The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC), under the auspices of the Ghana Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MOFA), is holding a four-day national training workshop on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), from 17-20 June 2025, beginning today at the Fisheries Commission Headquarters in Accra, Ghana, as an activity under the FCWC’s MarEcoPlan project.

The opening ceremony on 17 June 2025 was marked by speeches from the FCWC Secretary-General, Dr Gaston Antoine Djihinto; the MarEcoPlan Project Coordinator, Mr. Kossi Ahoedo; and the Executive Director of Ghana’s Fisheries Commission, Prof. Benjamin Campion. In his opening remarks, Prof. Campion shared that, given Ghana’s designation of Cape Three Points as a Marine Protected Area, the workshop is particularly relevant and should build upon existing expertise and capacity to inform policy and management of the space. The meeting’s participants comprise representatives from Ghana’s Petroleum Commission, Ghana Navy, Hen Mpoano, Ghana News Agency, Ghana Maritime Authority, IUCN, and other members of the project’s Ghana national working group. The MSP training workshop is one of three workshops scheduled to take place (one per pilot project country (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo) to help trainees grasp the key concepts of marine spatial planning. 

MarEcoPlan’s International MSP Consultant, Mrs. Dieynaba Seck, is facilitating the training in coordination with the MarEcoPlan’s Ghana MSP consultant, Dr Kwame Adu Agyekum, on MSP concepts which include strategies to identify and overcome barriers, challenges and potential conflicts between various users of marine and coastal spaces; familiarisation with the essential tools for developing an effective marine and coastal management plan; and assessment and adaptation of MSP plans in line with ecological and socio-economic developments.

The “Using Marine Spatial Planning in the Gulf of Guinea for the Implementation of Payment for Ecosystem Services and Coastal Nature-Based Solutions,” dubbed the MarEcoPlan project, is a three-year, three-million-dollar pilot MSP project being implemented in three FCWC Member States: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo. The MarEcoPlan project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and is being jointly implemented by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The FCWC has partnered with IUCN to secure funding from the GEF for this project, as part of implementing its Strategic Action Plan (SAP) 2021-2030, which aims to enhance cooperation and transboundary management of coastal and marine resources, along with associated ecosystems. This initiative aims to improve food security, increase resilience to climate change, and foster sustainable livelihoods in the region.