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The hazards of salt

GEF IW:LEARN

By IW:LEARN

March 1^st, 2018

Côte d’Ivoire has the second longest coast in West Africa, offering 550 kilometers of rich and unique biodiversity which the country relies on for key ecosystem services. It is estimated that 40% of the population are settled in coastal zones creating intense pressure from urbanization, fishing and tourism. These pressures are exacerbated by the effects of climate change, in particular coastal erosion caused by rising sea-levels and land degradation which has become a real threat to these coastal communities and their livelihoods.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) financed, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) implemented Environmental Management Information System (EMIS) project based in Abidjan is addressing some of these challenges by providing a mechanism for environmental data, information and knowledge management through their national Geoportal for information sharing on Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) in Côte d’Ivoire. However, the project team expressed a desire to strengthen their capacity to capture and promote national and local information on the coastal areas.

ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (Côte d'Ivoire), AFRICA. April 2013 | Shutterstock.

Almost 2374 kilometers away in Dakar, Senegal, the West African Coastal Observation Mission (WACOM) was searching for a way to get updated data on the Côte d’Ivoire coastal zone. WACOM’s objective is to build the capacity of West African societies in order to prevent and respond to coastal hazards, mainly those induced by climate change and increasing social and economic issues in coastal areas. WACOM is thus reliant on member countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, to share updated information on coastal risk which can then be translated and interpreted for decision-makers.

To strengthen the capacity of the GEF EMIS project team, and to foster ICM data and information sharing between Côte d’Ivoire and WACOM, a twinning exchange was arranged by GEF IW:LEARN from 19-23 February 2018 in Dakar, Senegal and hosted by the Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE).

“The mission was an opportunity for the team of Côte d’Ivoire GEF EMIS project to benefit from a sharing of a set of data from WACOM related to our country coastal zone”- Bernard Brou, GEF EMIS project.

During the week long exchange several lessons were learned by both the GEF EMIS project and WACOM including the need to have stronger leadership of the Ministry of Environment, the importance of using project implementation activities to collect data, and that the sustainability of the EMIS tool lies in good governance arrangements.

Key outcomes as a result of this twinning exchange were shared with GEF IW:LEARN and the following has been decided by GEF EMIS and WACOM:

The EMIS Geoportal will be the national platform that will be fed with the data collected by the WACOM national Focal Point. The Geoportal will be a channel whereby the Regional WACOM will access Cote d’Ivoire data and information on coastal zone management. A technical mechanism will be put in place within the EMIS project Geoportal so that a connection could be made online with both data bases;
A specific MoU will be established between the GEF EMIS Project and the Tropical Geography Institute (IGT) hosting the WACOM national focal Point so that the institution could contribute to the updating of data within the Geoportal and provide technical and scientific supports to the team in charge of the management of the Geoportal;
The data and information on the coastal zone within the EMIS Project Geoportal will be reorganized according to the 7 sectors of Cote d’Ivoire Coastline established by Regional WACOM;
Cote D’Ivoire set of data already in WACOM data base will be shared with the EMIS project Geoportal to contribute to the dissemination of information at national level;
The Inter-sectoral committee involved in the fight against coastal erosion will be used as the governance body of the EMIS geoportal. A workshop is scheduled in this regard with the members of this national committee to present the EMIS Geoportal and the results of WACOM

In some West African countries coastlines are eroding as much as 10 meters per year, having a detrimental and measurable impact on socio-economic development. More regional collaboration is needed to slow down and manage more effectively the impacts on coastal communities.