Climate plans must include solutions by and for communities

“This is where we used to grow rice, before the sea swept our fields away,” Sanca Albino says, pointing to the beach, where the waves crash relentlessly.  

The Bijagos Archipelago in Guinea-Bissau – once home to prosperous agricultural land that ensured its population's survival – is experiencing the devastating effects of climate change, as the Atlantic Ocean swallows its fields. Sanca is chief of the Boataï community on one of the Bijagos islands, where Inter Pares works with Tiniguena, a local counterpart. 

In the face of this crisis, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit fossil fuel consumption are simply not enough. At a time when scientists and civil society are calling for action, national decision-makers continue to do nothing. This is compounded by the promotion of false solutions that hide capitalist interests.

For example, the mangroves that cover 10% of Guinea-Bissau have attracted carbon commodification initiatives. Because they absorb carbon, mangrove preservation projects can be used to generate carbon credits that are then purchased by companies or countries trying to offset their own emissions. 

For communities that are vulnerable to climate change, carbon credit systems may appear as a viable means to obtain sorely needed funds. But the agreements made between polluters and communities can leave the latter without authority over their own land―their means of subsistence and survival.  

“What we need to do is leave fossil fuels in the ground and take part in concrete climate action that is based on equity and justice,” explains Miguel de Barros, Executive Director at Tiniguena.Inter Pares collaborates with local counterparts like Tiniguena and people like Sanca, in Guinea-Bissau and elsewhere in West Africa, to try to find concrete, community-based solutions to climate change.  

For example, in Boataï, women are establishing community gardens using holistic and sustainable agricultural practices. This initiative helps diversify their sources of income and food, as shellfish populations dwindle in response to rising ocean temperatures. 

On the beach, Sanca points out a tree that is over one hundred years old, a silent witness to decades of her people's history. “The water is rising so fast; soon it won't be there anymore.” 

Only a few weeks later, the tree was lost to the rising water – demonstrating the urgent need to develop local and sustainable climate actions.   

In West Africa, it is the biggest polluters who have the most influence over climate adaptation policy today. We are determined to put the power into the hands of those who are most affected by climate change, especially women and youth, so as to create climate solutions that are based on their knowledge and reflect their needs. Only an inclusive approach can guarantee a sustainable future for us all.