Shoreline morphological change in West Africa: Ghana’s experience Seminar
- Time:
- 18:00
- Date:
- 8 November 2016
- Venue:
- Building 07/3031 L/R F2
For more information regarding this seminar, please email Susan Hanson at s.e.hanson@soton.ac.uk .
Event details
Shoreline change has increased coastal erosion along the West African coast, which has destroyed the coastal environment and threatens coastal investments. Coastal erosion is a critical issue and has become the centre of debate in the sub-region in recent times. Coastal areas in West Africa are home to about 31% of the region’s population and growing at a rate of about 4 percent annually. The coast also accounts for 56% of the region’s GDP. Managing coastal erosion is consuming between 5 to 10 percent of the GDP of affected countries, which is a significant sum for the economies of developing countries. Although erosion is largely a natural process, human activities have exacerbated its impact within the coastal zone. Such activities directly impact the coast and indirectly influence the coastal processes by reducing the capacity of the coastal ecosystem to cope with natural phenomena. Coastal erosion in Ghana has destroyed coastal infrastructure ranging from urban areas to small fishing villages, threatens important cultural and historical resources, hindered coastal tourism development, and affected the socioeconomic life of the local population. Twenty five erosion hot spots have been identified along the Ghana coast with varying erosion intensity and drivers. Mitigation efforts by the government to manage the erosion situation have transferred the problem from one location to another. The situation is further worsened by the lack of effective policies and the adhoc approach adopted in coastal erosion management. This presentation critically assesses the causes of coastal erosion in the sub-region, focusing on Ghana’s experience and their impact on the socioeconomic life of coastal communities under climate change scenarios. The presentation ends with recommendations for sustainable management of the coastal zone. No registration required
Speaker information
Dr Kwasi Appeaning Addo , University of Ghana. An Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences, University of Ghana, Dr Appeaning Addo has served on several boards and committees both in the University, nationally and internationally. He is a technical advisor to the West African Coast Observation Mission involving 11 countries. His research interests include nearshore coastal dynamics and erosion studies; application of drones in shoreline morphological monitoring; application of video systems in short-term shoreline change studies; climate change impact assessment in Delta Regions; coastal vulnerability and risk assessment to sea level rise. He has published several articles in peer reviewed journals and he has also contributed several book chapters including Coastal Hazards edited by C. W. Finkl and Coastal and Beach Erosion: Processes, Adaptation Strategies and Environmental Impacts edited by D. Barnes. He is currently the deputy principal investigator (PI) for the Ghana DECCMA project funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada and the coordinator of the integrated and sustainable ports project in Africa funded by WNO of the Netherlands.