Sierra Leone - State of the Marine Environment 2015

beaches are on the increase due to urban expansion. With increasing population and drift to coastal areas coastline erosion is likely to persist in the foreseeable future. The risk for coastal erosion was regarded as high by the workshop. 9.7. Marine debris The results of field observations and qualitative assessments have so far clearly indicated that the Sierra Leonean beaches will be constantly polluted by debris items, as long as coastal population increases daily, and fishing, tourism, leisure and vessel transit activities continue. The outlook for the country‘s marine litter issue over the coming decade is an increase as a result of ongoing urban and coastal industrial development, gradual increases in shipping activity and exponential growth in oil prospecting and production nationally as well as within the region. This prediction is based entirely on examination of related trends and relationships regarding the sources, causes, quantities and distribution of marine litter at the national and regional levels. The implementation of MARPOL 73/78 is ongoing in some of the countries in the region with regard to the provision of adequate waste processing for ship garbage and port waste reception facilities in major ports. When fully implemented this would contribute to reducing the threat of marine debris at local, national and global levels. The risk that pollution will cause contamination of seafood was regarded as significant in a 5 years perspective and high in a 50 years perspective.

handling facilities such as ports and harbors, jetties, oil terminals, ship repair yards etc. for industrial parks within the zone. There is concern for deforestation of mangroves, dredging for approach/access channels and for coastal sand for reclamation of sometimes vast areas. The main coastal degradation problems arising from uncontrolled coastal development are coastal erosion, flooding, storm surges and in a few cases landslides in the region. These issues are likely to be of greater importance with rapid development in the coastal areas. 9.6. Coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the most prevalent coastal hazard in the GCLME. It has received some attention through research and engineering options in the last three decades. Natural coastal dynamics such as currents, waves and tides, but also the nature of sediments and coastal topography play a role concerning coastal erosion. Anthropogenic activities such as construction of harbour protecting structures (e.g. moles), jetties, beach sand mining, construction of dams upstream depriving the beach of sediment nourishment, and deforestation are causes of high rates of erosion. Human activities aggravate the erosion problem on most coastlines when coastal development is undertaken without cognizing near shore ocean dynamics and shoreline evolution. Periodic monitoring of the coastline of Sierra Leone suggests that it has been subjected to periodic erosion which is severe at some locations due to both natural and man-made causes. Coastal erosion will continue to be aggravated unless actions to reverse the trend are implemented and enforced. Sand extractions from

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