BASELINE STUDY ON CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS IN COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN PORTLOKO, MOYAMBA AND BONTHE AND WESTERN AREA RURAL DISTRICTS OF SIERRA LEONE Plantain Island of Sierra Leone OCTOBER 1, 2020 BARTHOLOMEW BOIMA BOCKARIE Population, Environment and Development Research and Advocacy Organization, 45 Berwick Street, Freetown, Sierra Leone 1 (a) Prepared for MRCG and Partners Primary author Mr. Bartholomew Boima Bockarie 58 Berwick Street, Population, Environment, Development Research and Advocacy Organization, Freetown, Sierra Leone Cover photo: Photographer name Hingha Demby 1 (b) Published by Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) Month Year November 2020 Suggested citation Bockarie, B.B. (2020), BASELINE STUDY ON CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS IN COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN PORTLOKO, MOYAMBA AND BONTHE AND WESTERN AREA RURAL DISTRICTS OF SIERRA LEONE © UNDP/MRCG 2020. 1 Contents 1 (a) Prepared for MRCG and Partners ................................................................................................ 1 1 (b) Published by ................................................................................................................................ 1 1. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 4 2. Introduction and Context ...................................................................................................................... 6 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 6 3.2 Background and Problem .............................................................................................................. 7 3.3 Objectives of Study ....................................................................................................................... 8 3.4 Study Rationale ............................................................................................................................. 8 4 Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 9 4.1 Design and Approach .......................................................................................................................... 9 4.2 Desk Review .................................................................................................................................. 9 4.3 Primary data collection ............................................................................................................... 10 4.3.1 Quantitative Data Collection ............................................................................................... 10 4.3.2 Qualitative Data Collection ................................................................................................. 11 4.4 Data Collection and Processing ................................................................................................... 13 4.5 Recruitment and Training ........................................................................................................... 13 4.6 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................................................. 15 5 Key Findings ........................................................................................................................................ 16 5.1 Desk Study ................................................................................................................................... 16 5.2 Primary Study Findings ............................................................................................................... 16 5.2.1 Response Rate ..................................................................................................................... 16 5.2.2 Respondents demographic Characteristics ......................................................................... 17 5.2.3 Socioeconomic Characteristics of Respondent and Study Communities ........................... 19 5.2.4 Key Economic Activities, food Security and Vulnerability................................................... 21 5.2.5 Gender Roles ....................................................................................................................... 22 5.2.6 Community’s Sources of Information ................................................................................. 22 5.2.7 Climate Change Knowledge/Awareness ............................................................................. 24 5.2.8 Causes of Climate Change ................................................................................................... 28 5.2.9 Climate Change Effects ....................................................................................................... 30 5.2.10 Climate Change Prevention................................................................................................. 35 5.2.11 Climate Change Mitigation Strategies ................................................................................ 38 5.2.12 Knowledge Gap, cultural beliefs or behavioural patterns .................................................. 41 2 6 Conclusion and Recommendations..................................................................................................... 43 7 References .......................................................................................................................................... 45 8 Annexes ............................................................................................................................................... 47 6.1. Qualitative Study Tool – FGD Guides for Community Members ................................................ 47 6.2. Qualitative Study Tool – KI Interview Guide for Stakeholders.................................................... 49 3 1. Executive Summary One of the greatest global challenges in the past two decades is climate change. Climate change represents the most recent in a series of environmental drivers defining human conflict in decades. The global coastal regions are expected to be most affected by the effects of climate change. Sierra Leone’s coastal communities are no exceptions. The nation’s coastal zones are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change including storm surges, frequent and heavy precipitation and related coastal erosion which severely affect ‘social wellbeing, livelihood security, water resources and major economic sectors such as fishing, tourism and agriculture’ (UNDP, 2019). According to the UNDP representative to Sierra Leone, Dr. Samuel Doe, more than 2 million persons living along the coastal zones of Sierra Leone are either at risk or are expected to be at risk from existing and projected climate related sea level rise (USAID, 2019). However, the population’s knowledge and understanding of these issues remain unknown. The adaptation skills of the coastal populations who are likely to suffer the most, continue to be either neglected or received far less attention than they actually deserves. Therefore, a study to advance our understanding of the population’s knowledge on climate change is both timely and essential. The objectives of the study were to assess the coastal population’s awareness of climate change issues and whether there are any knowledge gaps, cultural beliefs or behavioural patterns that affect the population’s adaptation potentials. The study used a mix of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies in a two phased study, adopting a face-to-face interview with a structured questionnaire during phase one and, a Key Informant Interview (KII) and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) during the second phase for primary data collection. A total of 385 questionnaires were administered to heads of households using kobocollect installed on android devices, 23 FGDs and 15 KIIs were conducted in the six coastal communities of Hamilton, Conakry Dee, Lakka, Shenge, Tombo and Turtle Island. The SPSS and N’Vivo Software were used for the quantitative and qualitative data analysis respectively as they were easily available and user friendly. While the quantitative processing involved downloading the data in Microsoft Excel file format, exporting it into SPSS, labelling and defining the values, the qualitative data processing involved importing the transcripts into the N’Vivo software, coding of relevant sentences, phrases and sections of the transcripts, categorisation of the coded transcripts by level of importance to the study objectives and finally a thematic analysis of the entire data. The results from both studies found that the coastal population were basically aware of climate change relative to causes and effects of climate change. Statistically, it was indicated that 53.0% of the respondents have heard of climate change compared to 47.0% that had never heard of it. The qualitative findings suggested greater improvement as almost all study participants claimed to have heard of climate change. Majority of the respondents were aware of Sand Mining (63.3%), Burning firewood and charcoal (61.3%) and deforestation (50.8%) as causing climate change in their communities and beyond. The most popular consequence of climate change as identified by 60.8% of respondents was rise in sea level, global warming (58.8%) and increased occurrences of tropical storm (58.3%). There was high recognition among study respondents that they and their