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By Jeff Massah, ReJPAH-AOS Liberia Coordinator / jeff.massah24@gmail.com
São Vicente, Cape Verde – Liberia is among thirteen coastal countries in West Africa benefiting from a new €59 million initiative launched by the European Union to protect and sustainably manage the region’s ocean resources.
The program, known as the West Africa Sustainable Ocean Programme (WASOP), was officially launched on the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde. It brings together Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo in a joint effort to strengthen marine governance, promote a sustainable blue economy, and restore fragile marine ecosystems.
WASOP is structured around three key pillars aimed at promoting effective governance, sustainable economic growth, and environmental protection across the region’s coastal nations.
The first pillar, Ocean Governance, focuses on helping participating countries strengthen and implement policies and regulatory frameworks for the sustainable management of marine resources. It also seeks to curb illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a major challenge affecting West Africa’s fisheries sector.
Experts at the launch emphasized the urgent need to strengthen policy and legal frameworks to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing across West Africa.
“We need to improve the legal framework to combat IUU fishing,” said Kallahi Brahim, Permanent Secretary of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (CSRP).
Echoing that view, Gaston Djihinto, Secretary-General of the West African Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic Fisheries (CPCO), stressed that effective enforcement requires more than regulation. “To combat IUU fishing, we must reinforce governance structures, enhance technological surveillance, and actively involve local communities,” he noted
Under the second pillar, Sustainable Blue Economy, the program aims to stimulate innovation, entrepreneurship, and job creation in ocean-based industries. By promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, WASOP seeks to transform the region’s blue economy into a driver of poverty reduction and prosperity.
“WASOP aims to support this maritime culture, which is central to West Africa’s economic development, and to activate the right levers in the private sector,” said Jérémie Pellet, Chief Executive Officer of Expertise France, one of the implementing partners.
The blue economy component is expected to boost innovation, entrepreneurship, and job creation in ocean-based industries, contributing to inclusive growth and poverty reduction.
The third pillar, Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Protection, emphasizes the preservation and restoration of marine biodiversity. It promotes sustainable ecosystem management practices, community participation, and the expansion and improvement of marine protected areas to strengthen coastal resilience against climate change.
“Calls for projects are not an expense; they are an investment in the future,” explained Alberto Quieruga of the Oceano Azul Foundation. “They are the best tool we have to protect 30 percent of marine and terrestrial ecosystems by 2030, a target that currently stands at less than 3 percent worldwide.”
The West Africa Sustainable Ocean Programme (WASOP) draws its strength from a broad coalition of regional and international organizations working together to promote sustainable ocean management. The initiative is implemented by Expertise France, in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC), the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA).
It is undertaken in partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with the active participation of regional financial institutions such as the West African Development Bank (BOAD), the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
Liberia’s inclusion in the program is expected to bolster national efforts in marine governance and environmental protection. The initiative aligns with ongoing national efforts to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, enhance coastal resilience, and promote the sustainable use of marine and coastal resources.
This story is written in partnership with the Network of Journalists for the Promotion of Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral and Fisheries Products in West Africa and the Sahel (ReJPAH-AOS)
