, Fort-de-France (FUA), Martinique
City population: 140947
Duration: 2012 – ongoing
Implementation status: Ongoing
Scale: Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level
Project area: unknown
Type of area: Other
Last updated: June 2025

The creation of the AGOA Sanctuary was first envisioned in 2006, officially established in 2010, and continues to evolve as a vital initiative for marine conservation. Located in the waters of the French Antilles, the sanctuary encompasses the entire Exclusive Economic Zone of Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, and Saint-Barthélemy. Spanning 143,256 square kilometers, it is the second-largest marine protected area in France, just behind the Coral Sea Natural Park in New Caledonia. AGOA was established to ensure a favorable conservation status for marine mammals, aiming to protect both the species and their habitats through a combination of direct and indirect actions. The sanctuary’s long-term strategy is grounded in five core principles: reducing harmful interactions between human activities and marine mammals; enhancing scientific understanding of these species, their habitats, and the pressures they face; increasing public awareness and disseminating knowledge about the sanctuary; strengthening collaboration with governmental agencies for effective surveillance and enforcement; and fostering regional cooperation with Caribbean nations under the Cartagena Convention and its SPAW Protocol. Together, these guiding principles reflect AGOA’s commitment to sustainable stewardship of marine biodiversity in the French Antilles, creating a lasting sanctuary for marine mammals in the Caribbean. (1, 2, 3)

carte-ofb-aires-proteges
carte-ofb-aires-proteges
https://sanctuaire-agoa.fr/editorial/sanctuary-within-ofb

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Blue infrastructure
  • Other

Key challenges

  • Coastal resilience and marine protection (SDG 14)
  • Marine and coastal biodiversity protection
  • Marine and coastal research and/or education
  • Environmental quality
  • Noise reduction
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Habitat and biodiversity restoration
  • Habitat and biodiversity conservation
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Environmental education

Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)

  • Climate-Related Hazards
  • Degradation of carbon sinks
  • Environmental Degradation
  • Biodiversity loss
  • Resource Scarcity and Competition
  • Human-wildlife conflicts

Key priorities

Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration)

Focus

Protection of natural ecosystems, Expansion of protected areas, Habitat restoration, Habitat conservation, Marine and coastal conservation initiatives, Creating nature reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, or biodiversity hotspots to conserve unique ecosystems, Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs, Scientific research of biodiversity or ecosystems, Monitoring and maintenance of habitats and/or biodiversity, Species-specific monitoring and conservation programs

Project objectives

The Agoa Sanctuary has multiple missions: Deepen knowledge of the Sanctuary's cetaceans, their habitat and the threats to which they are subject Support human activities to limit their negative impacts on marine mammals Raise awareness, inform and educate users of the marine protected area Cooperate with neighboring states that share the same cetacean populations (2)

Implementation activities

Since the launch of its training program in 2016, the Agoa Sanctuary has continued to support sustainable whale-watching practices in the French Antilles. In 2022, a more advanced refresher course was organized for active whale-watching operators in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Saint-Martin. This updated training was more rigorous than the original, consisting of three days of theoretical instruction followed by a half-day of practical exercises at sea. In parallel, since 2020, Agoa Sanctuary agents have been working to implement inspection protocols across the sanctuary. These inspections target both professional maritime operators and recreational boaters and are conducted at sea as well as from strategic land-based observation points, particularly in Martinique. The initiative forms part of the Regional Monitoring Plans for Marine Fisheries and the Marine Environment (PRCPMEM), which are coordinated by the maritime directorates of Guadeloupe and Martinique and formalized by the respective prefects. (5,6)

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity conservation:

  • Protect and enhance urban habitats
  • Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
  • Preserve and strengthen habitat connectivity
  • Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
  • Protect species
  • Undertake specific measures to protect species
  • Undertake specific measures to protect native species
  • Means for conservation governance
  • Biodiversity offsets
  • Raise public awareness
  • Public engagement
  • Create and use scientific knowledge for conservation

Biodiversity restoration:

  • Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
  • Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
  • Restore native species
  • Restore valued species
  • Restore endangered species
  • Restore ecological connectivity
  • Public engagement

Main beneficiaries

  • National-level government
  • Local government/Municipality
  • Researchers/University
  • Coastal-dependent communities (e.g. small-scale fishers, coastal farmers, and indigenous peoples)

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • National government
  • Public sector institution
  • Private sector/corporate actor/company

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
  • Taskforce groups
  • Dissemination of information and education
  • Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The implementation and management of the Agoa Sanctuary involve a range of actors: The French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) The French government, particularly the Ministry of the Environment State maritime services, responsible for activities related to the sea Private sector actors, including maritime companies, whale-watching operators, and tourism businesses Port authorities and towing companies In addition to these main stakeholders, several other important contributors support the sanctuary’s mission: Local associations, such as L'Assomar, Méti-Mer, LAUSOPAMMAR, and CCS Scientists and academic institutions, including the University of the French Antilles and the BOREA laboratory Tourism committees across the region CAR-SPAW (Regional Activity Centre for the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife), based in Guadeloupe and operating under the Cartagena Convention Regional Activity Centre for the SPAW Protocol Fishermen

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Yes (Cartagena Convention (6) The Convention on Biological Diversity (5))
... a national policy or strategy? Yes (The Grenelle Environment Forum and The Grenelle Sea Forum (5))
... a local policy or strategy? Unknown

Type of enablers

Capacity-building projects, Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)

Financing

Total cost

€100,000 - €500,000

Source(s) of funding

  • Public national budget

Type of funding

  • Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

No

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Green space and habitat
  • Reduced biodiversity loss
  • Expected reduced biodiversity loss
  • Increased protection of threatened species
  • Expected increased protection of threatened species
  • Reduced human-wildlife conflicts
  • Expected reduced human-wildlife conflicts

Economic impacts

  • Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Education
  • Increased support for education and scientific research
  • Achieved increased support for education and scientific research
  • Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
  • Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature

Type of reported impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs

Unknown

References

1.
Agoa Sanctuary (n.d.). Welcome to the Agoa Sanctuary. Accessed on April 4, 2025,;
2.
French Office for Biodiversity (n.d.). The Agoa Sanctuary for Marine Mammals. Accessed on April 4, 2025,;
3.
Agoa Sanctuary (n.d.). The Threats . Accessed on April 4, 2025,;
4.
Agoa Sanctuary (n.d.). The Agoa Sanctuary Management Plan. Accessed on April 4, 2025,;
5.
Agoa Sanctuary (n.d.). Training sea activity operators. Accessed on April 4, 2025,;
6.
Water office Martinique (n.d.). AGOA SANCTUARY. Accessed on April 4, 2025,;
7.
French biodiversity office (n.d.). Activity report 2023 - Agoa Sanctuary. Accessed on April 4, 2025,;
8.
French biodiversity office (n.d.). 2022 ACTIVITY REPORT - SANCTUAIRE AGOA. Accessed on April 4, 2025,;
Agoa Sanctuary
Agoa Sanctuary
https://en.martinique-tour.com/offres/agoa-sanctuaire-pour-les-mammiferes-marins-les-trois-ilets-en-3786071/
posteragoabaleinebd.jpg
posteragoabaleinebd.jpg
https://sanctuaire-agoa.fr/editorial/agoa-sanctuary-species-posters
naturescapes bannerInformation about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.