Rising Tides: Protecting Africa’s Coastline

By His Excellency James Alix Michel Former President of Seychelles

Global warming is heralding numerous changes. Most of these are predicable but some will be unexpected. Amongst the former, the most obvious impact is a rising sea level. The rate is accelerating and islands and continental coastlines are already on the front line. Each year, high tides are higher than the year before.

National Geographic, a reliable source of information on the subject, points to three reasons why this rise is taking place. One is quite simply because when water heats up it expands. Fill a bowl with water and increase its temperature; the result is that it takes up more space and spills over. In the face of higher temperatures, this what is happening to our ocean. A second reason is that mountain glaciers are melting faster than ice and snow can be replaced. Without great mountain ranges of its own, this is not directly a big problem for Africa. But the ocean is interconnected and meltwaters generated on other continents reach our own shores. Thirdly, the vast extent of the polar ice caps is having the same effects. This can be seen quite dramatically when huge chunks of ice break away and add to the volume of the sea.

This is a global problem but the impact is felt locally. In my own island nation, Seychelles, beaches that I knew as a young boy are disappearing as the sea advances; the coastal road on the main island is regularly blocked as sand is washed ashore; and the area of valuable farmland is reduced because of saltwater seeping into the soil. Across Africa, this will be a familiar story.

So what can be done about it? How can we turn back the tide? At a macro level the only way is to reduce the rate of global warming. This, as we all know, is an uphill struggle so long as the main users of fossil fuels refuse to change their ways. In any case, even if there were a miraculous u-turn now, the problem is already with us. Like an ocean liner, it takes time to change direction.

So we have to take matters into our own hands. Humans can be very destructive but they are also inventive. Thus, as one solution, science can be used to find ways to grow salt-tolerant crops in affected areas. In China, for instance, there are interesting experiments to enable the large-scale production of what is called ‘seawater rice’. Another approach is to develop sustainable solutions to slow down seawater encroachment – solutions that go beyond simply building a barrage or a seawall, which often does no more than deflect the power of waves from one location to another. Instead, there are natural techniques which include using salt marshes to soak up seawater and the planting of mangroves to stabilise the shoreline. Natural solutions can be relatively easy and cheap to create and are quite dramatic in their effects: just fifteen horizontal feet of marshy terrain, for instance can absorb 50% of incoming wave energy.

In my recent book, Revisiting the Ocean: Living the Blue Economy, I review many of the fascinating and encouraging ways in which coastal communities are countering the threat of rising tides. An important conclusion is that some of the most rewarding initiatives are being led, not necessarily by large international organizations but by small community projects and dedicated NGOs. Within these, women are playing a major role. So, too, young children in schools learn from an early age how they can help to ensure their own generation will enjoy all the wonders the sea can offer.

We are living in a time of great change. But we should not listen to the doomsayers. We should, instead, put our faith in those many people who live on the frontline. Those people who see the ocean each day and find ways to live with the challenges rather than treat the sea as the enemy. For, in spite of everything, the Blue Economy remains a vital resource for the world as a whole. It can be our salvation. Indeed, as I conclude in my book, it is our very future.