Title

Benin: Development of an Enabling Environment and Pilot Practices for Resilient Management of the Porto-Novo Lagoon
Country
Benin
Summary

In August 2014, Benin adopted a framework law on fishing and aquaculture. The result of the efforts of the Ministry of Fisheries was reinforced by the advocacy of the Benin Country Water Partnership (CWP-Benin) for the resilient management of the Porto-Novo lagoon. This law enshrines the harmonization of fisheries legislation with IWRM principles and helps incentivize resilient public investments in this sector.
Related IWRM Tools
Keywords
Advocacy Resilient Investments Fishing
Lessons Learned

To operationalise the IWRM approach at the country level, it is possible to engage stakeholders from a local level as shown by the example of advocacy for the sustainable management of the Porto-Novo lagoon led by CWP-Benin and its partners. An important condition is to target and engage the right actors and partners as well as the opportunities to influence governance processes.

Overall, the CWP-Benin has taken a cautious approach that emphasises sustainability over speed of implementation. Thus, the stakeholders were able to become real partners for action and actors of qualitative changes committed to strengthening the achievements and their sustainability after the end of the IWRM pilot action.

The field visit that allowed the MPs to see the extent of the degradation of Lake Nokoué and the lagoon and to exchange directly with the users and actors of the fisheries sector was decisive in the outcome, less than two months later, of the process of voting on the framework law on fisheries and aquaculture.

The availability and capacity to mobilise the expertise of the CWP-Benin for the cross-analysis of the draft framework law with the law on water management, as well as the updating of the explanatory memorandum, were also key factors in the rapid completion of the process.
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