Sea level in Senegal: The battle for Africa’s Venice


report

As of: 13.10.2021 3:03 a.m.

Rising sea levels are threatening the coasts of many West African states. The Senegalese fishing town of Saint-Louis is considered the Venice of Africa – the elongated island, separated from the mainland, is now being dredged to contain the ocean.

By Dunja Sadaqi, ARD Studio North West Africa

A thin tongue of island, it is part of the coastal city of St. Louis in northern Senegal. Waves rush to the beach. Excavators dig, tear deep holes in the ground, pile up mountains of sand. Large black blocks of stone are piling up nearby – a mile-long dam is said to save St. Louis from ruin.

Maguette Bèye Séne is a resident of the elongated island separated from the mainland. He is confident about the work, he tells the French news agency AFP.

For some years now, the inhabitants of the Langue de Barbarie have only faced one difficulty: the advancing sea. But we have become optimists since construction began.

The fishing town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

It’s a fight against time – and against water. Saint-Louis is just a few meters above sea level. The fact that it is rising and rising is troubling the coastal city. It extends on both sides on a long, thin strip of sand known as the Langue de Barbarie, paralleling the mainland to the west and east. Founded by the French in the mid-17th century, Saint-Louis became a hub for European traders and played an important economic and cultural role in the region.

Due to its geographical peculiarity, the island city is known as the Venice of Africa and is known for architecture from colonial times: colorful balcony houses, two-storey villas – the fishing town and former capital of the French colony Senegal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Not all are optimistic

That’s one of the reasons why St. Louis shouldn’t go under. Deputy Mayor Alioune Badara Diop explains: “The aim is to gain at least 20 meters on the coast by demolishing 20 meters of houses, starting from the protective wall, and then having four meters that are reforested and available to residents for recreational activities will be left but not inhabited. ”

St. Louis has over 230,000 residents – including Abdourakhmane Guèye. He sees a bleak future for his hometown.

This dam construction project comes too late. There is no point in playing doctor after death. They waited until billions of dollars were swallowed up by the sea before they came to set these stones.

Fear of the water is a constant companion

Floods and coastal erosion are eating away at the city. Many residents had no other choice, they had to flee in the face of crumbling floors under their houses – for example, many residents had previously removed the doors and windows of their houses so as not to be locked in during the flood. Thioane Fallhat explains that many of them can no longer sleep at night because they are afraid of the water.

Like many others, she now lives in one of the alternative camps inland. The water has already made more than 3,200 people homeless here – around 1,500 of them now live in a displaced person’s camp outside.

“Our home was totally destroyed by the sea”

This brings further problems for the often low-income fishermen. In addition to the already physically difficult work, they have to get up earlier in the morning to get to the sea.

Life here is an ordeal. Our new place to stay is extremely hot and we live there with all of our family as we have no other choice. We have to stay here because our home has been totally destroyed by the sea.

For the 100 million euro dam project, up to 15,000 people are to be relocated in a targeted manner. Even with a protective wall, St. Louis will only be habitable for fewer people. Geography professor Boubou Aldiouma Sy of the city’s Gaston Berger University says Saint-Louis is a particularly acute example of problems encountered in several of West Africa’s coastal metropolises. He criticizes the construction project.

One of them told me it will last a decade. I said this is a waste. How can you spend so many millions of euros in a decade?

The sea barrier is Senegal’s attempt to declare war on rising sea levels. Experts such as Professor Boubou Aldiouma Sy are calling for alternative measures such as more planting of the coasts and building structures off the coast to reverse erosion. Senegal’s government has announced that it will continue to examine more sustainable solutions – but they are also significantly more expensive.

The fight for Africa’s Venice in Senegal

Dunja Sadaqi, ARD Rabat, October 13th, 2021 01:11 am

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