Africa’s freshwater ecosystems are impacted by many threats due to climate change and several anthropogenic activities. In Côte d’Ivoire, the economy relies mostly on agriculture, which covers around 64% of the land surface. The study aimed to investigate Côte d’Ivoire fishermen’s perception of climate change, its drivers and other anthropogenic activities impacting freshwater fish biodiversity. The fish species locally threatened in the Ivorian freshwater ecosystems were also investigated. Face to face interviews and a structured questionnaire were used. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, means, and standard deviation, minimum and maximum. The multinomial logit regression was also applied to test factors that influence fishermen’s awareness and perception of climate change and their perception of change in fish abundance. The results show that around 72.7% of fishermen were aware of climate change. Decreases of precipitation (87.9%) and increases of temperature (76.1%) were observed by fishermen. Also, a significant decrease in fish quantity was observed by respondents. Climate change and anthropogenic activities such as gold mining, water withdrawal, use of small-mesh fishing nets, overfishing, industrial waste pollution, pesticides use for agricultural purposes along watersheds, obnoxious fishing practices and population growth, were highlighted as the main reasons for this decline. Species such as Lates niloticus, Heterotis niloticus, Parachanna obscura, Malapterurus electricus, Sarotherodon galilaeus, Tilapia zillii, Polpyterus endlicheri and Labeo coubie were listed by fishermen as locally threatened within Ivorian freshwater ecosystems. Actions and policies are needed to be taken by local authorities to ensure the sustainability of fisheries resources. The information obtained from this study constitutes a prerequisite for developing and implementing studies or policies aimed at mitigating and combating the negative effect of climate change and anthropogenic activities on the Ivorian freshwater ecosystem.

The objective of this study was to characterize the agro-morphological diversity of plantain accessions. 18 quantitative variables and 20 qualitative variables were measured. The results of the analysis of the qualitative variables revealed important traits such as black Sigatoka resistance of FHIA 21, Pita 3, M53, Calculta 4 and Banskii accessions and the firm fruit texture of Galeo, Kokor, French sombre and Corne 1 accessions. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) performed with the quantitative variables separated the 9 accessions into 4 groups with particular and important characteristics which can be exploited differently in genetic improvement programme according to the breeding objective. From these results, it appears clearly that the objective is achieved.Keywords: Sigatoka, qualitative variables, quantitative variables, genetic improvement.

Background. In Africa, it has been estimated that 50 million cattle and 70 million sheep and goats are at risk of animal African trypanosomiasis, and three million cattle die annually. Methods. This study was conducted in all the regions of The Gambia except Kombo Saint Mary Island (Banjul). Structured questionnaires were administered to 440 randomly selected livestock owners and 23 livestock assistants, and 7 focus group discussions were held for both livestock owners and livestock assistants. The data were analyzed mainly using descriptive statistics and content analysis methods. Results. A total of 94.5% and 75% of livestock owners reported having seen tsetse and horse flies, respectively, while 100% of livestock assistants reported having seen tsetse flies. Forty-seven percent of the livestock owners indicated a positive attitude toward control measures, while 42% of them had no idea how to control tsetse flies. On the other hand, 57% of livestock assistants believe that tsetse and horse flies are the main reasons why AAT is still in their community. There was a statistically significant difference between all the respondents’ characteristics and the practices done by livestock owners to prevent AAT vectors from biting their animals. Conclusion. This study shows that trypanosomiasis is still a major problem for livestock health and production in The Gambia, and it requires disease and vector control.

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