Cooperação Institucional e Gestão de Áreas Protegidas em Cabo Verde - O Caso do Parque Natural da ilha do Fogo

O presente trabalho monográfico que se intitula “Cooperação Institucional e Gestão de Áreas Protegidas em Cabo Verde: O Caso do Parque Natural da ilha do Fogo” enquadra-se no âmbito do curso de licenciatura em Economia e Gestão realizado pela Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde. A preservação dos recursos naturais, sobretudo das áreas protegidas, deve ser uma das prioridades dos governos a nível mundial e, sendo assim, em Cabo Verde. Entretanto, os modelos de gestão aplicados a esse respeito nem sempre têm sido eficaz e eficiente, pelo que constata-se a degradação dessas áreas com efeitos negativos, sobretudo a nível ambiental, socioeconómico, bem como científico, em decorrência da extinção de determinadas espécies vegetais e animais. O presente trabalho tem, entre outros objetivos, analisar a gestão das áreas protegidas em Cabo Verde, com realce para o Parque Ntural da ilha do Fogo e evidenciar a importância da cooperação institucional na gestão dessas áreas, e assim sugerir medidas de políticas e estratégias a esse respeito. Para a realização deste trabaho utilizou-se a metodologia com enfoque qualitativo, recorrendo assim a análise e discussão das informações obtidas através das entrevistas aplicadas aos sujeitos de pesquisa. Fez-se a análise SWOT a respeito da cooperação institucional e gestão das áreas protegidas em Cabo Verde, com realce para o Parque Natural da ilha do Fogo. Ainda, baseou-se em estudo documental e consultas aos especialistas da área.

Appraising and selecting strategies to combat and mitigate desertification based on stakeholder knowledge and globalbest practices in Cape Verde Archipelago

Cape Verde is considered part of Sahelian Africa, where drought and desertification are common occurrences. The main activity of the rural population is rain-fed agriculture, which over time has been increasingly challenged by high temporal and spatial rainfall variability, lack of inputs, limited land area, fragmentation of land, steep slopes, pests, lack of mechanization and loss of top soil by water erosion. Human activities, largely through poor farming practices and deforestation (Gomez, 1989) have accelerated natural erosion processes, shifting the balance between soil erosion and soil formation (Norton, 1987). According to previous studies, vegetation cover is one of the most important factors in controlling soil loss (Cyr et al., 1995; Hupy, 2004; Zhang et al., 2004; Zhou et al., 2006). For this reason, reforestation is a touchstone of the Cape Verdean policy to combat desertification. After Independence in 1975, the Cape Verde government had pressing and closely entangled environmental and socio-economic issues to address, as long-term desertification had resulted in a lack of soil cover, severe soil erosion and a scarcity of water resources and fuel wood. Across the archipelago, desertification was resulting from a variety of processes including poor farming practices, soil erosion by water and wind, soil and water salinity in coastal areas due to over pumping and seawater intrusion, drought and unplanned urbanization (DGA-MAAP, 2004). All these issues directly affected socio-economic vulnerability in rural areas, where about 70% of people depended directly or indirectly on agriculture in 1975. By becoming part of the Inter- State Committee for the Fight against Drought in the Sahel in 1975, the government of Cape Verde gained structured support to address these issues more efficiently. Presentday policies and strategies were defined on the basis of rational use of resources and human efforts and were incorporated into three subsequent national plans: the National Action Plan for Development (NDP) (1982–1986), the NDP (1986–1990) and the NDP (1991–1995) (Carvalho

Soil and Water Conservation Strategies in Cape Verde (Cabo Verde in Portuguese) and Their Impacts on Livelihoods - An Overview from the Ribeira Seca Watershed

Severe land degradation has strongly affected both people’s livelihood and the environment in Cape Verde (Cabo Verde in Portuguese), a natural resource poor country. Despite the enormous investment in soil and water conservation measures (SWC or SLM), which are visible throughout the landscape, and the recognition of their benefits, their biophysical and socioeconomic impacts have been poorly assessed and scientifically documented. This paper contributes to filling this gap, by bringing together insights from literature and policy review, field survey and participatory assessment in the Ribeira Seca Watershed through a concerted approach devised by the DESIRE project (the “Desire approach”). Specifically, we analyze government strategies towards building resilience against the harsh conditions, analyze the state of land degradation and its drivers, survey and map the existing SWC measures, and assess their effectiveness against land degradation, on crop yield and people’s livelihood. We infer that the relative success of Cape Verde in tackling desertification and rural poverty owes to an integrated governance strategy that comprises raising awareness, institutional framework development, financial resource allocation, capacity building, and active participation of rural communities. We recommend that specific, scientific-based monitoring and assessment studies be carried out on the biophysical and socioeconomic impact of SLM and that the “Desire approach” be scaled-up to other watersheds in the country.