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Bénin
Luc GNACADJA
Maire de Cotonou et Expert en environnement — Mairie de Cotonou
Luc Marie Constant GNACADJA has been Mayor of Cotonou and President of the National Association of Municipalities of Benin (ANCB) since 2026. A graduate architect from the African School of Architecture and Urban Planning, he founded the firm IMOTEPH - Architects & Consulting Engineers in 1986. Minister of the Environment, Housing, and Urban Planning of Benin from 1999 to 2005, he led a reform of environmental public spending that tripled the ministry's investment budget and increased its execution rate from 46% to 94%, earning him the World Bank's Green Award in 2002. Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification from 2007 to 2013, he originated the concept of land degradation neutrality, enshrined as target 15.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
He served on the Board of the Global Environment Facility and represented the UNCDF Local Facility Council. He co-chairs the Executive Committee of the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism of the African Development Bank and chairs the think-and-do tank GPS-Development, which he founded in 2016.
He served on the Board of the Global Environment Facility and represented the UNCDF Local Facility Council. He co-chairs the Executive Committee of the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism of the African Development Bank and chairs the think-and-do tank GPS-Development, which he founded in 2016.