Togo and Benin Align Strategy for Managing Transnational Koutammakou Site

Public Management

Monday, 24 November 2025 12:31

Togo and Benin Align Strategy for Managing Transnational Koutammakou Site

UNESCO approves the extension of Koutammakou to include its Beninese section on the World Heritage List.
The UN agency requires both states to submit a joint conservation report by December 1, 2026.
The two countries prepare a unified management plan and advance the second phase of the conservation project scheduled for 2026.

Togo and Benin strengthened their coordinated management of the transnational cultural site of Koutammakou after both countries held the second session of the joint oversight body in Défalé.

This meeting followed UNESCO’s decision to approve the extension of Koutammakou’s boundaries to include its Beninese section, which the organization has now added to the World Heritage List. UNESCO recommends that the two states establish a shared management mechanism supervised by the cultural heritage departments of Togo and Benin and define its mandate.

UNESCO also requires both countries to submit a joint report by December 1, 2026, on the site’s conservation status and on progress in implementing the recommendations already issued.

After a first joint session in August 2023 in Boukoumbé, Benin, this second meeting focused on drafting the updated report, preparing activities under phase two of the project “Improving the State of Conservation of Koutammakou” scheduled for 2026, and identifying elements to include in the future unified management plan. Participants also addressed matters related to conservation, enhancement, and promotion of Koutammakou.

In Togo, the site operates under a management plan covering 2025–2027. This document relies on recommendations issued by the World Heritage Centre, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) after their evaluation mission in June 2024. The plan identifies increased community involvement as a key priority for preservation.

Esaïe Edoh

REFORMS OVERVIEW

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At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

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CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

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In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

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