INLAND FISHERIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE

1. INLAND FISHERIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE A CASE STUDY OF THE LAKE CHILWA FISHERY Daniel Jamu WorldFish Center, Malawi

2. Objective • To illustrate that inland fisheries productivity and livelihoods are affected by climatic anomalies resulting from climate change impacts affect • To present and share experiences of the Lake Chilwa basin on climate change adaptation in inland fisheries.

3. Inland Fisheries and Climate Change • Lake Tanganyika: Warming climate has increased surface water temperature, reduced primary productivity and reduced fish catch rate over the last century (O’Reilly, 2003); • Lake Malawi: evidence of warming and eutrophication (Vollmer et al., 2005, Otu et al., 2011); • Shallow lakes(Chad, Bangweulu, Chilwa) • Surface area and water levels fluctuate with regional rainfall anomalies • Fish catches, fishing activity and livelihoods mirror observed fluctuations (Jul-Larsen, 2003)

4. Malawi Fisheries Fact Sheet • 65,000MT = total annual production • US$64m = annual value (beach value) of fisheries production • 500,000 = Number of people directly employed by the fisheries sector • 15 = Rank (n=132 in terms of vulnerability of national economy to climate-change driven impacts on fisheries (Allison et al.,2008)

5. LAKE CHILWA CASE STUDY • Ramsar site • Area: 2,310km2 (1,836 km2 open water) • Shallow (Mean Depth = 1.5m; Max. Depth = 2.5m) • High fish production (16,000MT per year) • Fish valuable resource (US$17m/year)

6. LAKE CHILWA CASE STUDY • Lake levels dependent on rainfall • Fish production driven by lake levels • Prone to partial or complete drying • Dried 8 times in last 100 years

7. Rainfall variability and lake water levels Relationship between lake levels and rainfall at Chileka (nearest station with reliable rainfall data (Rebelo et al., 2011)

8. Lake Chilwa prone to periodic drying Lake Chilwa normal year (Left) and Lake Chilwa dry year (Right)

9. Non-climatic factors affecting lake water levels changes • Increased runoff and siltation • Poor agricultural practices + Deforestation • Wetland and forest biomass burning Fire incidence in Lake Chilwa basin (Rebelo et al.2011) Afforestation of degraded slopes

10. Lake water level variability and fish production Historical mean annual lake level (m) of Lake Chilwa and total catch(metric tons). Arrows show periods of partial (broken) and complete (solid) line

11. Fish production and livelihoods Livelihoods of fishers, traders and basin communities mirror changes in lake hydrology . Arrows denote periods of complete drying

12. Responding to impacts of climate change on livelihoods in the basin LAKE CHILWA BASIN CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PROGRAMME • Funded by Royal Norwegian Embassy • Implemented by LEAD/University of Malawi, WorldFish Center and Forestry Research Institute of Malawi

13. Overall Goal • To secure the livelihoods of 1.5 million people in the Lake Chilwa Basin and build capacity of rural communities to manage the impacts of climate change. • Capacity strengthening • Improve adaptive capacity • Facilitate cross-sector planning and management for climate change in the basin

14. Programme Framework Exposure Impact Vulnerability Sensitivity Adger,2000, IPCC, 2001 Adaptive capacity ECOSYSTEMAPPROACH

15. Climate Change Vulnerability

16. Adaptive capacity of Lake Chilwa Communities • Strong social capital • Weak human, financial, natural and physical capital • Low literacy • Low incomes and poor access to credit • Degraded forests and agricultural land; declining fish catches • Dilapidated educational and health infrastructure

17. Addressing weak adaptive capacity

18. FISH VALUE ADDITION AND PROCESSING Increased rainfall High Post Harvest Losses High water levels High Fish Catches Low fisher income Climate change Climatic anomalies Reduced adaptive capacity High temperatures High Firewood consumption Reduced natural capital High deforestation rate

19. FISH VALUE ADDITION AND ADAPTIVE CAPACITY • Smoking kilns reduce post-harvest losses and save firewood by 30% • Save 2400 tons of wood (30ha of mature forest)

20. FISH VALUE ADDITION AND ADAPTIVE CAPACITY Reduction of post harvest losses and improved food safety by solar fish driers = Increased Incomes

21. STRENGHTENING CAPACITY OF WOMEN FISH TRADERS • Women fish processors participating in a National Agriculture Fair. Leadership training

22. INCREASING ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE • Participatory fish monitoring using log books • Reduced IUU • Improved management Spatial mapping of fishing areas

23. INCREASING ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE Afforestation of degraded slopes Promotion of village forest areas Regulate river flow and reduce siltation of Lake Chilwa

24. INCREASING ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE Soil erosion monitoring to inform farmers and managers Conservation agriculture to reduce soil erosion and runoff to the lake

25. INCREASING ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE Long term lake water level monitoring

26. CONCLUDING REMARKS • Lake Chilwa ecosystem and communities is an example of an inland fishery affected by climatic anomalies resulting from climate change impacts • IPCC framework for defining vulnerability relevant for design and implementation of Lake Chilwa climate change adaptation programme • Adaptive capacity measures with short term economic benefits are good candidates for achieving quick wins during early stages of implementation