After Boa Vista Island in 2020, Cape Verde has just inaugurated its second Coastal Fringe and Adjacent Sea Management Plan (POOCM) on Maio Island thanks to funding from the MAVA Foundation and PRCM through the project “Survival of Marine Turtles in West Africa (STM)”.

POOCM is a territorial management instrument that integrates land and sea, and is aimed at the planning and management of the coastline and adjacent sea, the determination of areas of vulnerability and risk, the regulation of occupation criteria and the deployment of infrastructure aimed at safeguarding and protecting territorial, environmental and heritage resources and values.

On shore, the plan covers a 1500-meter wide strip from the high tide line and a marine area called the adjacent marine area that is a 3-nautical mile wide strip from the high tide line on the seaward side.

POOCM also allows for better coordination and consultation among institutions in charge of the management and monitoring of the coastal zone.

The POOCM implementation is expected to have the following impacts on local communities and individuals:

• Help the local community to know the weaknesses and potentialities of its resources;
• Strengthen the community’s capacity to defend its resources, especially by allowing the denunciation and imputation of acts that harm the good exploration, conservation and protection of biodiversity;
• Strengthen the community’s capacity to defend its resources in the decision-making process, especially in the conservation and protection of biodiversity;
• Strengthen the dynamism of a sustainable economy that is more environment friendly;
• Allow for a greater security and a better quality of life for communities.