During the second inter-governmental meeting on Western African and Macaronesian aquatic mammals (WATCH-Western African Talks on Cetaceans and their Habitats), which took place in Lomé, Togo, from 2-3 October 2008, 15 countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) to protect over 30 small cetacean species in an area that stretches from Macaronesia, through Morocco to South Africa.

The new instrument contains two action plans to conserve marine species and will help facilitate transboundary cooperation by providing an international platform to negotiate and coordinate research and conservation measures. The countries that signed the agreement are Angola, Benin, Cape Verde, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Togo.
Link to further information
UNEP Press Release, 7 October 2008