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On a global scale, most of the coastal zones in the world are undergoing rapid and accelerating changes. This coastal syndrome combines two major trends: one linked to the growth of coastal populations, habitat, transport and industrial infrastructures (assets); the other linked to the influence of climate change and its effects in terms of sea-level rise, increased frequency of extreme weather events, acidification and increase in ocean surface temperature, both affecting the health of coastal ecosystems. This situation is also reflected in the increase in coastal engineering solutions, which have significant impacts on coastal hydrodynamics and natural ecosystems. This extremely dynamic context calls for an evolution in conservation and spatial planning strategies in order to better anticipate changes that may affect not only the sustainability of both the distribution and health of natural ecosystems, but also the relevance of conservation efforts. Marine and coastal protected areas help preserve ecological services, and reduce the risks faced by coastal communities. Therefore, it can be argued that the effectiveness of these conservation units will depend on the ability, (i) to take into account their territorial context, and also (ii) to base the management decisions on a prospective and sufficiently anticipated (future-oriented) approach. MPA management must be proactive to cope with such rapid changes. The Nexus approach, promoted by the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management - coastal ecosystem group (CEM/CEG), places marine and coastal spatial planning as a key integrative element linking conservation, adaptation to climate change and coastal risk reduction, and as a part of no-regret adaptation strategies. This paper highlights the main factors that characterize current coastal dynamics, and then briefly presents three future-oriented pilot operations, implemented in Western Africa at different scales. These operations illustrate how MPAs must become structuring elements for the organization and development of coastal territories if they are to contribute to the resilience of coastal systems and to ensure their own long-term sustainability.

The Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa—WAEMU, instructed by its Conference of Environment Ministers, with the assistance of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature—IUCN, the consultancy firm EOS.D2C and the Coastal Ecosystems Group of the Commission on Ecosystem Management, undertook a vast diagnostic and prospective study on coastal risk study including the formulation of proposals for rethinking the development of the West African coastal strip, from Mauritania to Benin (SDLAO, UEMOA–IUCN 2011). This study highlights the general trends that will characterise these coastal systems by 2030 and 2050. These trends are based on the fragility of coastal systems, urban and industrial developments, and uncertainties related to climate change in a context where the sedimentary deficits are compounded by large dams and growing demand for construction materials. The importance given to green infrastructure and soft, natural solutions, assuming their conservation, and sometimes restoration, was emphasised in the conclusions of the study, as was the necessity of building capacity in terms of observation and anticipation, in order to steer development decisions on different scales, from regional to State to local authority. The complexity of the mosaic of estuarine habitats determines their sensitivity to any changes in the environmental conditions and positions the estuarine zones, which are generally populated, as sentries for the marine environment, but also for the management of the upstream river basins. The subtle geography of the estuaries and, more generally, of fluvio-marine systems (lagoons, deltas, etc.) should also teach us how to better employ the various dimensions of the rich notion of coastal area and lay the foundations of a kind of development and planning that is integrated into the natural land matrix, buoyed by it and respectful of it.