The Socio-Economics of the West, Central and Southern African Coastal Communities

7 / 60

7
Supported by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), these west, central and southern African nations
have nonetheless taken great strides in marine governance
and management, beginning with the 1984 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 (Abidjan Convention). This umbrella legal framework
was established for the protection, conservation and
development of the marine area extending from Mauritania to
South Africa.3 With the emergence of the Global Environment
Facility’s (GEF) 1995 Operational Strategy approving the use
of LMEs,4 a partnership began and, in 2005, at the Seventh
Conference of the Parties (COP 7) of the Abidjan Convention,
countries within each of the Benguela, Guinea and Canary
Current LMEs were organized as “autonomous nodes”. Each
region now benefits from a GEF-funded LME project.5
The “Blue Growth” theme of the most recent Abidjan
Conference (COP 11) is a major milestone in west, central
Figure 1b: The GCLME and bordering countries.
Source: International Waters Learning Exchange & Resource Network (accessed
August 1, 2016). Map data: Google Imagery, 2016 NASA, TerraMetrics.
Mauritania
Mali Niger
Nigeria
Chad
Cameroon
Angola
Democratic Republic
of the Congo
Central
African
Republic
Ghana
Liberia
Togo
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
Congo
Benin
Sierra Leone
Guinea-Bissau
Senegal
Guinea
Côte
d’Ivoire
The Gambia
and southern Africa’s development as it demonstrates a
readiness among countries to address sustainability.6 This
readiness arrives at a pivotal moment, when west, central
and southern African LME fish stock levels are declining
from unsustainable harvesting; uncertainty surrounds the
integrity of marine and coastal ecosystems; water quality
has declined from land- and sea-based activities; and
coastal and seabed habitats have deteriorated.7 Time is of
the essence.
In order to shift the ever-changing relationship between
humans and their environment to a sustainable status
quo, governing bodies and stakeholders must understand
the value that the west, central and southern African LMEs
provide. In addition to establishing a baseline of ecological
data regarding the coverage, ecological outputs and
functions of LMEs and responding to changes thereto,
policymakers must also be aware of the people dependent
on and acting within these coastal and ocean ecosystems,
and the value placed on their associated benefits.8