Coastal Resilience Project Launches in Fresco – Cote D’ivoire, to Protect Ecosystems and Improve Lives of Thousands

Fresco – Cote d’Ivoire, February 13 – A new Initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is being launched in Fresco, southern Côte d’Ivoire, on Wednesday, February 13, to promote the wellbeing of households living in an area that is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and an urgent need to increase the resilience to climate change for the area and its citizens. Until about a decade ago the Fresco coastal landscape (201 kilometers from Abidjan), despite its rich biodiversity and the significance it holds for this fishing-based economy, was not considered a vulnerable area; much attention was not paid to an area, where local communities and the coastal ecosystems they depend on are exposed to extreme and harsh climate events such as storms, high winds and floods. With an increased understanding of climate change impacts and how they interact with and exacerbate other drivers of environmental degradation and economic decline, such as deforestation and overfishing, solutions can be identified to turn the tide.

Fresco Launch Press Release