By Benjamin Adamafio Commey
Accra, Sept. 11, GNA – Dr Luc Boerboom, Associate Professor at the University of Twente, has advised Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to promote development along an emerging inland economic corridor to reduce pressure on vulnerable coastal areas and strengthen resilience to climate change.
This follows the discovery of a secondary development corridor about 80 kilometres inland from the coastline within the two countries.
Dr Boerboom said the discovery presented an opportunity to redirect some development away from flood-prone coastal settlements while strengthening existing inland towns.
He gave the recommendation in an interview with the media on the sidelines of the third session of the Steering Committee of the Improved Resilience of Coastal Communities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana (IRCC) Project, held in Accra on Thursday.
The objective of the meeting was to review progress of the project across the three main components namely; climate-responsive spatial planning, early warning systems, nature-based solutions, resilient livelihoods and regional cooperation.
It also sought to assess implementation challenges and achievements of the project, validate ongoing work plans and ensure alignment with national development priorities.
The IRCC Project, approved by the Adaptation Fund in 2023 with a budget of US$13.99 million, targets 21 coastal communities in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and directly benefits about 126,019 people.
The project, which commenced in September 2024, targets 11 coastal communities in the Ada East, Ada West and Anloga districts of Ghana and 10 communities in Grand-Bassam and Jacqueville departments of Cote d’Ivoire.
Dr Boerboom said spatial planning analysis conducted under the project had provided a clearer understanding of how settlements along the coast, from villages and towns to major cities, were interconnected, particularly along the rapidly developing Abidjan-Lagos corridor.
“The discovery that we have made is that there is actually a secondary corridor, which is about 80 kilometres north of the coast, in both countries,
“The insight of the last six months is that we see that this corridor is in the making. If we would make use of that corridor, then we could reduce the pressure on the coast, right,” Dr Boerboom, who specialises in Spatial Planning Support Systems and Institutionalisation at the University’s Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation said.
He said promoting development in that corridor could help reduce pressure on environmentally sensitive coastal areas, particularly estuaries where rivers met the sea and flooding risks were high.
“Nature manages its water with these kind of estuaries. Once you start building there, of course you get problems,” he said.
He also advocated giving greater development attention to smaller inland towns, including investment in infrastructure, schools, hospitals and economic activities, while improving north-south connections to the emerging corridor.
The researcher said investment in the primary Abidjan-Lagos corridor should also consider supporting responsible development inland, suggesting that a portion of investment in the primary corridor could be directed towards developing the secondary corridor.
Its first component, led by the University of Twente, focuses on climate-responsive spatial planning, while other components address early warning systems, nature-based solutions, resilient livelihoods and regional cooperation.
Mr Mouhamadou Diene, Regional Project Coordinator of the IRCC Project, said implementation had progressed since its launch some two years, although much of the work so far had focused on planning and preparation.
He said community involvement in spatial planning was progressing, while procurement processes for physical interventions, including drainage infrastructure, were “very far advanced”.
“We hope also to improve and increase the rate of implementation in the coming months,” Mr Diene, who works with UN-Habitat, said.
He identified the protection and restoration of mangroves as another critical measure for strengthening coastal resilience, following project assessments that linked mangrove harvesting and degradation to increased vulnerability.
He said mangroves helped protect coastlines, stabilise soils, reduce salinisation and provide important habitats for fish, making community sensitisation and sustainable management essential.
Mr Diene said Ghana had planted 111 hectares of mangroves and was targeting 200 hectares by October, with communities playing a central role in the restoration activities.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade
11 Sept 2026
Reporter: Benjamin Adamafio Commey