The project site is the Bakassi Peninsula, a cluster of islands located in the Ndian division of the South West Region of Cameroon along the border with Nigeria. The Bakassi Peninsular is made up of five (05) subdivisions; Isangele, Kombo Abedimo, Kombo Itindi, Idabato, Bamusso.  Bakassi is on the Gulf of Guinea and is sited between the Rio del Rey estuary in the east and the Cross River estuary in the west.  The population is estimated to be between 150,000 and 300,000 people mostly Nigerians. The Bakassi Peninsula consists of a number of low-lying; largely mangrove covered islands occupying an area of around 665 km².

Mangrove ecosystems in the Bakassi Peninsula are composed of six indigenous species, namely Rhizophora racemosa, Rhizophora harrisonii, Rhizophora mangle (Rhizophoraceae), Avicennia germinans (Avicenniaceae), Laguncularia racemosa, and Conocarpus erecrus (Combretaceae), as well as one exotic species Nypa fructicans (Arecaceae).

The area is sparsely populated with about 400 000 inhabitants with some 115 mangrove villages with total population of 250 000 people with about 90% of whom originate from Nigeria