Opening in Lomé of the Regional Validation Meeting of the Draft Regional Report on the state of the Environment and Climate and ECOWAS Perspectives

The Department of Economic Affairs and Agriculture, through the Directorate of Environment and Natural Resources, is organizing from February 25 to 27, 2025, in Lomé, Togolese Republic, the Regional Validation Meeting of the Draft Regional Report on the State of the Environment and Climate and ECOWAS Perspectives.

The meeting brings together representatives from Member States, regional and international institutions (UEMOA Commission, AGRHYMET Regional Center, West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), Center for Ecological Monitoring (CSE), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Mano River Union (MRU), Abidjan Convention, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID)), representatives from the ECOWAS Commission and its specialized agencies (ARAA, PPDU), as well as two external consultants.

The main objective of the meeting is to validate the ECOWAS draft report on the state of the environment and climate and its perspectives, including national environmental profiles of Member States.

The opening ceremony of this meeting was presided over by Mr. FOLI-BAZI Katari, Minister of Environment and Forest Resources of the Togolese Republic. In his speech, the Minister thanked, on behalf of the Togolese Government, the authorities of the ECOWAS Commission for choosing Togo to host this important meeting. He then emphasized the importance of the environment, our common heritage, which is undergoing profound changes with negative consequences. Furthermore, he recalled that once validated, the report will provide national and regional decision-makers with an updated scientific basis for environmental management and combating climate change, thus addressing the challenges of sustainable development in the region. Finally, the Minister declared the meeting open after inviting participants to fully contribute to the discussions.

The Minister’s opening address was preceded by remarks from His Excellency Mr. Barros Bacar BANJAI, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Togo. In his speech, on behalf of Mrs. Massandjé TOURE-LITSE, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, the Resident Representative thanked the Togolese Republic for agreeing to host this regional meeting. He briefly presented the levels of degradation of certain environmental components, the actions undertaken by ECOWAS for environmental preservation and the fight against climate change, notably the adopted policies and strategic documents, as well as regional actions carried out in favor of ECOWAS Member States. He also recalled the inclusive and participatory process of developing the report. The Resident Representative concluded his remarks by indicating that the validation of this report marks a decisive step before informing participants of the upcoming publication of the validated report as part of the festivities marking the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS.

The ECOWAS Report on the State of the Environment and Climate constitutes a significant first attempt to provide Member States with updated data and information on the state and major environmental and climatic trends in the region, as well as to make policy and operational recommendations.

The report covers the following environmental thematic areas:

• Climate change and air quality
• Land 
• Biodiversity and ecosystems 
• Freshwater
• Marine and coastal environment
• Human settlements
• Waste

This report also presents environmental profiles derived from national reports of all Member States. It is important to note that in the framework of developing the regional report, the ECOWAS Commission provided technical and financial support to five Member States, including Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, The Gambia, Guinea, and Niger, for the drafting of their national reports.

The meeting is expected to validate the report with relevant observations from participants before its publication.