Effects of Climate Change on Volta Lake Resources (VOLTRES)

project summary

Africa is very likely to experience higher temperature increases than the rest of the earth during the 21st century. Extreme rainfall events are predicted to increase for West Africa. Climate change (CC) will influence the ecosystem in lakes by changes in the physical (water temperature, stratification, transparency), chemical (nutrient loading, oxygen) and biological (structure and functioning of the ecosystem) components. The Volta Lake is the main source of inland fish in Ghana, a source of livelihood for over 1,200 riparian communities and the main medium for cage fish farming in Ghana. The fishery of the Lake is heavily exploited and CC is expected to worsen the situation. VOLTRES will assess the impacts of CC on hydrology, water quality, primary production and fish production of the Lake and improve the understanding of the ecosystem functioning through a combination of field data sampling with empirical biophysical and mechanistic ecological modeling of the catchment-lake system. The river basin and lake ecosystem models will be validated using existing data as well as data generated through monitoring. Results, lessons, skills and recommendations from the project will be disseminated through stakeholder workshops, seminars, policy briefs, and journal publications. The output will contribute significantly towards addressing the major needs identified in the Ghana National CC Adaptation Strategy in the design and implementation of programmes on fishery management.