BROU Kamenan Marcel
Abstract
The issue of coastal zone management in underdeveloped countries - particularly in West Africa remains an environmental, social, and economic concern. It is evident that, over the past few decades, coastal zones in both developed and developing countries have faced numerous challenges. Climate change and human-induced factors have had enormous consequences for vulnerable coastal populations, the economy, and the environment. Faced with this situation, these communities continue to develop strategies to protect themselves. Côte dâIvoire is no exception to this concern. The residents of Lahou-Kpanda, in the Grand Lahou department, have been suffering the effects of climate change for decades, resulting in increasingly evident coastal erosion; however, they continue to develop resilience strategies that do not, in terms of either quantity or quality, match the structural management measures needed to withstand these effects. The objective of this study is to demonstrate how the communities of Lahou-Kpanda are adapting to the effects of coastal erosion. Based on data from field surveys conducted from 2023 to 2025, this study shows that residents are planting coconut trees along the riverbanks, exhuming bodies, developing socio-cultural practices, and strengthening their resilience through the launch of the WACA project (West Africa Coastal Areas Program), and subsequently established a local coastal management committee to address the hazard.