"We have managed to develop strong local capacity among managers, students, and researchers in the region, and they are now ready to scale up the work and ensure policy changes are enforced to better conserve these underwater treasures."

-Iderlindo Santos, ResilienSEA regional coordinator.

Through strong engagement with local communities, the project has sensitized them to the value of protecting this crucial ecosystem for their livelihood, both in terms of food security and protection against climate-induced sea level rise and storm surges.

"When we started this project in 2018, Mauritania, Cape Verde, and Senegal were the only countries in the region to have documented some of their seagrass meadows´ distribution. Four years on, all seven countries have discovered, identified, mapped, and monitored seagrass ecosystems in their pilot sites."

-Olivia Polkinghorne, Associate Expert, Marine Environment at GRID-Arendal.

A new global framework for managing nature sustainably, the Global Biodiversity framework, is under process, but the UN calls for all countries to protect at least 30 percent of land and sea by 2030. Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) like the seagrass meadows identified in the seven pilot sites need a strong political and financial commitment for their protection.

This Atlas tells the ResilienSEA story and shows how much progress has been made since 2018 in each country; the new meadows discovered, the successes and challenges that the project had along the way, and how local capacity has been developed to a point where local experts can work autonomously.

The ResilienSEA project team is excited to launch the atlas on September 27, join us at the event live on Zoom by registering here!