In West Africa, coastal areas are home to essential resources and socioeconomic activities such as fishing, tourism and mining. Despite being a major driver in national economies, these areas are part of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Coastal areas are exposed to rising sea levels, extreme weather events and subsequent loss of structures, properties, and lives in addition to coastal resource depletion. Socioeconomic development is heavily reliant on both human and natural resources. To put this into perspective, consider that the fisheries sector alone generates over $600 million revenue annually. Tourism generates billions of dollars in revenue annually in the West African region. These industries are just one of many industries hosted by coastal areas in West Africa and are at risk of the crippling effects of climate change.
Currently, about 35% of the population of West African countries reside in non-coastal areas, with the number expected to increase in the future. The coastal areas, however, are under increasing threats posed by climate change. Industries and livelihoods dependent on coastal resources will be heavily affected, and national development crippled.
For this reason, coastal issues cannot be left out of the National Adaptation Planning (NAP) processes, especially in countries across West Africa. WA BiCC, in collaboration with NAP Global, organised a regional workshop in Lomé, Togo from October 17-20 to understand how six countries in West Africa (Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Togo) are currently integrating coastal issues into their National Adaptation Plans. This workshop, supported by Togolese Ministry of Environment and Forest Resources (MERF), was an excellent learning and exchange platform between West African countries currently working on their respective NAP processes. Togo, despite completion of their NAP policy document, learnt from Senegal the need to scale down the National Plan to the local level.
