competition for limited water resources, which have the potential to
adversely impact aquaculture operations and inland fisheries production and increase
the likelihood of conflicts among water users Poff et al. (2002) and Cochrane et al.
(2009). The projected impacts of climate change on fisheries are both social and
economic for fishing communities.
5.4 Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Issues
The freshwater ecosystems of the Volta Basin provide a number of services that
contribute to local livelihoods and larger-scale basin objectives, including food, fuel
and construction materials, regulating flows (reducing peak and increasing baseflows) and habitats for animals, such as migrant birds, which may attract tourism and
recreational activity.
Medicinal and pharmaceutical products are derived from various forest and
wetland products in the basin. The leaves, bark, seeds and roots of a range of plant
species are used for a variety of pharmaceutical and medicinal products, which are
also derived from the fauna that inhabits the ecosystems in the basin. But flora
species are threatened in Burkina Faso, Mali and Togo. In Burkina Faso, a study
in the southern Sahelian zone (axis Kaya-Tougouri-Yalgo) corresponding to the
White Volta-Nakambe watershed indicates that some flora species have shown a
347
5.3 Climate Change Impacts on Inland Fisheries
and Adaptation Strategies
Fishing is the primary livelihood of many residents around the main surface water
bodies, both natural and artificial, such as the Lake Volta (Mul et al. 2015). The
majority of fish species found in the basin are edible. Along the shoreline of Lake
Volta are over 1,200 fishing villages inhabited largely by impoverished rural populations whose livelihood is primarily fishing in the lake. It is estimated that over
80,000 fishers and 20,000 fish processors and traders are involved in Lake Volta
fishing (UNEP-GEF Volta Project 2013). Inland fisheries are the major livelihood of
many communities along the Volta River, and fish provide about 60% of total protein
requirements of Ghana; inland fisheries and aquaculture contribute about 20% of
Ghana’s total production of fish (UNEP-GEF Volta Project 2013).
Fisheries encompass a wide range of ecological and socioeconomic components
within the Volta Basin; artisanal fishery dominates employment in the fishing industry
and is active year-round. Artisanal fishermen use traditional wooden boats, sometimes motorized, with a variety of gear, including nets, lines and seines. In addition
to natural fish resources in the basin, aquaculture development, particularly caged
fish production, is increasing, especially in Lake Volta and in downstream reaches
of the river. Traditional processing methods include smoking, drying, salting and
curing (UNEP-GEF Volta Project 2013).
Climate change is projected to impact fisheries and aquaculture through water
stress and competition for limited water resources, which have the potential to
adversely impact aquaculture operations and inland fisheries production and increase
the likelihood of conflicts among water users Poff et al. (2002) and Cochrane et al.
(2009). The projected impacts of climate change on fisheries are both social and
economic for fishing communities.
5.4 Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Issues
The freshwater ecosystems of the Volta Basin provide a number of services that
contribute to local livelihoods and larger-scale basin objectives, including food, fuel
and construction materials, regulating flows (reducing peak and increasing baseflows) and habitats for animals, such as migrant birds, which may attract tourism and
recreational activity.
Medicinal and pharmaceutical products are derived from various forest and
wetland products in the basin. The leaves, bark, seeds and roots of a range of plant
species are used for a variety of pharmaceutical and medicinal products, which are
also derived from the fauna that inhabits the ecosystems in the basin. But flora
species are threatened in Burkina Faso, Mali and Togo. In Burkina Faso, a study
in the southern Sahelian zone (axis Kaya-Tougouri-Yalgo) corresponding to the
White Volta-Nakambe watershed indicates that some flora species have shown a