Sierra Leone - State of the Marine Environment 2015

9. Risks to the marine environment – Coastal and marine ecosystem conservation and management strategies

years timeframe. The assessment is based on likelihood of occurrence and consequence for the environment. Shipping, coastal erosion, climate change and mining are identified as high risk factors that could impact the marine environment within 5 years. Fishing, oil and gas exploitation, pollution, tourism, port facilities and overfishing were identified as significant risks to the marine environment within 5 years. Harmful algal blooms and eutrophication were identified as moderate to low risk within the 5 year timeframe. Considering a 50 year timeframe, the risks of most factors such as oil and gas exploitation, pollution, port facilities and overfishing will increase from the ‘significant’ to ‘high’ risk category. Harmful algae bloom is even going to increase from moderate to high risk. Eutrophication is considered as a moderate risk. 9.2. Water quality Recent monitoring of coastal waters of Sierra Leone suggests that coastal water quality will continue to deteriorate unless actions to reverse the degradation are implemented and enforced. Land-based sources and activities are on the increase affecting near shore waters, estuaries, lagoons, creeks, etc. and inevitably the adjacent seas. With increasing population and drift to coastal areas, coastal water degradation will persist for the foreseeable future. 9.3. Fisheries The major fish resources in the area are Round sardinella, Skipjack tuna, Bigeye grunt and Bonga shad. The neighbour countries and Sierra Leone have several shared fish stocks and identified a need for cooperation and shared management of these resources. In general, capture production decreased by more than 10 percent after 2000 in both the Western and Eastern Central areas of the Atlantic Ocean. The preliminary results of the assessments of the FAO CECAF Working Group on the Assessment of Small Pelagic Fish (WGASPS) Sub-Group South indicate the overexploitation of Sardinella aurita

The general outlook for the coastal andmarine environment of Sierra Leone could be said to have improved over the last six years. This is due to considerable awareness and positive national and regional actions which have resulted in conscientious environmental stewardship and its sustainability nationally and within the region. This has been borne out of increased political will and commitment by successive governments to mainstream environmental considerations into every aspect of governance at the local/ provincial, national and regional levels. Common environmental issues, such as declining fish stocks, land-based and sea-borne pollution, coastal erosion, physical alteration and destruction of habitats, etc. pose critical challenges both nationally and regionally. Efforts need to be made to address specific transboundary issues through regional and international agreements and conventions developed and facilitated through bilateral and multi-lateral International and intergovernmental institutions. The United Nations agencies (FAO, UNEP, UNDP, UNIDO, UNESCO/IOCetc.) have beenparticularly active in facilitating and supporting such initiatives within the region. Some projections regarding the outlook/risks for the Sierra Leone’s coastal and marine environment based on observed trends are important as they may serve to further enhance general awareness and understanding of current and emerging issues, and perhaps act as wake- up call for appropriate governance, or enable adequate planning and strategy. The specific outlook/risk issues considered here relate to coastal and marine ecosystem conservation strategies, water quality, natural resources (especially fisheries and mangroves), coastal development, coastal erosion, marine litter, invasive alien species, petroleum and mineral resources, natural hazards, climate change, environment- related conventions and protocols including those of the Abidjan Convention. 9.1. Risk assessment A total of 12 potential risks have been assessed at the workshop (Fig. 9.1). The assessment examined whether the risk is likely to exert a significant effect in a 5 or 50

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