No subject

the sea. He said his home used to be 141 metres from the ocean but over the 
past five years the sea had closed in by 30 metres.


Threat not only to Benin

Remote sensing and maps of eastern Cotonou, 1963-2000, show the shoreline 
has receded over 400 metres in the area east of the port of Cotonou

According to Medje's organisation, coastal erosion has in recent years wiped 
out 460 fields, destroyed 47 homes, and threatens over 1,000 properties in 
Cotonou.

Benin's former minister of finance, Stanislas Pognon, told IRIN Cotonou is 
important not only for Benin, but also for West Africa. "The new 
international Cotonou-Provo [Nigeria] highway is at risk [of being damaged 
by coastal erosion]. That is an important regional link that would affect 
our relations with Nigeria. According to experts [including French firm 
SOGREAH-Laboratoire DEFT], Akpakpa could be wiped off the map by 2025, and 
other neighbourhoods cut off from the rest of Benin. This would be 
detrimental to the fertile Oueme valley."

With rising global food prices, government officials are counting on Oueme 
valley, central Benin, to supply more food for the cash-strapped country. 
According to Pognon, coastal erosion would wipe out roads, making 
communications with this major local food source more difficult.


Millions in aid blocked

Environmental researchers with the Netherlands-based Royal Haskonning firm 
recommended last September that the government build groynes (large barriers 
perpendicular to the sea to prevent sand from shifting), invest more in 
coastal development, forbid sand pumping, and resettle at-risk coastal 
communities.

Donors, including the Islamic Development Bank and Organization of the 
Petroleum Exporting Countries, have pledged over US$70 million to build rock 
barriers, starting with a 7km stretch along the high-risk eastern Cotonou 
shoreline.

But Benin political infighting has stalled construction. Some lawmakers were 
withholding their approval until their earlier demands for municipal 
electoral reforms were met. President Boni Yayi broke the impasse in July 
with a presidential decree, but construction has not yet begun.

Even if the groynes are built, the IIED has said this will only push the 
erosion problem further east to Nigeria. The UN Environmental Programme has 
called for a regional groyne covering the entire Gulf of Guinea coastline.

For Benin fisherman Kofi Ayao, the problem is closer to home: "The sea was 
far from us two years ago. But now, here it is. We are scared. If we do not 
find a solution soon, we may simply drown in our sleep one day."

gc/pt/cb

Theme(s): (IRIN) Environment, (IRIN) Health & Nutrition, (IRIN) Natural 
Disasters, (IRIN) Urban Risk, (IRIN) Water & Sanitation

[ENDS]

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