Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience |  University of Cape Coast

The Centre for Coastal Management - Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (CCM-ACECoR), at the University of Cape Coast, welcomed officials from the World Bank's West Africa Coastal Areas (WACA) Management Program as part of the project's mid-term review mission, on June 1, 2026. The visit formed part of the World Bank's assessment of the WACA Project's progress, with a focus on identifying lessons learned, evaluating achievements, and exploring how these lessons can be integrated into the remaining implementation period and future coastal resilience initiatives.

During the meeting, the Acting Director of CCM-ACECoR, Professor Precious Mattah, provided an overview of the Centre's establishment, mandate, and contributions to the WACA Project. He noted that CCM-ACECoR was established to undertake demand-driven applied research, capacity building, and outreach to address pressing coastal and marine challenges across West Africa.

Professor Mattah highlighted the Centre's longstanding partnership with the WACA Project, explaining that CCM-ACECoR supported the project's initial operations in Ghana by providing technical expertise, guiding research activities, and offering policy advice to inform coastal management interventions.

Since 2019, CCM-ACECoR has continued to strengthen human capacity in coastal and marine resource management, producing 48 PhD graduates, over 160 MPhil graduates, and training more than 680 professionals through its short-course programmes.

As part of its support to the WACA Project, the Centre has led and contributed to several strategic knowledge products and technical initiatives, including the development of a Compendium of Coastal Management Practices in West Africa, a Profile of Experts and Institutions in Coastal Management in West Africa, Ghana's Multi-Sector Investment Plan (MSIP), a Baseline Study on West African Case Studies for Coastal Nature-Based Solutions, the development of the Regional Oceans and Coastal (The ROC) Data Hub for West Africa, and technical support to Hohai University in conducting feasibility studies on flood risk and coastal erosion mitigation in the Volta Delta.

The World Bank delegation also toured the CCM-ACECoR facility, inspecting the Centre's building, whose construction was partly funded through the WACA Project. The inspection formed part of the mid-term review to assess the utilisation of project investments and appreciate the infrastructure supporting research, capacity building, and stakeholder engagement in coastal resilience.
The visit provided an opportunity for the World Bank delegation and CCM-ACECoR to reflect on the progress made under the WACA Project, discuss challenges encountered, and identify opportunities to strengthen collaboration towards achieving sustainable coastal management and resilience across the West African region.