This article is part of a Synergies series on African trade and sustainability priorities and interests. Any views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of TESS or any of its partner organizations or funders.

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Senegal is among the countries whose historical contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions remains marginal. Yet it is already experiencing severe climate impacts. Since the 1950s, average temperatures have risen by nearly 2°C, while annual rainfall has declined by approximately 250 millimetres, contributing to the gradual southward expansion of arid zones from the north of the country. According to the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), Senegal ranks as the 35th most vulnerable country in the world.

This vulnerability poses a major challenge to economic development. The agricultural, fisheries, and tourism sectors, which play a vital role in employment, exports, food security, and livelihoods, are directly exposed to the impacts of climate change. At the same time, Senegal’s export profile shows a trend towards sectors with high environmental impacts. Meanwhile, evolutions in international trade and growing environmental requirements are introducing new determinants of competitiveness.

For Senegal, climate resilience is no longer merely an environmental concern: it has become an economic, trade, and social imperative.

Agriculture Facing Increasing Climate-Related Pressure

Agriculture accounts for 10–16% of Senegal’s GDP and provides a livelihood for nearly 60% the of the working population. However, the sector faces mounting challenges linked to climate change.

Declining and erratic rainfall is undermining irrigated areas and heightening the risk of water shortages in several strategic agricultural zones, notably the Niayes and the Senegal River Valley. Projections indicate that yields of the main food crops could fall by 20–50% by 2050.

This situation is leading to growing instability in marketable volumes and complicating the process of entering into contracts with buyers. It also reduces the capacity of Senegal’s agricultural sectors to meet the demands of regional and international markets on a consistent basis. These difficulties are compounded by new sanitary and phytosanitary and traceability requirements, which increasingly determine access to export markets.

Fisheries Threatened by the Degradation of Marine Ecosystems

Fisheries are a fundamental pillar of the Senegalese economy. The sector accounts for 3.2% of GDP, provides nearly 70% of the country’s animal protein intake, and generates around 600,000 direct and indirect jobs.

However, the warming of surface waters south of the Canary Current is causing significant changes in the distribution of fish stocks. Certain emblematic species, such as round sardinella, are gradually migrating northwards, reducing the catches available to Senegalese fishers.

This trend is affecting the entire value chain, from the landing of catch to processing and export. Operating costs are rising, while the size, quality, and regularity of catches are declining. These difficulties are undermining the ability of Senegalese exporters to guarantee stable volumes and consistent quality; two essential conditions for maintaining their presence on international markets.

Furthermore, growing requirements regarding certification, traceability, and sustainability present additional challenges. Environmental certification systems, often designed for industrial fishing, remain costly and difficult to implement for Senegal’s small-scale fisheries, which are characterized by their diversity of species and fishing techniques.

Tourism Vulnerable to Coastal Risks

Tourism accounts for 7–9% of national GDP and is one of the country’s main sources of foreign exchange. However, the sector is heavily dependent of the quality coastal ecosystems, which are now threatened by coastal erosion and more frequent extreme weather events.

The damage caused by coastal erosion has already run to several hundred million dollars and directly affects seaside tourism infrastructure. The degradation of beaches and ecosystems reduces the appeal of certain destinations while increasing the maintenance costs of facilities.

At the same time, international tourists and investors are placing increasing importance on environmental criteria. Sustainability standards and certification schemes are gradually becoming key determinants of competitiveness for tourist destinations.

Climate Competitiveness as an Increasingly Decisive Factor

Beyond sector-specific impacts, Senegal must also adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape of international trade. New environmental regulations, particularly those implemented by the European Union, are tightening requirements related to traceability, compliance, and sustainability.

These developments are taking place at a critical juncture marked by the prospect of Senegal’s graduation from least developed country (LDC) status by 2029. This transition could reduce access to certain preferential trade arrangements and increase competitive pressures on Senegalese exports.

Faced with these challenges, Senegal is gradually developing an approach that combines climate adaptation, economic transformation, and trade competitiveness.

The Senegal 2050 Vision places four growth drivers at the heart of the country’s development strategy: extractive industries, the agri-food sector, manufacturing activities, and high-value-added services. Within this framework, economic diversification is viewed as a key driver of resilience.

In the agricultural sector, efforts are focused on promoting climate-smart farming practices. These include the distribution of drought-resistant seeds, the adoption of solar-powered irrigation systems, improvements to post-harvest management, and the strengthening of local storage and processing infrastructure. These investments help to increase productivity while reducing vulnerability to climate-related shocks.

In the fisheries sector, priorities include strengthening scientific monitoring systems, improving fisheries resource management, and developing traceability systems. The aim is to preserve fish stocks while facilitating access to markets that increasingly demand sustainability guarantees.

For tourism, resilience efforts focus on coastal protection, the promotion of ecotourism and community-based tourism, and the gradual integration of environmental criteria into sectoral policies. Coastal protection projects already implemented demonstrate that risks can be reduced while preserving the appeal as tourist destinations.

More broadly, a range of reforms seek to leverage trade as a tool for climate adaptation. These include reducing barriers to the import of green technologies, facilitating technology transfer, strengthening certification capacities, and pooling compliance costs for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Concrete initiatives already illustrate the value of this approach. A project led by the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, for example, aimed at simplifying the import of climate-resilient seeds and seedlings, provides a promising example of how trade policies can support climate adaptation.

Other sector-specific initiatives, which are as yet on small scale, such as the use of organic fertilizers, need to be encouraged and developed at scale to help regenerate soils depleted by years of intensive use of chemical fertilizers. Senegal has a considerable asset: phosphate reserves (with the possibility of exploitation estimated at two centuries at least). Some countries in the region are already beginning to use phosphate to produce granules for organic fertilizer applications.

Furthermore, climate finance, which is still rarely used as a tool for climate resilience, is beginning to attract interest from local banks. Establishing stronger links between international financing schemes or mechanisms that offer attractive credit conditions and local financial institutions will be essential to address the substantial investment needs associated with climate-resilient economic activities.

Climate change is now one of Senegal’s main development challenges. Its impacts on agriculture, fisheries, and tourism directly threaten food security, employment, and export performance. In a global context where environmental requirements are increasingly shaping competitiveness, climate resilience has emerged as a fundamental condition for economic development.

Yet the measures undertaken by Senegal in response demonstrate that these challenges can be turned into opportunities. By combining climate adaptation, economic diversification, value chain modernization, and integration into sustainable markets, Senegal can strengthen its resilience while consolidating its position in the global economy of the future.

* This article draws on a presentation at the WTO Trade and Environment Week 2026.

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Ahmed Tidiane DIA is Director of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Senegal.

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