West African nations target Eastern Atlantic for early high seas protection

Six months after a landmark treaty to protect the high seas entered into force in January, a group of West African nations is calling for the Eastern Atlantic to be included in the first wave of marine protected areas established under the agreement. The area known as the Convergence Zone of the Canary and Guinea Currents stretches from Cape Verde and Senegal in the north, to Nigeria and São Tomé and Príncipe in the south, forming a key migration corridor and nursery for hundreds of marine species. At the 11th Our Ocean Conference in the Kenyan coastal resort of Mombasa this week, Senegalese Minister of the Environment and Ecological Transition Aliou Gori Diouf said this new marine protected area would contribute to a global goal to protect at least 30% of the planet’s ecosystems by 2030. “West Africa is asserting its leadership by demonstrating that ocean protection and sustainabledevelopment go hand in hand,” Diouf said in a statement. Jun 5, 2026 Nature Offshore oil and gas expansion threatens key marine ecosystems, report warns Sea life in countries like Kenya is under threat from planned new oil and gas production, analysis by environmental groups has found Read more Jun 16, 2026 Comment Coral reefs are not doomed – but policy must catch up with the science A new study shows some reefs still have a meaningful chance to survive and recover from climate impacts – provided they are protected Read more To complement the push, the governments of The Gambia, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau and Senegal announced the creation of a joint regional marine protected area (MPA) “to preserve the resources essential to the livelihood” of their communities. They added that the regional initiative will require global collaboration, as the countries face “massive challenges” from ocean heating as well as illegal fishing and marine pollution “leading to a reduction in biodiversity and lower economic opportunities for fishing-dependent com