The decision to set up a dedicated body for the stretch of coast between Fidjrossè and Ouidah is not simply an administrative move. Behind it lies a deeper calculation: how to keep the tourism momentum of the Route des Pêches alive while putting a brake on the chaotic occupation of wetlands that has been quietly fuelling flood risk.
A coastline that has become strategic
On Benin’s southern shore, the corridor linking Fidjrossè to Ouidah has turned into one of the most visible testing grounds for the country’s broader transformation agenda. Once defined by natural spaces, wetlands and local livelihoods, the area is now the target of heavy investment aimed at boosting its appeal.
Roads, drainage works, landscaping and tourist facilities have gradually reshaped the face of this part of the littoral.
But modernisation has a flip side. Rising land pressure and growing human activity are threatening natural spaces, especially the marshes and wetlands that play a vital role in water regulation.
It is precisely this tension between development and preservation that the government now intends to manage more tightly.
Wetlands at the heart of the debate
According to the assessment presented at the Council of Ministers, parts of the public natural domain are being occupied in an unregulated way. Marshes and other wetlands are particularly affected.
These areas are not just empty land waiting for urbanisation. They help hold back water and soften the impact of heavy rainfall.
Their conversion or gradual occupation reduces that natural capacity. For the Beninese authorities, this is an aggravating factor behind flooding.
Creating a structure dedicated to this territory is therefore meant to prevent tourism and property ambitions from causing irreversible damage to the natural environment.
A new authority to coordinate competing uses
The future Authority for the Development of the Basins of the Fidjrossè to Ouidah Zone will have a particularly broad remit.
It will be tasked with coordinating territorial planning, environmental protection, urban and landscape development, as well as tourism promotion and sustainable management of the coastline.
Its scope will cover in particular the areas considered sensitive and wetland between Fidjrossè and Ouidah.
This creation complements the framework set out in Benin’s 2018 law on the protection, development and enhancement of the coastal zone, which had already established the National Cell for Coastal Protection and Management to coordinate preservation efforts.
Erosion and submersion: the other threats
The issue is not limited to rain-driven flooding.
The coastline is also exposed to coastal erosion and marine submersion. The new Authority will therefore help implement structures and measures to limit these risks, working alongside the relevant administrations.
It will also monitor the environmental quality of the area and regulate discharges, pollution and nuisances likely to affect the coastal domain.
Particular attention will be paid to the dune belt, coastal ecosystems and wetlands, whose preservation is now seen as a condition for the sustainability of the developments already under way.
Greater control over construction
Another key dimension is urbanisation.
The new body will enforce urban planning rules and the specifications applicable to different projects. It will also be responsible for monitoring land use and ensuring compliance with architectural and urban standards specific to the coast.
Its role will be especially important for temporary occupation permits on the public maritime and lagoon domain. Before such permits are issued, its binding opinion will be required.
This provision should tighten oversight of activities and installations in an area where multiplying uses can quickly clash with environmental imperatives.
Tourism remains central to the strategy
Creating this Authority does not mean questioning tourism development. Rather, according to the government, it is about organising it better.
The body will examine projects involving tourist, seaside, cultural and recreational infrastructure. It will also coordinate commercial, artisanal, sporting and tourism activities along the coastal strip.
The goal is to make several functions coexist in the same space: tourism, leisure, economic activity, urbanisation and environmental protection.
This balance will be decisive for the future of the Route des Pêches, one of Benin’s flagship tourism development projects.
The private sector called in
To finance and operate future facilities, the government is also counting on public-private partnerships.
The new Authority will be tasked with encouraging this type of collaboration in order to mobilise investment around planned infrastructure and equipment.
This approach comes as Benin seeks to strengthen its tourism appeal and turn its coastline into a driver of economic development.
But the success of this strategy will also depend on the authorities’ ability to prevent investment and urbanisation from weakening the very natural spaces they are meant to enhance.
A new step in managing Benin’s coastline
The statutes of the new Authority have already been approved by the Council of Ministers. The minister responsible for the Living Environment and Sustainable Development must now, together with other relevant ministries, organise its effective establishment.
For Benin, the challenge goes beyond creating another administration. It is about regaining control of a territory under growing pressure, even as it stands as one of the country’s showcases for tourism development.
Between wetland protection, erosion control, urbanisation oversight and tourism growth, the Fidjrossè-Ouidah corridor now looks like a full-scale laboratory for the difficult equation between urban expansion and coastal preservation.