Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for Côte d’Ivoire under the Adaptation Fund Project “Improved Resilience of Coastal Communities in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana”.

The Government of Côte d’Ivoire has appealed to UN-Habitat to support cities and coastal (and river/delta) communities in their adaptation to climate change efforts. This includes strengthening their resilience to coastal erosion and flooding, and their related impacts and risks.

It is in this context that the Adaptation Fund will provide funding of around $14 million for the implementation of integrative actions in coastal legislation, capacity building, and concrete transformative nature-based interventions. These efforts will aim at replicability at different scales. The interventions will be the most cost-effective and community inclusive, becoming a prototype for the sustainable management of coastal areas in West Africa.

In Côte d’Ivoire the project’s concerns will focus on Greater Abidjan, the main area of urban development and population growth, where most of the industrial, commercial, residential and educational facilities are concentrated. This area is at high risk of coastal erosion and flooding as it is surrounded by the Ebrié lagoon and the sea. The mainly targeted towns, located between the Ebrié lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean are Jacqueville and Grand-Bassam.

In line with the Adaptation Fund’s ESP and GP, UN-Habitat’s Environmental and Social Safeguard Policy (ESSP), and National Environmental Assessment requirements, UN-Habitat and partners are required to categorize the risk of the project as a whole and to manage potential risks and impacts. It is against this background that this Environmental and Social Impact Assessment study has been undertaken.