Sierra Leone - State of the Marine Environment 2015

siltation of the estuaries was also regarded as high in a 5 years period and significant in a 50 years perspective. 9.10. Climate change Climate change is widely accepted as a real threat and developing countries are already being affected. For the region, climate change is a development issue. Climate risks are highest in poor countries and the poorest countries and communities stand to suffer the earliest and the most. Climate change threatens the development gains and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). African countries are highly vulnerable to climate change which is expected to affect all key sectors such as agriculture, water, health, disaster risk reduction, coastal zones, and ecosystem management. Key impacts would include drought, dust and sand storms, water resources (water stress), agriculture/food security (reduction in soil fertility, livestock productivity and increased incidence of pest attacks), and coastal zone (flooding and extreme weather events). UNDP reported that the African continent is vulnerable to climate change because of its large population living along the coast, 25 per cent within 100 km of the coast and in low lying areas. With a heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture, and high dependence on natural resources and poor access to modern and sustainable energy services, the continent is particularly vulnerable. The risks of catastrophic events will increase with temperature, and the workshop regarded the risk as high. Perhaps, these are sufficient assessments of projected environmental impacts for formulating actions for mitigation and adaptation.

9.8. Invasive species

Fortunately, the number of species documented to date are few, about 4-5 in the region. However, the problem of coastal and marine invasive species is likely to worsen over the coming decade due to increases in shipping activities throughout the region. Ship traffic is projected to continue growing into the coming decade parallel to economic growth and therefore the transfer of alien organisms through ship‘s ballast water is expected to grow. Active participation by Sierra Leone in programs such as the Globallast Programme through the GCLME Project and the implementation of the newly adopted IMO Ballast Water Convention, including the involvement of the private sector with partners from major maritime companies, should reduce the regional exposure to the global threat of invasive species. 9.9. Petroleum and other resources The outlook for the oil and gas sector over the coming decade is very likely to involve significant increases in exploration and exploitation of proven reserves by current producers. Sierra Leone could become a major oil producer in the future. It is evident that a wide variety of policy tools and strategies will be needed in order to protect the marine environment from unacceptable pollution derived from oil and gas activities. The risk that oil exploration will result in a blowout or a major oil spill was regarded as significant in a 5 years perspective and high in a 50 years perspective. The risk that catchment disturbance due to mining activities causes

45