OUR PROJECTS
OCEAN
GAA commit to protecting at least 30% of Indigenous and local conserved areas by 2030.
We improve lives of coastal indigenous and local communities throughout Africa by accelerating the implementation of 30x30 to achieve 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs). Advancing the Adoption of 30x30 in Africa by 2030.
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
GAA team examine the needs and concerns of Indigenous and local communities concerning MPA’s and demonstrate the potential benefits of implementing MPA’s.
- Review and critically analyses existing issues on MPA’s in Africa to identify gaps which need to be addressed and opportunities for progress including in the context of achieving the SDGs.
- Examine the needs and concerns of local communities concerning MPA’s and demonstrate the potential benefits of implementing MPA’s for coastal communities.
- Agree a process for developing MPA’s engagement structure in Africa.
GAA team identifying gaps which need to be addressed and opportunities for progress including in the context of achieving 30×30 (Seascape Analysis) at the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean.
Objectives:
- To impacts traditional management, the transmission of indigenous and local knowledge and the potential for the sharing of benefits arising from the use and ability of IPLCs to conserve and sustainably manage biodiversity that benefits the broader society.
- Safe havens for more and bigger fish + species diversity
- Healthy and resilient ocean ecosystems and species that can better withstand and recover from climate impacts.
- Climate change mitigation: protecting coastal habitats that sequester and store carbon like mangroves and sea grasses. Livelihoods and food for all.
- Reduce ocean risk from extreme weather events and sea level rise through protecting coastal natural defense systems, like reefs and mangroves.
Fisheries
Environmental and Occupational Safety for Fish Farmers in Rural Coastal Communities.
Aquatic Foods as a critical component to reducing poverty, ensuring a secure nutritious food supply & bridging the gap on food wastage management solutions and combatting the worst effects of climate change in Africa.
Global Aid for Africa (GAA) works to secure a healthy, sustainable future and achieve the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.Blue Food from the sea is necessary to alleviate food crises in many developing countries, providing a valuable supplement to a diverse and nutritious diet.
That is why Africa Small Scale Fisheries Coalition (ASSFC), coordinated and supervised by Global Aid for Africa (GAA), blue food program is working on
- Protect and develop the potential of aquatic/blue foods to help end malnutrition,
- Support the central role of small-scale actors in ocean and inland fisheries and aquaculture and
- Bring aquatic/blue foods into the heart of food systems decision-making.
Occupational and Environmental Safety Training: Global Aid for Africa (GAA), through its Africa Small Scale Fisheries Coalition (ASSFC), is conducting research in coastal rural communities in Africa to train local fish farmers on occupational and environmental safety to protect and develop the potential of aquatic/blue foods to help end malnutrition in coastal rural communities by 2030.
Lack of Coastal Rural Community Environmental Safety for Fish Famers.
Lack of Coastal Fish Farming Occupational Safety.
Lack of Fishing Boat.
Support Sustainable Development and Diversification of Fish Famers to Ensure Equitable Economic Opportunity in Nutrition.
Global Aid for Africa (GAA), introducing seaweed farming to coastal fish farmers to help in blue food production, provide cash crops and open new alternative employment to enhance the socio-economic welfare of coastal communities as well as offer practical training on seaweed farming and management of natural stocks of economically important seaweed species; improve technical knowledge about seaweeds and acquire practical skills in seaweed farming techniques, processing, and marketing. The aim is to support small-scale blue food actors in ocean and inland fisheries and aquaculture.
Seaweed Economic Opportunity in Nutrition.
ASSFC Rebuilding Fish Stock.
Overfishing is widely acknowledged to be one of the major threats to marine biodiversity. GAA through its African Small-Scale Fisheries Coalition (ASSFC), promotes sustainable fisheries management for the benefit of both fishers and the environment. Overfishing not only dramatically reduces fish stocks – many of the fishing gears used also have devastating impacts on marine habitats and on non-target species such as dolphins and turtles; bottom trawling and by-catch are of particular concern. Overfishing can even cause shifts in the balance of entire marine ecosystems through the large-scale removal of predatory fish and the trend to “fish down the food web”. (ASSFC), Rebuild Fish Stock at the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean.
ASSFC Rebuilding Fish Stock at the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean.
Land
GAA Forest Management Approach for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.
Our approach
- Strengthen Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ technical capacities to conduct micro projects for sustainable natural resource management; and,
- Improve representation of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ technical capacitiesin local and national institutions and consolidate their expertise through sustainable forest and land management. This will be achieved by:
- taking IPs’ concerns into account, both politically and legislatively.
- revising the forestry code and forest policy with participation by indigenous peoples and taking their rights into account; and,
- ensuring that IPs are represented on all land management multi-stakeholder consultation platforms
IPLCs awareness and sensitization.
Protect IPLCs Wildlife, 30%
Tree Planting
Planting trees changing lives. At GAA we believe that natural resources are best protected when local people play an active role in their care and management. We are dedicated to implement projects that create healthy families and communities. We design conservation projects through Africa. Tribal lands with one question in mind: How can we improve the environment while creating economic opportunity for local people?
Waste from Land
Most of the marine litter at the Atlantic Ocean where GAA operate comes from land. Top sources include littering along the coastline and beaches, sewage treatment plants and storm water overflows, from rivers and badly managed landfills close to water ways. The amount of litter entering the seas from rivers is not fully understood, but early studies are showing them to be a major source of this kind of pollution; even cities far from the coast are still contributing to marine litter.
Awareness creation within communities
GAA awareness raising about littering plays an important part in prevention and many of our members do valuable work in this area. However, GAA focuses on how AU legislation can best be altered to create the right legislative framework to end the creation of marine litter. A move to full resource efficiency and a circular economy is essential to end the throw-away, high consumption culture we have grown accustomed to. Single-use plastics are mostly unnecessary in our lives and represent a serious environmental problem. Waste must be a valuable resource that should not be thrown away, and instead is reduced, reused, and recycled.
GAA Making commitments to reduce their plastic footprint, from reducing single-use plastic from the societies, to investing in national recycling facilities.
Waste from Ship
Port reception facilities are the waste disposal facilities provided for ships by port authorities. If these facilities are inadequate, complicated to use or simply too expensive, then it provides ship operators and crews with an incentive to dump their garbage at sea instead. This is illegal in most cases but once at sea they are unlikely to be detected by authorities. GAA is working with port authorities, CSOs, governments and local communities to end dumping waste disposal and garbage at sea.
Marine Litter
The Gulf of Guinea Atlantic Ocean marine environment is flooded with litter, most of it plastic. This type of plastic pollution has severe ecological impacts, chief among which are: it can be ingested by or entangle marine life; it breaks down into microscopic particles, which attract and absorb dangerous chemicals; and it contributes to the spread of invasive species and dangerous pathogens. Plastic pollution is a problem that neither respects boundaries nor has a single source, but, rather, can be considered a symptom of our throwaway society. In sum, plastic pollution constitutes an important threat to our planet’s ecosystems. GAA partners and members work with regional and national authorities to turn these me assures into ambitious requirements on the ground.
The Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean marine environment is flooded with litter, most of it plastic.
Engaging government, the public, and the private sector in the fight against marine plastic pollution.
Creating an informed global community working together to achieve an ocean that is not harmed by marine litter – by eliminating discharges and carrying out targeted removal.
Seaweed /Aquaculture
This is just the start: our oceans have the potential to produce 15 times more seaweed by 2050, securing employment for millions of people in Africa, absorbing carbon to help fight the climate crisis and providing essential nutrition to meet the needs of the African’s growing population.
Climate change and unsustainable practices are threatening seaweed farming along the coast of Africa. Global Aid for Africa is collaborating LIoyd’s Register Foundation supported by UN Global Compact, Safe Seaweed Coalition (SSC), local governments, and researchers to empower communities through increased productivity, environmental training, and mentorship.
