West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (WACA 2)

The WACA program aims to strengthen coastal resilience in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, and Togo by mainstreaming climate risks into national policies and investing in transport, urban, and natural resource sectors. Supported by a USD 222 million package approved by the World Bank in 2018, the initiative utilizes a 'WACA Marketplace' to match investment demand with partner financing. As of June 2021, 17% of committed funds were disbursed, with specific outcomes in Benin including the securing of 3,500 households from erosion and flooding. The document highlights that the success of such regional instruments depends on strong regional cooperation, political stability, a pipeline of bankable projects, and currency stability.

• The WACA program targets coastal resilience in six West African countries—Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, and Togo—by integrating climate risks such as sea-level rise, flooding, and extreme weather into national strategies and investing in the transport, urban, and natural resources sectors.
• In 2018, the World Bank approved a USD 222 million funding package for the project, which includes a USD 20 million grant from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), with additional support from the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Fund for the Global Environment (FFEM).
• As of June 2021, 17% of the committed funds have been disbursed. In Benin, the project has secured 3,500 households from flooding and coastal erosion and signed co-financing agreements with 33 Biodiversity Community Conservation Areas cooperatives for income-generating activities in agri-food processing, fish farming, animal husbandry, and market gardening.
• The program utilizes the WACA Platform to scale collaboration and financing, and a 'WACA Marketplace' designed as a simplified mechanism to match the demand for coastal resilience investments with available partner financing.
• The effectiveness of this regional investment instrument is contingent upon strong regional cooperation via entities like Regional Economic Communities (RECs), stable political environments, the existence of a prioritized pipeline of adaptation projects with climate risk analytics, and stable currency markets or common currencies.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2021). West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (WACA 2). https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/gca-africa-adaptation-finance/case_studies/west-africa-coastal-areas-resilience-investment-project-waca-2/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (WACA 2). 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/gca-africa-adaptation-finance/case_studies/west-africa-coastal-areas-resilience-investment-project-waca-2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (WACA 2) |date=16 September 2021 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/gca-africa-adaptation-finance/case_studies/west-africa-coastal-areas-resilience-investment-project-waca-2/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2021west, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (WACA 2)}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/gca-africa-adaptation-finance/case_studies/west-africa-coastal-areas-resilience-investment-project-waca-2/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }