With about one third of the sub-region’s population hosted by the coastal areas, the World Bank in a 2017 reportnoted that 56 per cent of West Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) is generated in the areas. However, these coastal areas that hold so much economic potential for some of the world’s developing economies are now very much troubled. Erosion, flooding, ocean surge and pollution are major causes of the dangerous degradation that is causing the sub-region both human and economic woes. According to the global financial institution, “environmental degradation in the coastal areas of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Togo cost $3.8 billion, or 5.3% of the four countries’ GDP in 2017.”