Africa is recording on average the highest rate of economic growth, driven by huge financial flows due to a rich natural resource base. A burgeoning youth population, low production costs and a favourable climate all provide a confluence in attracting unprecedented large-scale developments hitherto unwitnessed as evidenced by infrastructural investments in ports, extractives, agriculture, roads and railways among others. In order to address the challenges and/or opportunities arising out of an upsurge of large scale developments and climate change, nations need to implement cross-sectorial governance reforms at the local, national and regional levels. This can be done by integrating ecosystem-based approaches at the immediate coastal interface through improved use of management approaches such as MSP and ICAM practices within LMEs and across trans-boundary water systems, which will require policy to consider trade-offs between ecosystem health, ecosystem services, human well-being, and socio-economics.