Protecting West African coastlines from the impacts of climate change
NDF has published a short documentary, which highlights the ‘West Africa Coastal Areas’ (WACA) project and the importance of working with locals and partners to adapt to climate change.
West Africa’s coastline is home to over 20 million people and underpins more than half of the region’s GDP through trade, fishing, tourism and other coastal industries. This vital economic centre is under threat: The IPCC warns that rising sea levels, coastal erosion and extreme weather will impact West African shores more severely than in the previous century.
The consequences are already visible and coastal communities bear the brunt of climate change. In Benin, the coastline is only 124km long, but essential for economic activity. It is already experiencing severe coastal erosion and flooding, causing coastal communities to retreat inland and putting their livelihoods at risk.
The coastlines of Benin are a vital centre for many economic activities and home to millions of people. Photo: NDF/Rufus Esenam Gboyou
WACA in Benin provides solutions and results
The Mono River, forming most of the border between Benin and Togo, is vital for biodiversity and local livelihoods. Yet, its basin is facing multiple challenges. Coastal erosion in the southern bank of the river worsens each flood season, carving away land and exposing its surroundings to flooding.
The most critical point lies near the sharp bend in the river, just nine kilometres away from the nearby villages, where a sandbar separates the Mono River from the ocean. In recent years, the sandbar has been eroding at an alarming pace, putting nine villages in the district of Avloh at risk of being cut off from the mainland.
Through WACA in Benin, co-financed by 91Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½, the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project aims to focus on nature-based erosion control and stabilisation works along the southern bank of the river to build a more resilient future. These include reshaping the riverbank by laying a protective layer of riprap, supported by a geotextile fabric, covering 700 metres of the riverbank. To strengthen the shoreline, around 2.5 hectares of land has also been planted with vegetation selected for its erosion-control potential and survival capacity after flooding.
These solutions aim to protect the environment and the 25,000 people in the nine villages in the Avloh district, keeping them connected to the mainland and safe from worsening floods.
Village chief of Avloh, Kakpo Dope, hopes to keep the village safe from the impacts of climate change. Photo: NDF/Shawn Hounkpatin.
Through the lens of people in Avloh
To highlight the impact of this project, NDF commissioned a short documentary to capture the challenges in the coastlines of Benin and how the project finds solutions together with partners and locals.
The documentary, produced by Kerawa Studio and directed by Shawn Hounkpatin, brings us to the village of Avloh, one of the nine villages affected by the impacts of climate change. Entitled ‘Between Land and Ocean’, it was screened for the first time in the context of ‘’ on 1 October in Hanaholmen in Helsinki and is now available online.
