Côte d'Ivoire: Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, Recovery Framework and Technical Studies for Urban Resilience to Flood Risk in Abidjan

Context and objectives

Following the dramatic floods of June 2018 in Côte d'Ivoire’s capital city Abidjan which caused significant damage to infrastructure and around 1,140 residential buildings, the government requested support to address these recurrent natural hazards. Through this project, the Ministry of Safety, Environment and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Urbanism and the Ministry of Infrastructure have spearheaded the development of a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) and Disaster Recovery Framework (DRF). 

In addition to supporting the development of a PDNA and Recovery Framework, this ACP-EU NDRR project informed with in-depth studies the preparation of the World Bank-financed "Abidjan Urban Resilience" project. The Abidjan Urban Resilience project aims to provide physical investments aiming at reducing flood risk and improving access to resilient infrastructures, such as drainage systems and waste management. Abidjan is namely increasingly vulnerable to coastal flooding, erosion, and landslide risk. The city is exposed to heavy precipitation during the rainy season, an increasing number of settlements is located along flood-prone banks, and the population of Abidjan has more than doubled since 2001 whereas urban planning has not kept pace with this rapid urbanization.

Main activities and results

Component 1: Abidjan PDNA & Recovery Framework. Activities under this component included:

• Validating and strengthening a damage and loss database;
• Validating and strengthening a PDNA;
• Preparing and carrying out the Recovery Framework.

Component 2: Preparation of the Abidjan Urban Resilience project.

Activities under this component informed the preparation of the World Bank-financed Abidjan Urban Resilience project. The ACP-EU NDRR Project carried out in-depth studies in the project areas (which are to be identified in the PDNA and Recovery Framework) and at watershed level. The studies focused on the following topics:

• Review of relevant existing data and studies;
• Assessment of hydrological-, flood-, erosion-, and landslide risk;
• Further definition measures to reduce and/or mitigate risk, in accordance with the Recovery Framework.

The PDNA was successfully developed and validated, and technical assistance was provided for Urban Resilience investments. 

In addition to these immediate post-disaster recovery activities, community vulnerability mapping activities were also carried out to develop a better understanding of flood risks in Abidjan. In doing so, a partnership was launched between government agencies, universities and civil society organizations, as part of a larger World Bank/GFDRR initiative called Open Cities Africa. The objective is to enhance collaboration on resilient urban planning and flood risk management, and to develop strategic spatial information that will help the planning of future activities and investments in a more resilient way. 

The results of these activities are compelling: over 220,000 buildings have been digitalized using a combination of satellite imagery and 20 on-the-ground mappers including 8 women that were trained on using the OpenStreetMap platform. Land use has also been mapped in the Abidjan area by a team of 20 mappers including 10 women that were also trained for this activity. Furthermore, an Atlas of Abidjan’s neighbourhoods has been produced and a web-based mapping platform has been developed to access information collected.

Partnerships and coordination

The project was implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Safety, Environment, and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Urbanism, the Ministry of Infrastructure, and with UN Agencies, in particular UNDP. Civil Society Organizations were also involved in the development of the PDNA.