Background

The coastal zone of Benin extends on about 125 km from East to West between Togo and Nigeria and on about 60 km from the Atlantic Ocean into the Beninese hinterland. It is home to about 50% of the population and produces 70% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). About 80% of the Beninese industries are located in it. Moreover, the coastal and marine biodiversity provides many ecosystem services and is the backbone of a multitude of activities that increasingly use the marine space.

Problem

Facing a rapid demographic growth and an over-exploitation of natural resources over the last decades, the biodiversity of Benin’s coastal zone is experiencing increasing pressures. Coastal erosion, climate change and human activities such as agriculture, fisheries, trade, quarrying, and tourism are posing further treats to the marine ecosystem and to the services it provides for local populations. These emerging constraints are making the coastal zone more vulnerable, threatening the sustainability of marine resources and impacting human health and livelihoods. It is therefore imperative to take steps to reduce the impact of human activities on this complex ecosystem and to preserve the related biodiversity.

Proposed Solution

Faced with all these constraints, all the stakeholders and practitioners working within coastal and marine areas must collaborate for an integrated management of these zones. A systemic approach would take into account the complexity of the coastline both physically and in terms of management and governance. In order to achieve this, all relevant actors, sectors and activities will need be brought together. The integrated management of Benin’s coastal zones aims to bring together actors with often divergent interests around the same sustainable development project. The management tools and instruments will be decided upon and developed by mutual agreement. The overall goal of the GIZMAC project is to contribute to the harmonization of the legislative and institutional framework of the State’s action at sea.