Review A regional collaborative approach in transboundary pollution management in the guinea current region of western Africa C.N. Ukwe a, * ,1 , C.A. Ibe a, b, 2 a ACI Environment and Resources Limited, Flat 4 Busymart Plaza Plot 503 Obafemi Awolowo Road, Jabi District, Abuja, Nigeria b Imo State University, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria article info Article history: Available online 30 July 2010 abstract The Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem extending from Guinea Bissau to Angola and covering sixteen countries in West and Central Africa and characterized by distinctive bathymetry, hydrography, chemistry, and trophodynamics with the Guinea Current as the unifying feature has remained a sources of global interest. With openness to the Atlantic Ocean and watercourses with access to the sea such as the Congo and Niger Rivers, the GCLME embodies some of the major coastal upwelling sub-ecosystems of the world and is an important center of marine biodiversity and marine food production ranked among the most productive coastal and offshore waters in the world. However, pollution from domestic and industry sources, over-exploitation of fisheries and poorly planned and managed coastal developments and near-shore activities are resulting in a rapid degradation of vulnerable coastal and offshore habitats and shared living marine resources of the GCLME putting the economies and health of the populace at risk. The deterioration in water quality (chronic and catastrophic) from land and sea-based activities (especially industrial, agricultural, urban and domestic sewage run-off and mining activities including the oil and gas sector), eutrophication and harmful algal blooms have been identified as a major transboundary environmental problem by the countries in the adopted Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA). Arising from the results of the various environmental and socio-economic studies and assessments conducted over the years as documented in the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA), the countries resolved to adopt a holistic, multi-sectoral and regional approach embodied in the large marine ecosystem concept for transboundary pollution management in the region. The agreed management actions to be undertaken jointly by the sixteen countries are encapsulated in the adopted Strategic Action Programme to be implemented by the Interim Guinea Current Commission (and later the Guinea Current Commission), established by the countries as an intergovernmental consultation and coordination body, with the technical assistance and co-funding of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Development Pro- gramme (UNDP) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The transboundary waters off the coast of western Africa are defined by the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME) that extends from Bissagos Island (Guinea Bissau) in the north to Cabinda (Angola) in the south bordering sixteen countries (Fig. 1). The system boundaries of the Guinea Current LME, an open system where environmental variability is predominantly remotely forced, includes the tropical Atlantic sensu latu, the Canary and Benguela Currents and the drainage basins of all major rivers, including the Niger (about 4200 km long), Volta and Congo (about 4700 km long) Rivers, discharging into the greater Guinea Current region [1]. The northern boundary of the region is formed by a northward-flowing strong thermal front between the warm Guinea Current waters and a southerly extension of cool waters from the Mauritanian and Senegalese upwelling area, sometimes called the Senegalese Upwelling Influence (SUI). The southern boundary is less well defined, but is generally thought to be formed by the South Equa- torial Current (SEC). The SEC also forms the northern limb of the South Atlantic subtropical gyre and is fed by the Benguela current. * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ234 9 8700991/8060427631. E-mail address: [email protected](C.N. Ukwe). 1 Formerly Water Management Unit, Energy and Cleaner Production Branch, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, VIC, Box 300, A-1400, Vienna, Austria. 2 Formerly Interim Guinea Current Commission, Executive Secretariat, 1 Akosombo Street, Airport Residential Area, Accra, Ghana. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ocean & Coastal Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman 0964-5691/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2010.06.021 Ocean & Coastal Management 53 (2010) 493e506
1 Formerly Water Management Unit, Energy andUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization,Austria.
2 Formerly Interim Guinea Current Commiss1 Akosombo Street, Airport Residential Area, Accra, G
0964-5691/$ e see front matter � 2010 Elsevier Ltd.doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2010.06.021
a b s t r a c t
The Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem extending from Guinea Bissau to Angola and coveringsixteen countries in West and Central Africa and characterized by distinctive bathymetry, hydrography,chemistry, and trophodynamics with the Guinea Current as the unifying feature has remained a sourcesof global interest. With openness to the Atlantic Ocean and watercourses with access to the sea such asthe Congo and Niger Rivers, the GCLME embodies some of the major coastal upwelling sub-ecosystems ofthe world and is an important center of marine biodiversity and marine food production ranked amongthe most productive coastal and offshore waters in the world. However, pollution from domestic andindustry sources, over-exploitation of fisheries and poorly planned and managed coastal developmentsand near-shore activities are resulting in a rapid degradation of vulnerable coastal and offshore habitatsand shared living marine resources of the GCLME putting the economies and health of the populace atrisk. The deterioration in water quality (chronic and catastrophic) from land and sea-based activities(especially industrial, agricultural, urban and domestic sewage run-off and mining activities includingthe oil and gas sector), eutrophication and harmful algal blooms have been identified as a majortransboundary environmental problem by the countries in the adopted Transboundary DiagnosticAnalysis (TDA). Arising from the results of the various environmental and socio-economic studies andassessments conducted over the years as documented in the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA),the countries resolved to adopt a holistic, multi-sectoral and regional approach embodied in the largemarine ecosystem concept for transboundary pollution management in the region. The agreedmanagement actions to be undertaken jointly by the sixteen countries are encapsulated in the adoptedStrategic Action Programme to be implemented by the Interim Guinea Current Commission (and laterthe Guinea Current Commission), established by the countries as an intergovernmental consultation andcoordination body, with the technical assistance and co-funding of the Global Environment Facility (GEF),the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Development Pro-gramme (UNDP) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
� 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The transboundary waters off the coast of western Africa aredefined by the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME)that extends from Bissagos Island (Guinea Bissau) in the north toCabinda (Angola) in the south bordering sixteen countries (Fig. 1).
0427631.e).Cleaner Production Branch,
VIC, Box 300, A-1400, Vienna,
ion, Executive Secretariat,hana.
All rights reserved.
The system boundaries of the Guinea Current LME, an open systemwhere environmental variability is predominantly remotely forced,includes the tropical Atlantic sensu latu, the Canary and BenguelaCurrents and the drainage basins of all major rivers, including theNiger (about 4200 km long), Volta and Congo (about 4700 km long)Rivers, discharging into the greater Guinea Current region [1]. Thenorthern boundary of the region is formed by a northward-flowingstrong thermal front between the warm Guinea Current waters anda southerly extension of cool waters from the Mauritanian andSenegalese upwelling area, sometimes called the SenegaleseUpwelling Influence (SUI). The southern boundary is less welldefined, but is generally thought to be formed by the South Equa-torial Current (SEC). The SEC also forms the northern limb of theSouth Atlantic subtropical gyre and is fed by the Benguela current.
Thus, the oceanography of the Guinea Current region is influencedby both equatorial dynamics from the north and seasonal cold-water upwelling in the south. Geographically, the GCLME extendsfrom approximately 12�N latitude south to about 16� S latitude, andvariously from 20� west to about 12� East longitude (Fig. 2). Froman oceanographic sense, the GCLME extends in a northesouthdirection from the intense upwelling area of the Guinea Current(GC) southward to the northern seasonal limit of the BenguelaOceanographic Current. In an east-west sense, the GCLME includesthe drainage basins of the major rivers seaward to the GC frontdelimiting the GC from open ocean waters (a time-and space-variable boundary).
The unifying feature of the GCLME region characterized bydistinctive bathymetry, hydrography, chemistry, and trophody-namics, is the Guinea Current. These distinctive features qualifythis region as a Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) and it is indeedrecognized as the number 28 of the 64 delineated LMEs globally[2]. Therefore, the GCLME area includes the Exclusive EconomicZones (EEZ) of sixteen countries: Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo,Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana,Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, SaoTome & Principe, Sierra Leone and Togo. The coastal habitats in theGCLME include near-shore waters, salt marshes, mangroveswamps, estuaries, lagoons as well as other brackish bodies ofwater. The total length of coastline in the Region is nearly7600 km, including the coastline of the island State of Sao Tome &Principe and the insular regions of Equatorial Guinea (i.e., Biokoand Annobon islands). Angola has the longest coastline ofapproximately 1650 km. Table 1 shows some of the marinestatistics of the region, including length of coast and area ofexclusive economic zone. These areas correspond roughly to theGCLME limits.
1.1. Geomorphic features and upwelling
Major geomorphic features of the Guinea Current shelf includebathymetric undulations of sand ridges, canyons, gullies, DeadHolocene coral banks, pockets of hard grounds, rocky bottom anddeep seated and shallow fault structures [3]. The coastalmorphology of the GCLME region is a succession of:
Fig. 2. Current patterns in the GCLME (Source [1]).
� Sandy arid coastal plains bordered by Eolian dunes (Angola);� More or less sandy marshy alluvial with estuaries and deltas,colonized by mangrove vegetation (Guinea Bissau and Guinea,Sierra Leone);
� Rocky scarps and sandy beaches, alternating with mangrovevegetation (Sierra Leone, Liberia, eastern Nigeria to Gabon);
� Low sandy coastal plains which alternate with lagoons alongthe Gulf of Guinea (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Congoestuary up to the Angolan border);
� Huge marshy areas formed by the Niger delta, with mangrovesindented by fluvial channels that are subject to tidal influence.
� Extensive coastal lagoons
The GCLME embodies some of the major coastal upwelling sub-ecosystems of the world and is an important center of marinebiodiversity and marine food production ranked among the mostproductive coastal and offshore waters in the world with richfishery resources, oil and gas reserves, precious minerals, a highpotential for tourism and serves as an important reservoir ofmarine biological diversity of global significance [4]. Coastalupwelling occurs seasonally along the northern and eastern coastsof the Guinea Current LME. The major upwelling season occursfrom June to August and transient upwelling events occur also inJanuary and February [5e7]. The most remarkable characteristic ofthe Guinea Current LME coastal upwelling is the absence ofcorrelation between local wind stress and coastal temperature, atleast during the boreal summer season [8]. There is evidence ofa an eastward propagation of the upwelling along the equator andthen southward propagation of the signal along the coast sug-gesting that the seasonal shoaling of the thermocline in theGuinea Current region is induced by Kelvin waves [9,10]. Thisremote forcing of the upwelling is well documented and sup-ported by numerical models and data analyses. However, local-forcing mechanisms may also play a role in modifying theremotely generated upwelling events [11].
1.2. Hydrology
Numerous small rivers and four major river systems drain theentire coast of the GCLME from Guinea Bissau to the DemocraticRepublic of Congo. The GCLME is one of the most endowed areas ofthe globe in terms of rivers. Twelve major rivers, including theCongo (Congo), Niger (Nigeria), Volta (Ghana), Wouri (Cameroon),Comoe and Bandama (Côte d’Ivoire), enter the ecosystem from anextensive network of catchment basins transporting great quanti-ties of sediments. The Congo River, for instance, is about 4700 km
Table 2Sedimentological characteristics of rivers in some countries of the GCLME.
long and possesses the second strongest streams of the world afterthe Amazon River in Latin America and represents the maincommercial artery of equatorial Africa. These twelve riverscontribute more than 92 million tons of sediment per annum intothe Gulf of Guinea [12,13]. During the 1970s and 1980s, river inputsdecreased in the region coinciding with the period of the sub-Saharan drought [14] that resulted in reduced flows of almost allthe rivers [1,12]. Land run-off is also an important source of nutri-ents and suspended matter to the coastal and marine environmentas presented in the table below [1,3]. Substantial quantities ofnutrients originating from domestic and agricultural effluents,which are used in primary production, are carried to the seathrough river outflows [15]. Excessive nutrient loading causeseutrophication and harmful algal blooms, however. The riverstransport industrial wastes, particularly from mining and otherland based activities (Tables 2 and 3). Among the most importantrivers draining into the GCLME are the:
� Niger, which takes its source in Guinea and is about 4200 kmlong, draining an area of over 1 million km2 is essential to thelife of 110 million people in Western Africa;
� Volta River, with a drainage basin of 390,000 km2 [16];� Congo River with the second largest mean annual run-off andcatchment area in the world, with freshwater run-off andsediment discharge estimated at 30e80 tons/km2; and
� Comoe River in Cote d’Ivoire.
Table 3Typical levels of organic pollution of some of the coastal lagoon systems in the GCLME.
n/a: No (reliable) data available.a Sources: [26].b Sources: [27e30].c Source: [31].d Values measures for unpolluted lagoons in Ghana (laloi and Mokwe lagoons), accord
1.3. Socio-economics and development
The GCLME is a region of high ethno-cultural and social diver-sity. Although the region is endowed with abundant renewable andnon-renewable resources, these resources have not been optimallyutilized for the enhancement of the quality of life of the people.Instead, poverty, paucity of social infrastructure, disease and socialinstability are the major characteristics of this richly endowedregion. Approximately 40% of the GCLME region’s 300 millionpeople live in the coastal areas and are heavily dependent on thelagoons, estuaries, creeks and associated wetlands and inshorewaters surrounding them [17,18]. The highest population densitycentres are located in some key cities along the coast, includingAccra-Tema, Abidjan, Douala, Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Luanda.Rapid expansion of coastal populations with areas of highpopulation concentrations has resulted from high populationgrowth rates and movements between rural and urban areas [19].The population of the coastal areas is increasing dramatically witha potential doubling time of 20e25 years at the present populationgrowth rate of about 3%, compared to a doubling time of 100 yearsin developed countries. At the national level there also has beensubstantial population increase in the coastal cities and towns asa result of urbanization and the growth of fishing villages andlanding sites. The population in the major metropolitan cities isestimated at 2 million in metropolitan Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; 1.6million in Accra, Ghana; 9 million in Lagos, Nigeria; and 1.5 millionin Doula, Cameroon. If developments are not planned and diversi-fied, it is estimated that these coastal cities may grow at thealarming rate of as high as 5% [1].
The rapid population growth in the coastal zone has resulted inpollution of social values and culture, socio-economic dislocation andconflicts in addition to the serious degradation of the environment.Similar to conditions in the rest of the world, many of the region’spoor are crowded in the coastal areas for subsistence socio-economicactivities: fishing, farming that is largely agro-chemical-based, sandmining on the beaches, salt mining in the salt marshes and produc-tion of charcoal in the mangrove areas. Additionally, more than 60%of the existing industries in the sub-region are concentrated in thecoastal cities. These industrial areas are predominantly sited inmajorriver catchments that drain into coastal wetlands, especiallymangroves, lagoons and estuaries [4,20].
1.4. Governance mechanism
The Abidjan Convention for Cooperation in the Protection,Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Envi-ronment of the West and Central African Region adopted in March1981 its Protocol on Cooperation in Combating Pollution in Cases ofEmergency constitute the legal components of the West andCentral African (WACAF) Action Plan and define environmental
protection in the GCLME region [20]. The Convention expresses thedecision of the WACAF Region (from Mauritania to Angola at thetime of adoption) to deal individually and jointly with commonmarine and coastal environmental problems notably trans-boundary pollution, living marine resources depletion and habitatdestruction. The Convention also provides an important frameworkthrough which national policymakers and resource managersimplement national control measures for the protection anddevelopment of the marine and coastal environment of the WACAFRegion. The Emergency Protocol was designed to assist in theoperational response to massive pollution loadings, primarily fromaccidental marine oil and chemical spills.
Since its entry into force in August 1984, Parties to the AbidjanConvention have, with UNEP’s assistance, undertaken a number ofactivities including:
� development of programmes for marine pollution prevention,monitoring and control in cooperation with IMO, FAO, UNIDO,IOC-UNESCO, WHO, IAEA, etc.
� development of programmes for monitoring, controlling andcombating coastal erosion in cooperation with UNESCO andUNDESA
� development of national environmental impact assessmentprogrammes for particular coastal sites
� development of national environmental legislation in cooper-ation with FAO and IMO [1].
Most of the countries of the region have also ratified severalinternational and regional Conventions relating to the coastal andmarine environment such as the International Convention on CivilLiability for Oil Pollution and MARPOL 73/78. There is an encour-aging history of cooperation between the countries bordering theGCLME even if the results, outputs and impacts have been variable.Examples of collaborative activities under the Abidjan Conventioninclude “Control of Coastal Erosion in West and Central Africa(WACAF/3)”, “Manual on Methodologies for Monitoring CoastalErosion in West and Central Africa (WACAF/6)”, “Assessment andControl of Pollution in the Coastal andMarine Environment ofWestand Central Africa (WACAF/2 phases I and II)”, and more recentlyWACAF/11 on “Integrated Watersheds and Coastal Area Manage-ment Planning and Development in West and Central AfricanRegion”. The countries in the GCLME sub-region also participated inthe continent-wide but far from successful UNDP/UNESCO RegionalProject (RAF/87/038) on Training and Research for the IntegratedDevelopment of African Coastal Systems (COMARAF) and haveexperience of joint programming in the context of the FisheryCommittee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) under the aegisof FAO which has been trying to promote joint actions on livingresource evaluation and fishery statistics.
2. The environmental problems facing the Guinea currentlarge marine ecosystem
The environmental problems facing the Guinea current largemarine ecosystem (GCLME) resulting mostly from a lack of effectivecoordination and consultation mechanism for regional environ-mental management have been documented by the countries in theTransboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA). The Transboundary Dia-gnostic Analysis for the Guinea Current region, prepared by thesixteen countries over a period of four years, is a scientific andtechnical assessment through which the water-related environ-mental issues and problems of the GCLME were identified andquantified, their root causes analysed and their impacts, environ-mental and economic assessed. In conducting the analysis, thecountries assessed the status of available knowledge, quality of data
and sources and reviewed the biological, oceanographic, physical andsocial interactions of each identifiedmajor problem. The analysis alsoinvolves the identification of the causes and impacts (and uncer-tainties associated with these) at national and transboundary levelsduringwhich themajor perceivedproblemsand issueswere assessedto determine the primary, secondary and root causes for theseproblems/issues, as well as the socio-economic, political and insti-tutional context within which they occur [1,20]. Identification of theroot causeswas important as itwas recognized that the root causes ofa problem tend to bemore systemic and fundamental contributors toenvironmental degradation. Interventions and actions directed at theroot causes tend to be more sustainable and effective than inter-ventions directed at primary or secondary causes. Because the link-ages between root causes and solutions of theperceivedproblems areoften not clear to policymakers, however, interventions commonlyare misdirected at primary or secondary causes.
The TDA, thus, documents the results of the various studiesconducted in the GCLME region including the State of Coastal andMarine Environment reports [21], the Coastal Areas Profiles, thecountry environmental status reports and reports of the coastal andmarine environmental monitoring exercises. The various studies,including those by The Committee on the Eastern Central AtlanticFisheries (CECAF), the Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Interna-tional Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) within the context of the WestandCentral Africa Action Plan (WACAF), indicate significant levels ofpollution including pathogens and micro-organisms in sewage,industrial effluents with high organic loading and hazardouschemicals, eutrophication inducedwaterhyacinth and algal blooms,heavy metals, oils and hydrocarbons, tar balls in beaches, alarmingrates of decline of fisheries resources as well as serious problems ofcoastal erosion and coastal areas management [19,22]. The trans-boundary environmental problems highlighted in the TDA include:
� National/regional issues with transboundary causes/sources;� Transboundary issues with national causes/sources;� National issues that are common to at least two of the countriesand which require a common strategy and collective actions toaddress;
� Issues that have transboundary elements or implications.
As summarized in the TDA, coastal industrial development andintense rate of urbanization of the GCLME coastal cities much ofwhich are poorly planned or unplanned have created pollution “hotspots” in most of the GCLME countries with resultant deteriorationin surface and groundwater quality. The industrial areas arepredominantly sited in major catchments that drain into coastalwetlands, especially mangroves, lagoons and estuaries [20]. Theproblem is aggravated by an increase inmarine litter (marine debrisand tar balls) from land shipping activities and particularly by oiland gas exploration and the potential for accidental spills by themajor oil producers in the GCLME. There is a high risk of trans-boundary contamination of environmentally sensitive areas withdamage to coastal infrastructure and to straddling/shared fishstocks. Until recently, gas flaring has been a major source of carbondioxide emission from the oil fields, which has now been drasticallycurtailed by a mandate for zero flaring within this decade.
Thus, it is recognized that the coastal and the marine ecosystemof the GCLME and its resources have witnessed various environ-mental stresses as a result of the increasing socio-economic andunsustainable development activities. All the above cited studiesand assessments have identified four broad multiple coastal andmarine environmental problems and issues that are interrelated inthe GCLME region namely:
� Decline in GCLME fish stocks and unsustainable harvesting ofliving resources;
� Uncertainty regarding ecosystem status, integrity (changes incommunity composition, vulnerable species and biodiversity,introduction of alien species) and yields in a highly-variableenvironment including effects of global climate change;
� Deterioration in water quality (chronic and catastrophic) fromland and sea-based activities, eutrophication and harmful algalblooms;
� Habitat destruction and alteration including inter-alia modifi-cation of seabed and coastal zone, degradation of coasts capes,coastline erosion [1].
The documented consequences of transboundary pollution inthe region include: deterioration of water quality causing speciesmigration (temporary/permanent), pollutants from industries/activities near to country borders being transported acrossboundaries by prevailing currents, and impacts being common toeach of the participating countries requiring formulation ofa “generic” project with flexibility to meet nations’ needs, and theestablishment of common policy to minimize transboundaryimpacts. The socio-economic and cultural implications from theabove broad issues can be tremendous in terms of income reduc-tion arising from a loss of fisheries stocks and catches, loss ofrecreation and tourism amenities and an increase in water treat-ment and coastal protection costs [1].
2.1. Multiple impacts of transboundary pollution in the GCLMERegion
Pollution from Land and Sea-Based Activities (encompassingmunicipal, industrial, agricultural, and shipping sources) is a concernin the region as it significantly affects transboundary waters andliving marine resources of the GCLME putting the economies andhealth of the populace at risk [18,23]. During the past 50 years, thecountries of the region have registered strong population growth aswell as an acceleration of industrialization and urbanizationwithoutregulation [20,24,25]. This has caused major degradation of naturalresources and biodiversity in the region and in areas contiguous tothe Basin, thus, jeopardizing the ecological base for the long-termdevelopment of the region. Although most impacts of chronicdeterioration inwater quality are localised (national issues), they arecommon to all of the countries and require collective action toaddress them as shown in table below [26e31]. Moreover, chronicpollution can favour the development of less desirable species, andresult in species migration. Catastrophic events such as major oilspills and maritime accidents can produce impacts across countryboundaries, requiring cooperative management and sharing ofclean-up equipment and manpower. Eutrophication and HABs occurin most of the sixteen countries, and these face similar problems interms of impacts and management, and which require collectiveregional action to address. Poverty, which cuts across the countries,is a major contributing factor to the present degradation of thecoastal and marine environments in the GCLME, since it constitutesa major impediment to the adoption of new practices or behaviourswhich are less damaging to the environments [1]. The presence ofbilharzia and other water-borne diseases constitutes anotherimportant health risk resulting from the deterioration of the qualityof water in the freshwater environment. This is due in particular tothe changes occurring as a result of the construction of river dams.Good examples can be found in the Volta and Niger River basins. Thedeterioration in water quality (chronic and catastrophic) from landand sea-based activities (especially industrial, agricultural, urbanand domestic sewage run-off and mining activities such as oil andgas), eutrophication and harmful algal blooms have been identified
as a major significant transboundary environmental problem by thecountries in the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) [1].
The environmental impacts of pollution in the GCLME arewidespread and include the following: disease (both human andplants and wildlife wildlife), decreased water quality (loweroxygen, lower visibility), die-off of coastal plants, loss of biodiver-sity, altered habitat, loss of recreational resources, degradedgroundwater quality, and pollution of food sources. Socio-economicimpacts documented include: loss of subsistence due to decline inrenewable coastal resources, increased disease due to degradedfood sources and water sources, reduced sustainability in coastalvillages, increased pressure on central governments to producealternative livelihoods for population, possible political instabilityat local or national levels, and loss of water for cattle and otherdomestic animals.
2.2. Industrial pollution
Industrial pollutants have mostly been associated with the largecoastal cities in the region such as Accra, Abidjan, Lagos, Douala,Port Harcourt and Luanda [23]. Even though the level of industrialdevelopment is still low in the GCLME region, the rate of indus-trialization is increasing along the coastal areas. As an example, anestimated 60% of the industries in countries bordering the Gulf ofGuinea are located in coastal cities [4,24,32], particularly in Nigeria,Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana with a few of them maintaining anappropriate wastewater treatment facility resulting in thedischarge of untreated effluents directly into sewers, canals,streams and rivers that end up in the GCLME causing widespreaddeterioration in the water quality and the health of the coastalinhabitants [1]. The industries in the region mostly consist of oilrefineries, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, textile, leather, food &beverage and plastic industries. Mining operations produce largeresidues that are discharged into coastal waters [4,33]. For example,large quantities of untreated phosphate residues are dischargedfrom the phosphate industry in Cote d’Ivoire and Togo directly intoreceiving waterbodies.
2.3. Pollution from oil exploration, refining and shipping activities
The GCLME region is an emerging player in the global hydro-carbon industry with proven reserves of over 35 billion barrels ofoil which is over 3% of the global total (with unproven reserves ofover 70 billion barrels of oil about 7% of global total). Althoughlimited in size, many of the countries hold massive potentials assources of oil and gas. In addition, the crude oil from the region is ofbetter quality than that from Latin America, with API gravity typi-cally above 30� and often close to 40� and with little sulphur byinternational standards [20,25]. Some of the countries in the regionare oil producers and a few (e.g. Angola, Cameroon, Gabon andNigeria) are net exporters. While oil production remains limited tosmall fields in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, themarginal nature of manysmall fields in these two countries make them attractive to manyindependent producers. In 1990, oil production from the coastalzone of Nigeria averaged 1.8 million barrels per day and increasingto 2.2 million barrels per day by 2004. The proven reserve base ofcrude oil in Nigeria is about 18 billion barrels in 1990 rising to about30 billion in 2002 with a projected increase to 40 billion barrels by2015 with production capacity of 4 million barrels per day. Othercountries with proven oil and gas reserves as at 2006 includeAngola with about 5.4 billion barrels, Gabon with about 2.5 billionbarrels of crude oil and Cameroonwith about 400 million barrels ofcrude oil [25]. Crude oil and gas has recently been found ineconomic quantities in Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome and Prin-cipe (Tables 4e7).
Table 4Effluent Quality of Some Industry-Specific Discharges into Odaw River and KorleLagoon Catchment, Accra, 1994/1995.
The geographical position of the GCLME represents an impor-tant comparative advantage for oil supply/shipping to NorthAmerica and Europe. Indeed, despite its relative proximity to theworld’s main consumers of energy, North America and WesternEurope, the GCLME (in the Gulf of Guinea) benefits from theabsence of narrow shipping maritime lanes known as chokepoints,between the region and those parts of the world [25]. In addition,the GCLME geographical closeness to Western Europe relative tothe Middle East and Asia adds to the region’s comparative advan-tage for the movement of goods and people, through reduced costsof sea transportation and less environmental hazards.
Water quality in the GCLME is deteriorating as a result of landand marine-based activities from the oil exploration, refining andshipping sectors. Oil and other industrial activities have beenidentified as threats to the sensitive GCLME environment and theincreasing number of offshore platforms, pipelines, and variousexport/import oil terminals means an inevitable exposure to oilpollution. According to the World Bank [16,34], oil producingcompanies in the region discharge an estimated 710 tons of oilyearly into the coastal and marine environment and an additional2100 tons originate annually from oil spills. Oil pollution, which iswidespread in the Niger Delta of Nigeria, also results in ecological,public health and security-related problems to which women andchildren are particularly susceptible [35]. Most of the countries alsohave important refineries on the coast, only a few of which haveproper effluent treatment plants. Ghana, for instance, dischargesabout 1400 tons of waste oil daily or 500,000 tons annually, and it isestimated that the entire sub-region discharges about 4,000,000tons of waste oil into the GCLME annually [1]. The patterns ofonshore-offshore winds and ocean currents mean that oil intro-duced from any of the offshore or shore-based petroleum activitiestranslates easily into a regional problem. The socio-economicimpacts of oil spills, whether accidental or intentional as a result ofactivities of vandals, are enormous. Illegal fuel siphoning as a resultof a thriving black market for fuel products in Nigeria has increasedthe number of oil pipeline explosions in recent years resulting inover 2000 deaths as of 2007. Social disturbances resulting fromreactions to oil spills have unquantifiable impacts on the economy
Table 5Oil and gas production and reserves of some countries in the GCLME Region.
Country Crude oil production (2006) inthousands of barrels per day
of the immediate areas and communities as well as the nation asa whole. In 2006, international oil majors ChevronTexaco and Shellwere forced to suspend some of their production (shut-in) in theNiger Delta region of Nigeria following violent clashes and evenoutright kidnapping of international personnel by the localcommunities protesting the continued degradation of the envi-ronment and lack of development in the region. This resulted in theloss of over 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) representing approxi-mately 22% of Nigeria’s total average production of 2.5 million bpd.
2.4. Agricultural pollution
Agriculture, the mainstay and the economic backbone of non-oilproducing countries in the GCLME areas and an important activityin all of the countries in the region, is also causing transboundarypollution and water quality degradation. Unfortunately agriculture(arable and pastoral) in the GCLME countries is not mechanizedwith peasant farming for subsistence living being themain practice.Due to the high, dense, forest vegetation and the mashy, swampy,nature of the soil the agricultural areas cannot be easily mecha-nized. In addition erosion and oil exploration and productionactivities in the oil producing countries have affected the littlefarmlands in these areas and have polluted the soils with effluentdischarges, drilling cuttings, muds and oil spills. As agricultureconstitutes one of the major sources of income in the region, itsintensification (through irrigation and extension to marginal lands)has led sometimes to the excess use of nutrients, pesticides andother herbicides and organo-chlorine substances, including certainforms of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) [4,32]. The use ofchemical fertilizers and pesticides hasmarkedly increased in recentyears with the development of commercial agriculture and it hasbeen estimated that approximately 30% of fertilizers applied areactually used by the plants while the remainder finds its way intothe atmosphere or surface waters. The intensity of the use ofpersistent organic pollutants (POPs) varies from country to countrydepending on the type of agriculture, but they constitute a source ofsignificant pollution for the GCLME region as presented in the tablebelow [1,18]. Various examples of POPs use can be found in Benin,Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Because of thenon-existence of substitutes not only for pesticides, but also forsubstances against diseases and disease vectors, chlorine insecti-cides have been used for more than 30 years. This is likely tocontinue if international efforts to ban them or strictly regulatetheir circulation and find substitutes are not made. Inorganic,especially nitrate and phosphate-based, fertilizers are being usedon an increasing scale and substantial quantities of nutrientsoriginating from domestic and agricultural effluents are carried tothe sea through river outflows [18,36].
These nutrients, when coupled with sewage pollution, areincreasing levels of eutrophication in nearby coastal watersincluding lagoon and causing harmful algal blooms [18,33]. Thelagoons, as sensitive and significant habitats supporting biodiversityand inshore fisheries, are therefore being threatened by agricultural
pollution. These excess nutrients, other pollution and sediments aretransported to the GCLME via the rivers in the region, including theten major rivers: Congo (Congo), Niger (Nigeria), Volta (Ghana),Wouri (Cameroon), Comoe, and Bandama (Côte d’Ivoire).
2.5. Municipal and sewage pollution and its implications
Domestic sewage and other wastes constitute an importantsource of contamination of the fresh drinking water and the waterquality in general, both for the surface and groundwater resourcesof the GCLME [1]. Detailed studies and analysis conducted in theGCLME region as documented in the TDA clearly show that sewageconstitutes the main source of pollution as a result of land basedactivities [1,19]. All the countries assessed reflect high urban,domestic loads, sometimes from industrial origin, which includebiological oxygen demand (BOD), suspended sediments, nutrients,bacteria and pathogens. The annual total BOD for the entireWACAFregion including the GCLME in the 1990s was estimated to be288,961 tons from municipal sewage and 47,269 from industrialpollution, while the annual total suspended sediments (TSS) wasestimated around 410,929 tons from municipal sewage and 81,145tons from industrial pollution [19]. Again, the rapid growth of urbanpopulations is far beyond the capacity of relevant authorities andmunicipalities to provide basic and adequate services such as watersupply, sewage and other wastewater treatment facilities [18]. Asa result of these domestic and organic biodegradable materialdischarges, contamination of the water quality, surface waters aswell as shallow aquifers and groundwater, is a current phenom-enon, mostly in the sub and peri-urban areas where the conditionsof overcrowding and poverty are increasing with the growingnumber of people [1,32,33]. Indeed, water quality degradation inthe region is generally associated with health problems because of
Table 7Domestic waste and waste statistics of some GCLME Countries.
City-Country Per capita waterused/day
Wastewatertreated %
Per capita solid wastegenerated %
Luanda-Angola 50 0 e
Porto Novo-Benin 22 e 0.5Douala-Cameroon 33 5 0.7Yaounde-Cameroon 61 20 0.8Abidjan-Cote d’Ivoire 111 58 1.0Libreville-Gabon 100 0 e
Accra-Ghana 4 0 0.4Conakry-Guinea 50 0 0.7Lagos-Nigeria 80 e 1.1Lome-Togo 35 e 1.9
Source: [1].
the presence of pathogens and other micro-organisms, excess ofnitrates and persistent organic micro-pollutants, etc [19]. The mainconsequences of this include: public health risks from the presenceof sewage pathogens, eutrophication or oxygen depletion due toexcess load of nutrients and organic carbon, as well as contami-nation of the marine and human organisms through the aquaticfood chain.
It is clear, consequently, that human interference (with the landbased activities) in the region, superimposed on natural degrada-tion processes in the coastal and marine areas could induce hugedisturbances with large impacts in the concerned environments(loss of habitats and productivity and biodiversity, water qualitydecline with consequences in the coastal population health,changes in the natural coastal andmarine environment equilibriumwith frequent, increasing harmful effects; i.e., microbiological andbacteriological contamination in the Korle Lagoon in Ghana and inEbrie and Lagos lagoons, around Abidjan and Lagos) [19]. Indeed, inall the confined bays and the near-shore zones around the largecities, such as Conakry or around the most important coastallagoons in the region (such as with the Ebrie, Togo, Nokoue, Lagoslagoons), the water quality deterioration resulting from the insid-ious sewage run-off phenomenon, in particular during the rainyseason, posed a major risk to the coastal and marine environmentand to public health [37,38]. The chronic lack of hygiene in most ofthese environments results in an increase in the number of infec-tions among the population, in particular, among children, with theresult that epidemics of typhoid, hepatitis and malaria arecommon. For instance, epidemiological data show the possibleimplication of the Ebrié Lagoon and its hydro climatic variations onthe endemics of some diseases such as Cholera, typhoid (Fig. 3).Since 1970, infectious diseases involving bacteria of the GenusVibrio (such as Vibrio cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus and Aeromonasspp.) have occurred endemically and sporadically among theriverine population of the Ebrié Lagoon [39,40].
2.6. The problem of lack of regional collaboration for transboundarypollution management in the region
The restoration of degraded ecosystem and achievement ofsound environment quality objectives requires effective legalregime in theGLCME. In the recent past,most states lack an effectiveand efficient legal framework; in some cases the states lack therelevant legislation or regulations and in almost all cases the legis-lation and regulations are poorly enforced [20,24]. This had nega-tively affected environmental management efforts and plans in therespective states. Several decades of over-exploitation of resourcesand habitat degradation in the Guinea Current Ecosystem had left
Fig. 3. Cholera Cases in Côte d’Ivoire (Source [1]).
a legacyof fragmentedand sectorally basedmanagementdue inpartto a history of colonial/political rule [20]. This had resulted in anabsence of coordinated planning and integration, poor legalframeworks, weak enforcement and implementation of existingregulatory instruments, inadequate public involvement, variedregional capacity development and poor financial mechanisms ofsupport. Various reports and studies on management of trans-boundary pollution and coastal and marine ecosystem degradationconcluded that the traditional sectoral approach to managementhad failed in bringing about the deserved changes for the restorationof the health and productivity of coastal and marine ecosystem.
The real challenge had been to develop systems and structures toaddress the naturally highly-variable and potentially fragile natureof the GCLME and its coastal environment in order to reverse thedeterioration in water quality from land and sea-based activitiesincluding harmful algal blooms. This was linked to the declines offish stocks and non-optimal harvesting of living resources, loss ofecosystem integrity arising from changes in community composi-tion, threats to vulnerable species and biodiversity, introduction ofinvasive alien species, habitat destruction and alteration includingmodification of seabed and coastal zone, and degradation of coastscapes and coastline erosion [20]. It was recognized that the aboveregional transboundary environmental problems had implications,which could be mitigated through cooperative regional actions tomanage the complex ecosystem on an integrated and sustainablebasis. Of recent, the global environment community also acceptedthat without a concerted ecosystem-based regional approach toenvironmental management it was unlikely that the present ratesand high incidence of transboundary pollution, habitat degradationand living marine resources depletion will be slowed in variousregions of theworld. The likely consequence of such a scenario is thecontinued degradation of the coastal andmarine ecosystemand lossof globally significant biological diversity during the next century,combined with collapse of fish stocks and food insecurity in theGCLME region [24].
3. Actions by the countries to reverse transboundarypollution and degradation of the LME
Resulting from the Rio Conference on sustainable developmentin 1992, the international community had expressed its awarenessof the environmental problems facing the GCLME and its desire tohelp restore and preserve the region’s natural environment. Though
having different socio-economic conditions and being on differentdevelopment paths, the recognition of the transboundary nature ofthese threats to their economic well being has resulted in theimperative of addressing them through cooperative assessmentsand joint actions. The countries, therefore, recognized and adopteda regional collaborative approach for the management of thetransboundary environmental pollution problem facing the LargeMarine Ecosystem. Indeed the success of the pilot phase six-countryGulf of Guinea Large Marine Ecosystem project “Water PollutionControl and Conservation of Biological Diversity in the Gulf ofGuinea Large Marine Ecosystem (GOG-LME)”, funded by the GlobalEnvironment Facility (GEF) and the United States National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration (US-NOAA) for US$6.5 million andexecuted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organiza-tion (UNIDO) between 1995 and 1999, predicated on a LargeMarineEcosystem approach which recognized that pollutants and livingresources in the marine environment do not respect either politicalor geographical boundaries, strengthened the resolve of theCommittee of Ministers of Environment of the six countries toinvolve the additional ten countries bordering the GCLME in theinitiative [41]. The reasonwas tomanage in a large scale, holistic andcollaborative manner the GCLME so as to consolidate sustainablemarine resource and environmental management for developmentin the Guinea Current region [2,4,20,22,24].
In furtherance of the regional collaborative approach toecosystemmanagement, the entire sixteen countries bordering theGCLME, agreed towork jointly with the Global Environment Facility(GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), theUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UnitedNations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and theUnited States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(US-NOAA) in funding and implementing a regional project titled“Combating living resource depletion and coastal area degradationin the Guinea Current LME through Ecosystem-based RegionalActions”, for the reversal of the degradation and restoration of thehealth and productivity of the ecosystem.
Recognizing the benefits inherent in the adopting a commonregional framework of action for the management of the LargeMarine Ecosystem and in order to consolidate and institutionalizethe regional collaborative approach to ecosystem management inthe region, the countries acting through the Council of Ministers(comprising the Ministers responsible for Environmental andMarine Resources Management in the sixteen countries) adopted
the Abuja Ministerial Declaration (22 September 2006) for insti-tutionalization of regional cooperation. The Council of Ministers inthe Declaration created a technical Secretariat and established anorganization entitled the Interim Guinea Current Commission(IGCC), and later the GCC, as an international body in terms of theUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and inthe framework of the Abidjan Convention to facilitate regionalcooperation in management of transboundary environmentalproblems including pollution, in the region [42]. This is in confor-mity with the Accra Ministerial Declaration (10 July 1998) adoptedby the Environment Ministers of the Pilot phase countries whichendorsed a regional approach to the environmentally sustainabledevelopment of the coastal and marine environment of the Westand Central Africa; and Decision II of the Brazzaville Declaration (26May 2006) of the African Ministerial Conference on Environmentwhich calls on African Governments to support the LME Projects inAfrica as tools for revitalization and successful implementation ofthe Abidjan Convention (1981).
3.1. Effectiveness of the regional collaborative approach to largemarine ecosystem management
Arising from the adoption of a regional collaborative frameworkas embodied in the created Interim Guinea Current Commission,and the need to implement a holistic and integrated managementplan for reversing the trend in transboundary pollution, the sixteencountries began the process for the completion and adoption ofa Regional Strategic Action Programme (SAP) to guide themanagement of the ecosystem. Under the framework of the IGCC,the countries also set in motion the development of correspondingNational Strategic Action Plans (NAPs). The development of the SAPand corresponding NAPs could not have been possible if thecountries had chosen to work as individual countries. Using theframework of the IGCC, the countries have completed and adoptedthe Strategic Action Programme (SAP).
The management actions proposed by the countries in theStrategic Action Programme are wide-ranging in terms of inter-ventions and include policy, legal, institutional strengthening,planning, investment, capacity building, information and datamanagement. This diversity of interventions is required to providea sustainable SAP, and sustainable long-term efforts at trans-boundary pollution management. It was recognized by the coun-tries that the successful implementation of the SAP will requireactive participation of all stakeholders at all levels and of all types(regional/national/local government and non-government levels,international donor partners, private sector, etc), thus, in all projectactivities emphasis has been placed on the effective participationand contribution of all pertinent stakeholders especially NGOs/CBOs and local communities. In order to implement the actions andpolicies for transboundary pollution management agreed upon inthe SAP, the countries agreed that existing regional framework forcooperation such as the Cooperation in the Protection and Devel-opment of the Marine and Coastal Environment (Abidjan Conven-tion) and its related Protocols will be revitalized and retooled toensure the necessary coordination and capacity building topromote the sustainable integrated management of the GCLME. Inadopting the Abuja Declaration establishing the Interim GuineaCurrent Commission (IGCC) as an intergovernmental body, theCommittee of Ministers agreed that the IGCC Member States andthe wider Abidjan Convention countries will actively pursueresource mobilization and co-financing with interested stake-holders, industry, partners and donor agencies. The Ministers alsoestablished the following three key organs for the Interim GuineaCurrent Commission (and later the Guinea Current Commission)needed to sustain regional cooperation:
a) The Committee of Ministersb) The Steering Committeec) The Executive Secretariat [42]
The Interim Guinea Current Commission, which is already fullyfunctional with operational headquarters commissioned in Accra,Ghana, established a network of specialist institutions in the coun-tries coordinated by a designated Regional Activity Center ofExcellence for Pollution Management in Nigeria to enable an effec-tive coordination of activities on transboundary pollution manage-ment. The Regional Activity Center, hosted by the Imo StateEnvironmental Protection Agency (ISEPA), Nigeria with trainedpersonnel and fullyequippedmonitoring and analytical laboratoriesco-funded by the Government of Imo State and the GCLME project,work closely with the Executive Secretariat of the IGCC in order tomaintain linkswith the national focal point institutions (specializedinstitutions in each country appointed by governments to partici-pate in each of the networks). The Regional Activity Center has beencoordinating the conduct of regular monitoring exercises results inall the sixteen countries involving the collection and analysis ofsamples (water, sediment and biota) using a commonmethodologyfor ease of comparison, comparability and quality control. With thesupport of the IGCC Executive Secretariat, the Regional ActivityCenter has organized several periodic ecosystem-wide trans-boundary pollution coastal and marine pollution monitoring andassessment using the research vessel, R/V Fritdjof Nansen incollaboration with the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Norway.In addition, the Center organizes periodicWorking Parties, conductsregular inter-comparison and inter-calibration exercises for qualitycontrol and quality assurance (GC/QA), organizes relevant trainingsincluding on ship-board marine pollution monitoring needed toharmonize and agree on common pollution sampling and analysismethodologies and protocols, and presents recommendations ontransboundary pollution management actions to the IGCC SteeringCommittee for adoption and implementation.
The countries have been working together and jointly throughthe Interim Guinea Current Commission in advancing the imple-mentation of the agreed management actions specified in theendorsed Strategic Action Programme. In order to consolidatesustainable coastal and marine environmental development in theregion, the countries immediately adopted for implementation ineach country the following principles in the endorsed StrategicAction Programme (SAP) as a means to accelerate the reversal ofdocumented transboundary pollution problems in the region.These principles include:
(a) The concept of integrated sustainable development shall beused in a way to restore the integrity of the GCLME or otherwise reinvigorate its capacity for use and enjoyment forpresent and future generations.
(b) The precautionary principle shall be applied wherever appro-priate as preventative measures to forestall any potentialdeleterious effects as harm to living resources, hazards tohuman health, hindrance to marine activities, reduction ofamenities and impairment of other legitimate uses of the seaeven when there is no established and conclusive evidence ofa causal relationship between the action and the effects and byvirtue of which greater caution is required when information isunavailable, unreliable or inadequate for meaningful inference.
(c) Other anticipatory and cooperative actions, such as regionalcontingency planning, environmental impact assessment,Integrated Coastal Areas management, strategic environ-mental assessment (involving the conservation of livingmarine resources and biodiversity, the establishment ofmarine protected areas, the transboundary assessment of the
environmental consequences of government programmes,policies and plans) shall be taken.
(d) The application of clean technologies which ensures bestpractices by replacement or phasing-out of obsolete high-waste and waste-generating technologies that are in use shallbe vigorously pursued and encouraged.
(e) The use of multilateral economic and policy instruments thatpromote integrated sustainable development shall bestrengthened through the implementation of economicincentives for transfer of environmentally friendly technolo-gies, practices and applications; the introduction andenforcement of user fees and the polluter pays principle; aswell as periodic environmental and natural resources auditing.
(f) Mandatory environmental, ecosystem and human healthconsiderations shall be included and required for all relevantpolicies and sectoral plans, particularly those regarding marineindustrial development, fisheries, mariculture and marinetransportation.
(g) Voluntary cooperation and strong political commitment shallbe promoted and fostered especially for transboundaryregional issues and activities.
(h) The full involvement and active participation of the privatesector as stakeholders shall be encouraged and advanced asintegral to the successful management and implementation ofthe SAP.
(i) Fully aware of the interest of other states in the GCLME, suchstates shall be encouraged to collaborate, establish linkagesand networking for their mutual benefits.
(j) Accountability and public transparency, public involvementand cooperation in the work of the GCLME shall be promotedthrough wide dissemination of information and awarenesscreation on activities to enhance the integrated sustainablemanagement of the region, including environmental variabilityforecasting/predictions and protection [42].
3.2. Management actions adopted for reversal of transboundarypollution in the GCLME
A combination of policy related and investment actions wereagreed by the Interim Guinea Current Commission (IGCC) countriesfor the reduction of transboundary pollution. The IGCC has alreadybegun implementing these management actions for the restorationof the health and productivity of the ecosystem.
3.2.1. Joint policy actions under implementationThe countries have initiatedmeasures for combating coastal and
marine pollution including the organization of several high-levelmeetings attending by senior Government officials from the sixteencountries under the auspices of the Interim Guinea CurrentCommission (IGCC) and within the framework of the AbidjanConvention and its Protocol for combating oil pollution prepared-ness and response. The IGCC have coordinated the preparation andimplementation of an Oil Pollution Contingency Plan by all majoroil producing member states of the GCLME in collaboration withthe International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IGCC assistedthe countries in harmonizing action plans and developing mecha-nisms for sharing technology and expertise including assistanceduring actual spill event (including sharing of clean-up equipmentand provision of expert advice). In addition, a regional policy tominimize transboundary impacts of oil pollution from activities inthe Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of IGCC member states, inpartnership with the organized oil operators (including multina-tionals) in the region have been developed and adopted by thecountries. Several countries are currently internalizing the regional
policy through the adoption of corresponding national policies andoil spill contingency plans. In addition, the IGCC in collaborationwith IMO has facilitated the adoption of a common strategy for theimplementation of the International Convention for the Preventionof Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978relating thereto (MARPOL) in the GCLME region. In addition,National and regional public awareness campaigns and clean-upexercises similar to those organized yearly for “Coast week” andfocused on sanitation for favored recreational beaches has beenorganized in the countries for combating the problem of MarineDebris, Tar Balls and Beach Litter. The public awareness creationand mass sensitization exercises are been followed by the harmo-nization, enforcement and implementation of a common standardat a regional level. The countries are addressing the problem of tarballs loading on beaches within the context of MARPOL 73/78 asa transboundary impact of oil transportation and/or dumping.
The IGCC has also facilitated the development and imple-mentation of a Ship Ballast Water (ship-source pollution) Policy bythe countries in tandem with existing IMO, GEF and Global-BallastWater Programme framework and management plan. The Inter-national Maritime Organization (IMO) is working closely with theIGCC in promoting awareness on the problems associated withballast water, as well as assisting the IGCC member States in theimplementation of existing international regulations on ballastwater discharge by ships in the GCLME region.
The IGCC in collaborationwith the member states, InternationalPartners and watchdog organizations has undertaken measures forthe prevention of Toxic Waste Dumping in the GCLME Regionthrough the enforcement of the provisions of the Convention on thePrevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and otherMatter (1972); the International Convention for the Prevention ofPollution from Ships 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978; andthe 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Move-ments of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal by the countries.Member States are been assisted in instituting effective surveillanceand monitoring mechanisms including participation by localpopulace through awareness and enlightenment campaigns for theprotectionof humanhealth and the environment. In the eventof anyillegal dumping in any of the member states such as the illegaldumping of toxic wastes in the beaches of Abidjan in 2007, the IGCCworking with the countries and donor organizations providesimmediate assistance to the affected country including requiredtechnical assistance for the prosecution of the ship/ship owners andcollaborators responsible for such act, if the need arises.
The IGCC has provided effective regional communication to thecountries and coordinated all the efforts to control marine pollu-tion, minimize impacts and promote cost-effective solutions.Common/appropriate water quality standards/guidelines havebeen developed and adapted and are currently been implementedand enforced by the countries in addition to the implementation ofappropriate point and non-point source pollution reductionmeasures in collaboration with the organized Private Sector. Fornon-point sources, the countries are strengthening and harmo-nizing required legislations and regulations for usage of agro-chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, etc) so as to control especiallyexcessive nutrient input leading to eutrophication and persistentorganic pollution. The IGCC is also implementing a demonstrationproject in Lome, Togo on novel approaches for controlling phos-phate pollution reduction and the results will be widely dissemi-nated for adoption and replication by the countries.
The countries have also jointly adopted the Policy on WasteMinimization and Cleaner Technology by industrial processes forthe reduction of discharges of wastes/effluents into receivingwaters. Countries are placing emphasis on the principle of reuse,reduce, recycle (3Rs) and application of low cost technology
options, including the Waste Stock Exchange Management System(WSEMS), and the adoption of Best Environmental Practice andBest Available Technology (BEP/BATs) in industrial and domesticprocesses. This new policy is currently been implemented in Ghanathrough a demonstration project coordinated by the IGCC, theresult of which will be disseminated to the other countries foradoption and replication. The IGCC has also assisted the countriesin the formulation of a Protocol for the Protection of the MarineEnvironment from Land Based Activities (LBA) and the imple-mentation of corresponding National Programmes of Action onLand Based Activities (NPA/LBAs) by the countries. The LBA Protocolto the Abidjan Convention will be presented to the AbidjanConvention Conference of Parties in late 2010 for adoption.
3.2.2. Investment actions adoptedThe countries working jointly through the Interim Guinea
Current Commission (IGCC) have adopted several priority invest-ment actions and enshrined in the Strategic Action Programme(SAP) for management of transboundary pollution. Some of thesepriority investment actions some of which are currently underimplementation include:
� Implementation of periodic assessments (at 3-yearly interval)of the water quality and trends;
� Development and implementation of simple primary treat-ment infrastructure for use by homesteads;
� Provision of secondary sewage treatment to targeted coastalurban populations;
� Promotion of use of constructed wetlands as a viable low costwastewater treatment option;
� Promotion of tertiary waste treatment technology, whereappropriate, in highly industrialized coastal cities;
� Partnership with the organized private sector (using pub-liceprivate partnership framework) on business plans forwaste management through informal recycling and reuse ofindustrial products with viability as small-scale commercialenterprises;
� Partnership with the private sector (publiceprivate partner-ship framework) to leverage financing for implementingwastewater discharge controls in targeted areas;
� Implementation of demonstration projects to bring best tech-nologies and practices to industrial discharges (e.g. pre-treat-ment, source control, process control);
� Construction of reception facilities for marine debris/waste-water at ports.
� Implementation of Best Environmental Practices/Best AvailableTechnologies for agriculture to reduce discharge of nutrients;
� Adoption and Implementation of low cost but viable technol-ogies for phosphate pollution reduction;
3.2.3. Cross-sectoral interventionsIt has been recognized by the countries that there is inadequate
capacity in member countries to address the priority trans-boundary concerns identified in the Transboundary DiagnosticAnalysis (TDA) and highlighted in the Strategic Action Programme(SAP). Therefore, the countries have identified the building andstrengthening of human, institutional and infrastructure capacityand maintenance of developed capacity as a high priority in theregion. Some of the identified actions by the countries are neededto address, inter-alia, legal development, harmonization of legis-lation, transfer of environmentally sound technologies and devel-opment of regional collaboration or networking in respect of survey
and assessment of ecosystem status. This also includes the devel-opment of institutional capacities of key agencies and institutionsin the region, which contribute to the integrated sustainablemanagement of the GCLME. In addition, the countries identified theorganization of regular stakeholder consultations as an importantelement in managing transboundary pollution.
In order to assist the countries in overcoming the identifiedshortfall in capacity, the IGCC initiated a programme to identify andinclude all pertinent stakeholders in the implementation of allGuinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem programme activities. TheIGCC identified and included the followingmain stakeholders in theimplementation of the Strategic Action Programme (SAP): Govern-ment Ministries and Agencies (Fishery, Environment, Finance,Planning, Agriculture, Mines, other relevant ministries), decentral-ized authorities, the academia, NGOs (local, regional and interna-tional) active in the GCLME region, CBOs involved in specificcommunity based activities, Private Sector (fishery, mining, chem-ical, oil/gas, forestry, tourism and agro-based industries, etc.) rele-vant to the scope of the SAP, bilateral and multilateral donors, UNorganizations and agencies. The agreed management actionsadopted by the countries and detailed in the SAP provides fora sufficient level of consultation and dissemination of information,and encourages the active involvement of the public in the decision-making process through inter-alia the participation of representa-tives of citizengroups in theProject SteeringCommitteeand supportof identified Regional NGOnetwork. The IGCC has organized severaltraining workshops and seminars for capacity building at theregional and national level and plans to continue to organize regularcapacity enhancing workshops for stakeholders in the region.
4. Conclusion
The Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME) project,predicated on a regional collaborative approach, has been oftremendous assistance to the sixteen countries especially in themainstreaming of environmental considerations into national andregional planning and policy frameworks, and the adoption ofEnvironmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs) and Cleaner Produc-tion Technologies for waste minimization and productivityenhancement in industrial production. The Interim Guinea CurrentCommission (IGCC) created by the countries as a regional consul-tation and coordination mechanism has greatly facilitated regionaldialogue and coordination for the management of the GuineaCurrent Large Marine Ecosystem. The regional collaborativeapproach has made it easier for the countries to manage trans-boundary pollution issues in the ecosystem. Through the imple-mentation of several demonstration projects, the GCLME projecthas added value to ecosystem management in the region. Forinstance, through the innovative waste stock exchange manage-ment system, in which the waste of one industry becomes rawmaterial for another industry, instituted by the GCLME project inthe demonstration project in Ghana presently under implementa-tion, the challenge posed by municipal and industrial wastes isgradually been solved resulting in waste reduction and ecosystemrecovery. In addition, the ongoing implementation of the demon-stration project on control of leachate pollution from the PhosphateMines around the Lagoon System in Togo contributing to the inci-dence of eutrophication and concomitant algal blooms and asso-ciated problems is providing useful lessons on non-point pollutionsource management for possible replication in other countries.These measures would in the long run facilitate the clean-up andrestoration of the marine, coastal and freshwater systems of theregion resulting in the enhancement of the health and productivityof the Large Marine Ecosystem and the recovery of the livingmarine resources principally fisheries. This would also create
alternative livelihoods in the long-term and assist the countries toreduce poverty, a major priority of the countries and of the NewPartnership for African Development (NEPAD). These are alsoconsistent with the objectives of the United Nations MillenniumDevelopment Goals and the World Summit on Sustainable Devel-opment Johannesburg Programme of Implementation (WSSD JPOI)targets related to transboundary pollution management. In addi-tion, a Regional Plan of Action on Land Based Activities (LBA) anddraft Protocol on Land Based Activities to the Abidjan Conventionwas developed in conjunction with the United Nations Environ-ment Programme Global Programme of Action on Land BasedActivities (UNEP-GPA) and recognized by the Eight Conference ofParties (COP) to the Abidjan Convention held in Johannesburg,South Africa from 5 to 8 November 2007. The final Protocol will beupdated by the Interim Guinea Current Commission (IGCC) andpresented for adoption at the Ninth COP scheduled for 2010.Through the established IGCC (and later the full Guinea CurrentCommission to be created before the end of the project in 2010), theregion has put in place an effective consultation, collaborative andcoordination intergovernmental body for joint, long-term andsound management of the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystemand sustainable exploitation of living resources thus facilitatingincreased productivity of natural goods and services and broad-ening access to markets.
The ongoing successful implementation of the GCLME has haddirect benefits to the region in terms of the improvement andprotection of public health, of livelihoods of the local communities,and of the general quality of the coastal zone. Through theseachievements and outcomes, tourists in the region will enjoy cleanand aesthetically pleasing recreational facilities. In the short-term,governments and institutions are benefiting from institutionalstrengthening as a result of networking, training programmes, theprovision of key items of equipment, and in particular from thedevelopment of the Strategic Action Programme (SAP). Properenvironmental assessments and pre-investment studies to beconducted in the coming months by the IGCC will facilitate therelease of vital credits for improving waste management and forstimulating the development of key sectors.
In conclusion, it is to be noted that the achievements so farrecorded in the region resulted from the adoption by the countries oftheLargeMarineEcosystemconceptwith itsfivemodularapproachesto marine environmental and living marine resources managementthat recognizes that pollutants and living marine resources have nopolitical boundaries and few geographical ones. This encourageda holistic, regional collaborative and multi-sectoral approach inmanagement of the pollution and livingmarine resource problems ofthe region and culminated in the strong political support accorded tothe project and marine resource management in the region by thecountrieswith the signingby the sixteenMinisters responsible for theproject of the Abuja Declaration in September 2006 as an expressionof strong support for sustainablemanagement practices instituted bythe project in the region. Through the establishment of the IGCC (andlater GCC) and the adopted LME approach, the countries have intro-duced changes in the ways that human activities are conducted indifferent sectors in the marine and coastal environment and posi-tioned their shared international waters and its resource on the pathof sustainable recovery.
Ethical Statement
This article represents the results of the implementation ofthe sixteen-country Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystemproject, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), jointlyimplemented by the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNEP)
and executed by the United Nations Industrial DevelopmentOrganization (UNIDO).
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