A groundbreaking partnership in Mayotte to support the lagoon and coastal communities and ecosystems

On Monday, 8 June 2026, World Oceans Day, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the French Ministry for Overseas Territories, the Aga Khan Foundation, and the Ismaili Imamat signed a memorandum of understanding launching a new partnership for Mayotte. This is the Aga Khan Foundation’s first partnership in a French territory.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan, Minister for Overseas Territories Naïma Moutchou, and AFD Chief Executive Officer Christophe Lecourtier. It marks a new phase in the partnership between AFD and the Aga Khan Foundation at a time when Mayotte faces major environmental, economic, and social challenges, particularly in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido, which caused widespread devastation in late 2024.

The partnership also reflects growing efforts by development actors to protect the world’s oceans, building on the momentum of the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3), held in Nice in June 2025.

The agreement signed in Paris establishes the operational framework for an ambitious project to protect Mayotte’s lagoon, restore coastal ecosystems, and strengthen the resilience of the territory and its communities in the face of environmental pressures.

Protecting Mayotte’s lagoon

Mayotte, France’s 101st department, is one of the country’s five global biodiversity hotspots. The island is surrounded by a vast coral barrier that forms the largest reef-lagoon complex in the western Indian Ocean, covering 1,100 km² with an average depth of 40 meters.

Mayotte’s lagoon is home to exceptional wildlife and represents a unique natural heritage. Its remarkable coastal and marine ecosystems include coral reefs – fringing, inner, and barrier reefs – as well as dry forest islets, seagrass beds, and mangroves.

The project aims to support more sustainable management of this natural heritage through an integrated approach linking marine, coastal, and terrestrial environments, thereby strengthening the land-sea continuum.

The first phase of the project, scheduled for 2027–2030, will focus on three main priorities: preserving the lagoon and its resources, restoring mangroves and other coastal buffer zones, and promoting more sustainable agricultural practices through agroecology and agroforestry. It will complement the Five-Year Strategy for the Reconstruction and Development of Mayotte, launched in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido and led by the Interministerial Mission for the Reconstruction and Renewal of Mayotte.

Planned activities include monitoring water quality, supporting more sustainable fishing practices, restoring mangrove ecosystems, reducing coastal erosion, assisting farmers in adopting sustainable practices, and developing awareness-raising and participatory management tools.

One of the program’s specific objectives will also be to help create the conditions for the inscription of Mayotte’s double barrier reef on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Aga Khan Foundation is contributing €8.5 million to this first phase of the project, which is expected to begin in early 2027.

Working with local stakeholders

The project will be implemented by three public operators: the Mayotte Marine Natural Park, the Coastal Protection Agency (Conservatoire du littoral), and the Public Establishment for the Renewal and Development of Mayotte. Local associations, which play an active role in environmental protection, will also be involved. Technical assistance from the Aga Khan Foundation is planned, particularly in the field of agroecology.

“For the first time, building on 35 years of partnership in Africa and Asia, the Aga Khan Development Network and AFD are joining forces in a French department, Mayotte. In the wake of the devastating Cyclone Chido, we are committed to working together to support the most vulnerable territories, combine our expertise and resources, and contribute to the development of the archipelago, the well-being of its people, and the protection of its lagoon,” said Christophe Lecourtier, Chief Executive Officer of AFD.

A new chapter for Mayotte

For AFD, this partnership reflects an evolving approach to development in France’s overseas territories, where cooperation between public institutions, development partners, and local stakeholders is increasingly essential to address complex environmental, economic, and social challenges.