Abstract
Gunjur village in Kombo South West
Coast Region, The Gambia is like several Gambian rural coastal
communities vulnerable to the negative impacts of coastal erosion.
Wherein such negative impacts are felt by the rural community and
influences deleteriously on their livelihood and well-being. Therefore,
there is the urgent necessity to reduce the vulnerability of community
members such as farmers, fishermen, fish smokers, fish mongers to the
impacts of coastal erosion.
Furthermore, measuring vulnerability is a key to
effective risk reduction and the promotion of a culture of disaster
resilience. Thereupon, this study assesses the social vulnerability of
households to coastal erosion in Gunjur village by using the MOVE
framework. Primary data is obtained through questionnaire
administration, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), expert interview and
portable GPS Receiver; while secondary data is obtained from published
technical documents, and already published related research. The data is
analyzed using Statistical and GIS tools.
Meanwhile, the study
identifies the socio-economic characteristics, the level of exposure,
susceptibility, and lack of resilience of the concerned coastal
community. Moreover, most of the households interviewed are resource
poor and at the same time vulnerable to a slow and creeping hazard such
as coastal erosion amidst a changing climate and variability. The key
finding during the social vulnerability assessment is that women are
more vulnerable than men. This is true when considering things such as
the high unemployment rate, illiteracy rate, the percentage of women
with no ownership of land, reliance on rain-fed agriculture and the
heavy dependence on scare natural resources like firewood. Thus, the
urgent necessity for government and relevant authorities to empower
women so that they can realize their full potential, and take their
rightful place in national development.
Among the things
recommended, are construction of break waters and groins (hard
engineering) at strategic locations along the Gambian coast, beach
nourishment project (soft engineering), alternative livelihood
activities, a robust well integrated policy framework for Climate Change
and Natural Resource Management that takes into account sound
adaptation
and mitigation measures; this will in turn avoid
mal-adaptation, build resilience at all levels, thereby reduce
vulnerability and enhance human security.