IVORY COAST: membership of “Rampao”, a network of 9 countries protecting marine areas
Ivory Coast becomes the ninth member of the Regional Network of Marine Protected Areas in West Africa (Rampao) which encourages the preservation of marine biodiversity for the benefit of climate resilience and ecotourism.
The Regional Network of Marine Protected Areas in West Africa (Rampao) has a new member. This is Ivory Coast. It thus joins eight other countries including Benin, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Sierra Leone which between them are home to 38 marine protected areas (MPAs) of the sub-region. region. This membership was recently announced by the Dakar-based institution.
“Marine biodiversity transcends borders and it is together, in the unity of our commitment, that we can bring together eco-responsible actions at the West African level. We look forward to collaborating with the Ivorian authorities, conservation organizations, and all stakeholders to promote shared governance of our marine assets,” says Marie Suzanna Traoré, the executive secretary of Rampao created in April 2007.
An opinion shared by the Director of Ecology and Nature Protection at the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Côte d'Ivoire. According to Degrâce N'da Kognan, MPAs are essential in the preservation of fishery resources, the restoration of coastal habitats and the promotion of sustainable fishing. “Their roles as nature-based solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change in the most vulnerable regions, particularly in West Africa, no longer need to be demonstrated,” he explained.
Côte d'Ivoire owes this new stage to the various initiatives it has carried out for the implementation of the 14th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG14) which recommends the development of aquatic environments. Among them are the creation in 2020 of the first Ivorian marine protected area off the coast of the town of Grand-Béréby, 378 km from Abidjan. The site covering an area of 2,600 km² is home to a population of sea turtles and coral reefs which are constantly monitored by around thirty eco-guards, according to the Ivorian authorities.
