The Abidjan Convention

Kari Synnøve Johansen

By GRID-Arendal

April 4^th, 2017

Last week marked as an important week for the Abidjan Convention – the UN Regional Seas Programme for West, Central and Southern Africa – and a collaborative partner of GRID-Arendal. From the 27-31 March the 12th Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Convention took place in Abidjan, Côte d´Ivoire.

GRID-Arendal was present both at the Expert and Ministerial Segments of the event.

The Conference of the Parties, which meets every 2-3 years, is the Convention´s highest decision-making body, and as such provides a forum for the member states to advance decisions on the strategic direction of the Convention.

With the main theme “Integrated Ocean Management policies in Africa”, the Abidjan Convention 12th CoP was highly relevant for GRID-Arendal´s Mami Wata team, a 4-year project which focuses on Integrated Ocean Management (IOM) in the region. The CoP included expert contributions, country delegates presenting national initiatives and a wide range of side events. Two side events were run by GRID-Arendal in collaborations with partners, marking the launch of two publication relevant for the region; one on the socio-economics of Large Marine Ecosystems (LME) in the region, and one on Blue Carbon Financing of Mangrove Conservation in West Africa.

The Convention, with the full name 'The Convention for Cooperation in the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Atlantic Coast of the West, Central and Southern Africa Region', covers a geographic area of 22 countries stretching from Mauritania to South-Africa. Established in 1984, its headquarters was first in Nairobi, Kenya, but as in 2010 a revitalization process began and the Convention´s Secretariat was moved to Abidjan, Côte d´Ivoire. Here it has grown from one to over 20 staff, and with a growing number of Contracting Parties that now almost covers the whole Atlantic Coast of Africa.

The region, while it is highly rich in productive ecosystems and biodiversity, struggles with severe environmental challenges, including illegal fishing, marine pollution, coastal erosion, and mangrove forest degradations. Addressing the complex sources of the degradation of the ocean and coastal areas demands collective action and coordinated responses from neighboring countries. The Convention provides a key regional platform for such environmental matters to be brought to the agenda and acted upon.

The spirit of cooperation among Parties and Partners at the CoP was really inspiring“ says Christian Neumann, Programme Leader GRID-Arendal. “Participants kept emphasizing both the opportunities of working in a Convention, but also how sound ocean management can support Sustainable Development and a Blue Economy. Our joint Mami Wata Project will be a strong contribution to this for the coming years."