This project addresses the need for greater attention to food security in West Africa for women shellfishers and their families through improving biodiversity conservation of the ecosystems upon which their livelihoods depend. The project aims to strengthen the evidence base, increase awareness, and equip stakeholders to adapt and apply successful approaches for replication and scale-up in eleven coastal West African countries from Senegal to Nigeria. It draws on successful cases of a rights-based, ecosystem-based, co-management approach to shellfish management by women in mangrove ecosystems in The Gambia and Ghana. Knowledge and experience generated through the project will open up opportunities for improvement and broader application of these promising approaches in West Africa.