West Africa: Coastal management for climate change
CPCS supports the World Bank to identify and finance infrastructure projects protecting West African coastal areas against erosion, floods and pollution.
The Challenge
The damage climate change does to countries in West Africa is real. As such, the World Bank established the West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program (WACA) to make sure that infrastructure projects on the coastline are friendly to the environment.
WACA enlisted CPCS to help secure projects that can do just that.
What we’re doing
“WACA projects are technically and financially challenging,” says Hélène Larroque, legal consultant at CPCS. “Our goal is to find those green projects and related financing tools.”
How CPCS is undertaking this project:
- Shortlist coastal management projects in West Africa that may be attractive to private and public investors
- Train WACA representatives on communication aspects and public-private partnership concepts
- Identify innovative financing mechanisms for these projects
- Perform a cost-benefit analysis for projects while taking into account the long-term benefits of coastal management
Impacts
“West African countries need to preserve their beautiful coastline,” says Hélène.
By identifying the right projects, CPCS contributes in three ways:
- Help maintain sustainable growth for a population that accounts for 42 per cent of West Africa’s gross domestic product
- Minimize deleterious effects of climate change in West Africa
- Help preserve the coastline
