Community-Based Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Management Project

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The Community-Based Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Management Project (CBCBM) aims to support the implementation of the Benin's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).The project focuses on the conservation of biodiversity hotspots located in sites designated as globally significant by several organizations: (i) designated Ramsar sites; (ii) Global 200 priority eco-regions identified by World Wildlife Fund (WWF); and (iii) priority areas for conservation by the global representative system of marine protected areas International Union for Nature conservation Conservation (IUCN). The proposed project has four interrelated components aimed at creating the enabling conditions for protecting and managing coastal biodiversity resources of Benin in an integrated coastal zone management framework. The project components include: (i) coordination, institution and capacity building for integrated coastal zone management; (ii) community-based coastal biodiversity conservation areas; (iii) monitoring and evaluation of coastal and marine biodiversity, and (iv) project management. The CBCAs will include the following activities: (i) consultation and sensitization of local populations; (ii) preparation and adoption of municipal conservation statutes designating the targeted areas as legally protected; and (iii) demarcation of the conservation sites.