The Western and Central Africa Land–Sea Interface: A Vulnerable, Threatened, and Important Coastal Zone Within a Changing Environment - The Land/Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone of West and Central Africa - page 6

Table 1 Average tidal range summary in various coastal locations
along Western and Central Africa November 2013
Countries

of terns, noddies, and boobies. This species diversity and
fauna richness is facilitating conservation and preservation
policies being undertaken by some Western and Central
African countries through creation and implementation of
marine and coastal protected areas (Banc d'Arguin and
Djawling in Mauritania, Djoudj in Senegal). Plans for the
near future include implementation of regional-wide pro-
tected coastal and marine along the coastal zone in West and
Central Africa.

Coastal stations Low

tide (m)

High
tide (m)

Mauritania Nouakchott 0.5 1.7

Senegal Dakar 0.6 1.7

Gambia Banjul 0.4 1.7

Guinea-Bissau Bissau 1.0 4.7

Guinea Conakry 1.0 3.2

Sierra Leone Freetown 0.9 2.8

Liberia Monrovia 0.3 1.5

Anthropogenic Impacts: Demography
and Socioeconomic Activities, Including
Cultural Heritage

Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan 0.3 1.2

Ghana Accra 0.4 1.7

Togo Lome 0.4 1.8

Socioeconomic Implications of Anthropogenic
Alterations

Benin Cotonou 0.2 1.5

Nigeria Lagos 0.1 1.1

Cameroon Douala 0.5 2.5

An estimated 100 million inhabitants occupy a narrow
coastal margin some 60 km wide along the Atlantic coast
between Mauritania and Namibia. This region exhibits a
potential doubling time of 20-25 years, noting its present
annual population growth rate of about 3 %. The highest
population density centers are located in some key cities
along the coast, including Accra-Tema, Abidjan, Cotonou,
Dakar, Douala, Lagos, and Port Harcourt. In fact, most of
the highly and densely populated coastal regions depend on
the biological resources of the marine and coastal areas.
Offshore and inshore waters, including estuaries, lagoons,
and rivers, serve as major animal protein sources, in the
form of fish and shellfish. Coastal fisheries also represent
significant income sources (NOAA 2003 ).
Further, in spite of a low level of industrial development
in West and Central Africa, the rate of industrialization
continues to increase along the coastal areas.
Both the increasing impacts of urban population growth
and the associated industries have created negative syner-
gies in terms of human and environmental impact along the
coastal regions. A variety of pollutants can be found in the
region, including sewage, industrial, and solid waste dis-
posal. Oil spills from shipping operations also are found
increasingly in the region. As a result, water quality deg-
radation is one of the most important components of envi-
ronmental degradation within the coastal, marine, and
freshwater areas in the in West and Central Africa region
(UNEP 1999 , i.e., microbiological and bacteriological
contamination in certain confine coastal regions such as the
Bay of Hann, near the city of Dakar; in Ebrie and Lagos
lagoons, around Abidjan and Lagos, etc., Re: chapters
'' Studies and Transactions on Pollution Assessment of the
Lagos Lagoon System, Nigeria '' , '' Estuarine and Ocean
Circulation Dynamics in the Niger Delta, Nigeria:
Implications for Oil Spill and Pollution Management '').

Equatorial Guinea Bata 0.3 1.7

Gabon Libreville 0.5 2.0

Congo Pointe Noire 0.3 1.6

Source http://www.mareespeche.com

the shorelines of Angola, Gabon, and Nigeria (see chapters
'' Studies and Transactions on Pollution Assessment of the
Lagos Lagoon System, Nigeria '' , '' Estuarine and Ocean
Circulation Dynamics in the Niger Delta, Nigeria:
Implications for Oil Spill and Pollution Management ' ' ,
'' Morphological Characteristics of the Bonny and Cross
River (Calabar) Estuaries in Nigeria: Implications for

Navigation and Environmental Hazards ' ').
At the same time, however, the presence of invertebrates
such as intertidal mollusks (Senilia sp., Crassostrea sp.,
etc.), reptiles (turtles and crocodiles), marine mammals such
as the West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis), and
some shark species, often threatened by hunting and trap-
ping, demonstrates the variety of the species in the western
and central part of Africa (World Bank Africa 1994 ; chapter
'' Status of Large Marine Flagship Faunal Diversity Within
Cameroon Estuaries of Central African Coast ''). The most
remarkable collection of millions of migratory birds that
seasonally visit the West African coast and mainland regions
highlights the importance of preserving and maintaining the
existing wetlands in this part of Africa. Large concentrations
of seabirds are found seasonally in Mauritania, Senegal,
Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, including Larus genei, Gec-
helidon nilotica, and Thalasseus maximus albididorsalis, as
well as the regionally large populations of great white pel-
ican, white-breasted cormorant, and Caspian tern. Many of
the islands contain large seabird nesting sites, an example
being the Cape Verde Islands. The Gulf of Guinea Islands,
near Principe and Sao Tome, also contain sizeable colonies