Coastal countries, mostly members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) have agreed to pool their efforts and resources for better resilience in the face of the coastal erosion.

Representatives of these coastal countries met on Thursday, November 17, 2022 in Abidjan, as part of the 9th session of the regional steering committee for the West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (WACA-RESIP) , to harmonize their views and objectives on the matter.

“We need to pool resources to overcome this problem, to which the WACA project provides an answer. Many challenges remain to be met and we welcome the support of the partners. Our wish is to carry out actions on the entire extent of the coast”, declared the director of cabinet of the Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Parfait Kouadio.

For the representative of Minister Jean-Luc Assi, Côte d’Ivoire is ready to play its part within the framework of this common project which concerns most of the countries of the West African coastal zone. “As far as Côte d’Ivoire is concerned, many projects are being implemented, particularly in Grand-Lahou and Grand-Bassam. The prospects are good, we will act within the framework of the fight against coastal erosion on the entire stretch of the coast, which is more than 500 kilometers long,” he said.

The resident representative of the WAEMU Commission, Gustave Diasso explained that this is a cross-cutting issue that affects several countries including those outside the Union. He assured that the Commission is committed to facing the challenge of coastal erosion. “It is clear that this is not an issue that can be won by a single State, we offer the framework, because issues related to coastal erosion are at the heart of the commission’s action”, a- he indicated.

Coastal erosion increasingly a reality in WAEMU coastal countries

For Mr. Diasso, the issue of coastal erosion affecting Member States, populations and well-being, at the level of the Commission’s strategic framework for the period 2021-2025, particular emphasis has been placed on the issue. “We are willing and available to support the States to meet the challenge of good coastal management at the level of our regional space”, he assured.

The Senior Environmental Engineer in charge of the WACA project at the World Bank, Nicolas Desramaut, explained that all six countries involved in the WACA-RESIP1 project, including Mauritania, Senegal, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin and Sao Tome and Principe have already accomplished a number of very important steps for the resilience of coastal areas.

“The idea is to scale up, to be able to extend the initiative of the WACA program spatially with this new operation which will take place in Guinea-Bissau, Ghana and Gambia, but also is to consolidate achievements at the national level. We have a set of elements thanks to the work done by the different countries, by the regional partners,” he said.

He added that, “the idea is to provide a harmonized and joint solution to support the countries both financially and technically on this major issue which is the support of coastal populations to the problems of coastal erosion and sea floods”.

For the representative of the Minister of Living Environment and Sustainable Development of Benin, Adanbiokou Jeanne marries Akakpo, climate change is perceptible and lived reality. “It is a reality that we all have to face and it is right that the countries have formulated the WACA project with the support of the World Bank to find adequate solutions to fight against coastal erosion. One country cannot solve this problem alone, she said.

Source: Agence Ivoirienne De Presse