The Ivorian government has just announced the creation of five marine protected areas (MPAs). The sites to host the project have already been identified according to the criteria defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Through this project, Ivory Coast meets a commitment made at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity held in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.
The Ivorian network of protected areas will soon experience its first extension in the marine domain. The Ivorian Minister of Communication and Media, government spokesman Sidi Tiémoko Touré, announced on September 23rd, 2020, the construction of five marine protected areas in the country. The sites to house this project were revealed during the council of ministers held the same day in the Division of Bouaflé, located in the centre of this West African country.
The sites identified for the creation of these marine protected areas go from the west to the east of the country. The trans boundary site of the mouth of the Cavally River (to the south-west), the site of Grand-Bereby (to the west), the site of the classified forest of Dassioko (to the south), the site of the Azagny National Park (to the south) and the site of the Ivory Coast – Ghana trans boundary coastal zone (to the east). Estimated at 2 million hectares, i.e. 6.5% of the national territory, all the protected areas of Ivory Coast does not yet cover the marine domain, which nevertheless abounds in an important biodiversity necessary for the life of the populations.
Sites that meet IUCN criteria
According to Minister Sidi Tiémoko, the choice of the five sites to host Ivory Coast’s first NPAs was made according to the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (UINC). These are permanently flooded land areas, sometimes encompassing the coast and the sea, and whose landscapes possess particular aesthetic, ecological or cultural qualities resulting from the ancient interaction between man and nature. Above all, these areas must have a high level of biological diversity.
It is in fact since about ten years that the project to create these marine protected areas has been in gestation. It responds to the recommendations of the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity held from 18th to 20th October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan. The States Parties to this Convention, including Ivory Coast, had committed to conserve at least 10% of areas of particular importance for biodiversity, in order to curb the degradation of marine and coastal ecosystems and the decline of fish stocks. Originally scheduled for June 2020 in Marseille, France, the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity was postponed to January 7th, 2021, due to the health crisis related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Boris Ngounou
