(Eds), State of the Coastal and Marine

Home , Dibranchus atlanticus, Nansen (Martian crater), Sardinella maderensis

STATE OF THE COASTAL AND MARINE ECOSYSTEMS IN THE GUINEA CURRENT LARGE MARINE ECOSYSTEM REGION GP/RAF/04/004/1191

AUGUST 2010

This document was prepared under a programme of the Governments of the 16 GCLME

Countries, with the assistance of

GEF/UNIDO/UNDP/UNEP/US-NOAA/NEPAD/FAO and IMO

ISBN 978-88-902676-0-11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables iv List of Figures v List of Acronyms and abbreviations viii

Executive Summary 1

1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Regional Overview 6 2.1 Biophysical features 2.1.1 Geographic scope and ecosystem boundaries 2.1.2 Hydrography, coastal erosion and sea level rise 10 2.1.3 Biodiversity 11 2.1.4 Invasive alien species 17 2.1.5 Threats to biodiversity 17 2.1.6 Marine and coastal protected areas 18 3.0 Socio-economic profile 18 4.0 State and trend of the coastal and marine environment 45 4.1 Natural resource exploitation 45 4.2 Economic and social value 45 4.3 Depletion, degradation and loss of resources 46 4.3.1 Population pressure 47 4.3.2 Coastal urban, port and harbour development 48 4.3.3 Mining 48 4.3.4 Oil pollution 50 4.3.5 Pressures on estuaries and lagoons 51 4.3.6 Invasive alien species 53 4.3.7 Water quality and emissions to sea 54 4.3.7.1Sewage and nutrients 55 4.3.7.2 Physico-chemical parameters 56 4.3.7.3 Heavy metals 58 4.3.7.4 Microbial pollution 59 4.3.7.5 Solid wastes (domestic and industrial) 59 4.3.8 Harmful algal blooms 60 4.3.9 Persistent Organic Pollutants 61 4.3.10 Organochlorine contaminants 62 4.3.11 Marine litter pollution 63 4.3.12 Sedimentation/siltation 66 4.3.13 Physical alteration & destruction of habitats (PADH) 67 4.4 Exploitation and use 68 5.0 Coastal ecosystems 96 5.1 Current status and emerging trends 96 5.2 Environmental impacts 98 5.2.1 Overexploitation/overharvesting 5.2.2 Habitat degradation 101 5.2.3 Water quality degradation 2

5.2.4 Climate change impacts 101 5.3 Vulnerability to natural disasters 103 5.3.1 Floods 103 5.3.2 Drought 103 5.3.3 Wild land fires 104 5.3.4 Volcanic hazards 104 5.3.5 Earthquake/seismic activity 105 6.0 Economic valuation of the coastal and marine environment 104 7.0 Outlook and Recommendations 110 7.1 Coastal and marine ecosystem conservation and management strategies 110 7.2 Water quality 111 7.3 Fisheries 113 7.4 Mangroves 115 7.5 Coastal development 116 7.6 Coastal erosion 117 7.7 Marine debris/litter 117 7.8 Invasive alien species 118 7.9 Petroleum and other mineral resources 119 7.10 Natural disasters 120 7.11 Projected impact of climate change 121 8.0 Specific recommendations on future assessments 123 9.0 Conclusion 124 10 References 125 Annex I 131 Annex II - Job description 136

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Coastal and marine boundaries/areas by country 9 Table 2.2a: Major groups, families and number of species of the commercially 12 exploited fin-and shellfish of the Gulf of Guinea Table 2.2b: Biodiversity of polychaetes, molluscs, and other crustaceans which occur in 12 the Gulf of Guinea Table 2.3: Marine biodiversity in West and Central Africa 12 Table 2.4: List of threatened elasmobranches found in the Gulf of Guinea 12 Table 2.5: List of endemic and threatened mammals in the GCLME region 13 Table 2.6: List of threatened whales, dolphins and manatee in the GCLME region 14 Table 2.7: Peak counts of the twenty most common species of seashore birds of Ghana 16 Table 3.1: Summary of biophysical, social and economic indices of GCLME countries 26 Table 3.2: Selected socio-economic indicators for GCLME countries 28 Table 4.1: Concentrations of organochlorines and PCBs (ppb) in oysters collected from 63 Ile Boulay and la Riviera Golf at lagoon Ebrie, Cote d‘Ivoire Table 4.2: Demersal communities of the tropical Atlantic (Longhurst, 1969) 69 Table 4.3: Average catch landing for an interval of five year period from 1990 to 2008 74 and the total average for the same period Table 4.4: Summary of assessments for the Small pelagics 86 Table 4.5: Total catches and average catch per country from 1990 to 2008 per country 90 in Gulf of Guinea Table 4.6: Demersal fish communities with habitat characteristics and depth ranges 91 Table 4.7: Biomass estimates of species or groups for some countries 93 in the central and southern areas. Table 5.1: Trend in mangrove cover in GCLME countries 97 Table 5.2: Summary of natural hazards and current environmental issues of 100 significance affecting the coastal environment of GCLME countries Table 5.3: Frequency of occurrence of Natural Disasters in the GCLME countries from 104 1900- 2010 Table 6.1: Valuation techniques to be used for goods and services in the GCLME 109 Table 7.1: Preliminary qualitative assessment of land-based activities in the GCLME 111 region

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Location of the GCLME member countries on the Atlantic coast in Africa 8 Figure 3.1: Changes in actual and projected total populations between 1970 and 203 20 within the GCLME countries (a&b), and globally Figure 3.2: Changes in actual and projected population growth rates between 1970 and 22 2030 (five yearly averages) of GCLME countries (a&b), and (c) world Figure 3.3: Changes in actual and projected population proportion in percentage 23 between 1970 and 2030 in GCLME countries (a&b), and (c) world Figure 3.4: GNI per capita (PPP, current international US$) in 2008 24 Figure 3.5: Changes in total number of people employed in fishing and aquaculture 31 between 1970 and 2000 in GCLME countries (a&b), and (c) world Figure 3.6: Changes in the inland and marine fisheries capture production between 33 1970 and 2005 in GCLME countries (a&b) and (c) world Figure 3.7: Changes in consumption of fish protein (as a percentage of total animal 35 protein) between 1970 and 2002 in GCLME countries (a&b) and (c) world Figure 3.8: Changes in total tourism receipts between 1995 and 2006 in the world 36 Figure 3.9: Impact on the area of various GCLME countries by sea level rises of 1-5 m 3 8 Figure 3.10: Impact on the populations of various GCLME countries by sea level rises 39 of 1-5 m Figure 3.11: Impact on the populations of GCLME countries by sea level rise of 5 m 40 Figure 3.12: Impact on the GDP of various GCLME countries by sea level rises of 1-5 41 m Figure 3.13: Impact on urban extent in various GCLME countries by sea level rises of 42 1-5m Figure 3.14: Agricultural extent impacted by sea level rises of 1-5 m 43 Figure 3.15: Impact on wetlands in various GCLME countries of sea level rises of 1- 44 5m Figure 4.1: Oil production in some GCLME countries from 1970-2006 46 Figure 4.2: Human population within 100 km of the coast in the GCLME countries in 47 the year 2000 Figure 4.3: Proven oil reserves in some GCLME countries from 1980-2006 49 Figure 4.4: Nutrient levels at fifteen locations in Nigerian coastal waters during the wet Season 57 Figure 4.5: Nutrient levels at fifteen locations in Nigerian coastal sediments during the 57 wet season 57 Figure 4.6: Total catch of all major small pelagic in the Gulf of Guinea region 72 Figure 4.7: Total catch recorded for major species or group from the countries in the 73 Gulf of Guinea region between 1990 and 2008 Figure 4.8: Percentage contribution of species or group to the total catch landings in 73 the Gulf of Guinea region. Figure 4.9: Average total catch (of 5 years interval) from countries in the Gulf of 74 Guinea region Figure 4.10a: Catches (tonnes) of Sardinella aurita (1990-2008) per area. Species 75 more dominant in western area. Figure 4.10b: Catches (tonnes) of Sardinella maderensis (1990-2008) per area. Catches 75 relatively the same over the period except for southern stock since 2006 to 2008 Figure 4.10c: Catches (tonnes) of Ethmalosa fimbriata (1990-2008) per area. Catches 76 of central area dominates Figure 4.10d: Catches (tonnes) of Engraulis encrasicolus (1990-2008) per area. 76

Catches of western area dominates 76 Figure 4.10e: Catches (tonnes) of Trachurus trecae (1990-2008) per area. Catches of 77 southern area dominates Figure 4.10f: Catches (tonnes) of Decapterus spp (1990-2008) per area. Catches of 77 northern area dominates Figure 4.11a: CPUE of Sardinella aurita for the northern area using effort from 78 industrial fishery of Guinea Figure 4.11b: CPUE of Sardinella aurita for the western area using effort from 79 artisanal fishery of Ghana, Togo and Benin and the semi-industrial (inshore) fisheries Figure 4.11c: CPUE of Sardinella aurita for the southern area using effort from 79 industrial and artisanal fishery of Congo and all fleet from Angola. Figure 4.11d: CPUE of Sardinella maderensis for the northern area using effort from 80 industrial and artisanal fisheries of Guinea Figure 4.11e: CPUE of Sardinella maderensis for the western area using effort from 80 artisanal fishery of Ghana, Togo and Benin and the semi-industrial (inshore) fisheries Figure 4.11f: CPUE of Sardinella maderensis for the southern area using effort from 81 industrial and artisanal fishery of Congo and all fleet from Angola. Figure 4.11g: CPUE of Ethmalosa fimbriata estimated from both artisanal and 81 industrial fisheries from various countries in the region.

Figure 4.12a: Acoustic biomass estimates from R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen surveys in the 82 northern area Figure 4.12b: Swept area estimate of the small pelagics (mainly carangidae) in northern 82 area Figure 4.12c: Acoustic biomass estimates from a more recent survey in the northern 83 area using R/V ITAF DEME (2008-2009) Figure 4.12d: Acoustic biomass estimates from R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen surveys in the northern area Figure 4.12e: Swept area estimate of the small pelagics (mainly carangidae) in western 84 area Figure 4.12f: Acoustic biomass estimates from R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen surveys in the Central 84 Figure 4.12g: Swept area estimate of the small pelagics (mainly carangidae 85 Chloroscombrus chrysurus) in western area Figure 4.12h: Acoustic biomass estimates from R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen surveys in the 85 southern area Figure 4.12i: Acoustic biomass estimates from R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen surveys carried 86 out in Angola since 1995 to 2009 Figure 4.13: Yearly total landings of tuna fishes (all species) from countries in Gulf of 89 Guinea (1990 - 2008). Figure 4.14: Percentage average landings of tuna species from Gulf of Guinea 90 countries(1990-2008) Figure 4.15: Total annual production for demersal fishes in the Gulf of Guinea region 92 Figure 4.16: Biomass estimates per country in the northern, central and southern area 92 (2004 - 2007) Figure 4.17: Biomass estimates (2007) along depth gradients in the Northern area 93 Figure 4.18: Biomass estimates of species or groups for all countries in the northern 94 area Figure 4.19: Biomass estimates for species or groups in Cote d‘Ivoire and Ghana 94 Figure 5.1: Percentage change in mangrove cover in GCLME countries for 1980-2005 98

Figure 5.2: Percentage increase in storm surge zone - GCLME countries 102 Figure 7.1: Reported fish production in the FCWC countries of the GCLME. 113

Acronyms and abbreviations

AIDs Acquired Immune Syndrome ASP Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning BOD Biological Oxygen Demand BDCP Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme BIP Biological Index of Pollution CECAF East and Central Africa Fisheries Commission CEMAC Economic Community of Central African States CO2 Carbon Dioxide COBSEA Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia COD Chemical Oxygen Demand COREP Regional Fishery Committee for the Gulf of Guinea CPUE Catch Per Unit Effort CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research CSRP Sub regional Fisheries Commission DDE Dichloro-diphenyl-dichloroethylene DDT Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane DSP Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning E&P Exploration and Production ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental Management Plan EPZ Export Promotion Zone EV Existence Value FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GCLME Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem GDP Gross Domestic Product GEF Global Environment Facility GHGs Green House Gases GIS Geographic Information System GNI Gross National Income GPA Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities HAB Harmful Algal Bloom HCB Hexachlorobenzene HCH Hexachlorocyclohexane HDI Human Development Index HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus ICC International Coastal Cleanup IGCC Interim Guinea Current Commission IOC Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (of UNESCO) IMO International Maritime Organization IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IUCN World Conservation Union LBAs Land-based Activities LBSA Land-based Sources and Activities LME Large Marine Ecosystem MARPOL International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships

(MARPOL Convention 73/78) MDG Millennium Development Goal MPAs Marine Protected Areas NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations NPA National Plan of Action OCPs Organochlorine pesticides OPRC International Convention on Oil Pollution, Preparedness and Co-operation PADH Physical Alteration and Destruction of Habitats PAHs Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons PCBs Polychlorinated Biphenyls PCP Pentachlorophenol POPs Persistent Organic Pollutants PPP Purchasing Power Parity PSP Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning PTS Persistent Toxic Substances RIS Reservoir-Induced Seismicity RTS Reservoir-Triggered Seismicity SAP Strategic Action Programme SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SLR Sea Level Rise TEDs Turtle Excluder Devices TEV Total Economic Value TDA Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis UN United Nations UNCLOS United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea UNEP/DEWA Division of Early Warning and Assessment of the United Nations Environment Programme UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific & Cultural Organization UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization US United States UV Use Value VOC Volatile Organic Carbon WACAF West and Central Africa WHO World Health Organization WIO Western Indian Ocean WRI World Resources Institute WWF World Wide Fund for Nature

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME) is a shared resource that is one of the world‘s most productive marine areas with abundant fishery resources, oil and gas reserves, precious minerals, and an important global reservoir of marine biological diversity. Almost one fifth of the world‘s mangroves are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 70 per cent of these are found in 19 countries of West Africa (UNEP, 2007). Mangroves are among the most productive terrestrial ecosystems and are a natural renewable resource. Coastal and marine resources contribute about 80-90 per cent of the region‘s GDP. Along with a high potential for coastal tourism, the natural resources are a veritable source of goods and services which provide livelihoods and play a major part in the region‘s economy. Most of the coastal wetlands provide unique ecological conditions and habitats for Palaearctic migratory birds which overwinter in West Africa annually.

The GCLME region includes the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of sixteen countries: Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d‘Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe, Sierra Leone and Togo. The coastal habitats include near shore waters, lagoons, mangrove swamps, estuaries, creeks, as well as other brackish and contiguous freshwater bodies. The total length of its coastline is about 7,600 km including the coastline of the island State of Sao Tome & Principe and the insular regions of Equatorial Guinea (i.e. Bioko and Annobon islands). The region covers a total surface area of about 6.8 million km².

A very similar stage of national economic development characterizes the GCLME countries with minor exception. For several decades, the region‘s socio-economic development has been held back by low human capacity that stems from high population growth rates, low levels of literacy, malnutrition, the prevalence of diseases including HIV and AIDS pandemic and in some countries protracted political instability and conflicts. About 40 percent of the region‘s populations live in the coastal areas. In spite of the rich endowment in natural resources and recent improvements in economic growth, the majority of the populations live in conditions of widespread poverty due to among others huge imbalances in the production and distribution of goods and services and socio-political issues.

A high dependence on natural resources has placed tremendous pressures on the ecosystems which increasingly compromise their sustainable use. Environmental stress as a result of the intensification of human activities along the coast have included declining fisheries, water quality degradation, physical alteration and destruction of habitats, and coastal erosion which have been identified as significant transboundary problems. Other potential threats identified are those of harmful algal blooms, invasive alien species, marine litter, natural hazards, and global climate change to which the region is highly vulnerable but least prepared to meet the challenges it poses by mitigation and adaptation measures. Although our knowledge and understanding of these effects remains speculative, they could be as severe as those of the uncontrolled human exploitation that has taken place to date. In the GCLME economic valuation is of utmost importance if the current perceived environmental problems in the region are to be mitigated or reversed to achieve the desired state envisaged in the Strategic Action Programme. Economic valuation would help to demonstrate and quantify its economic value in terms of raw materials, protection of natural and human systems, and maintenance of options for future economic production and growth, as well as the costs associated with the loss of these benefits through resource degradation.

Since the inception of the GCLME Project, the governments and general public, especially coastal stakeholders, appears to be increasingly aware of the value of our seas and coast and of the importance of effective management for their sustainability. Conservation and protection measures in the form of nature reserves and marine protected areas, pilot demonstration projects for restoration, and community participation for improved management has been receiving high priority at national and regional levels. Improved regulations also require focused enforcement efforts to assist in sustaining gains in environmental protection, rebuilding stocks, and maximizing the long-term benefits of the goods and services provided by the ecosystem. Some policies and regional protocols to govern the coastal and marine environment have also been introduced to promote and improve environmental management. There is a growing political will to commit the necessary resources to proffering adequate solutions to address current problems and proactively prevent and/or mitigate the impact of emerging problems.

The general outlook for the coastal and marine environment of the GCLME region could be said to have improved over the last ten years. Some projections regarding the outlook for the GCLME 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. Oil and gas exploration and production in the region are steadily increasing and will eventually result in the region becoming a major producer and exporter in the near future. While these developments might change the political and economic fortunes of the region, the real challenge for sustainability will be in the management of the socio-economic and environmental issues arising from exploration and production operations and activities. A regional oil spill contingency plan is of utmost importance.

Generally, because the region is not adversely prone to natural disasters, public awareness of the causes, effects and adverse impacts of different kinds of natural hazards and response to them is lacking in most countries. There is an urgent need for education programmes and public enlightenment for coastal residents on geohazards and their recommended preventive and mitigation measures for their specific locations. Emphasis should be on information and education campaigns amongst the general populace of coastal areas to ensure a wider coverage. Early Warning Systems with adequate and appropriate capability for monitoring and predicting disasters are valuable national and regional investments for now and the foreseeable future. The state of the coastal and marine environment differs across the region because of varying socio-economic situations, pressures and their intensity, and capacity to address transboundary issues. Regional capacity development and transfer especially from lessons learned are of importance to all member countries and valuable for strengthening regional commitment to joint action to improved sustainability of the coastal and marine environment. Keeping the environment under review is an important exercise for the GCLME region which calls for regular environmental monitoring, assessment, and reporting for the purpose of analyzing national and regional trends. In view of the need for sustaining the process of producing the State of Environment Report, GCLME regional environment reporting should be closely linked to and built from national environment reporting. Furthermore, the GCLME Environment Report should be dynamic in order to accommodate new and emerging environmental challenges.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The coastal and marine resources of the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME) region are a rich and diverse asset providing important economic and social opportunities to the region‘s countries. The coastal zones have increasingly been the site of, and often the drive for the region‘s most dynamic economic development and population growth. There is a strong reliance on the resources for food, recreation, transport, oil and gas reserves, precious minerals and the reservoir of marine biological diversity of global significance which make a major contribution to livelihood and employment in the countries and coastal communities bordering the GCLME. Additionally the region has some of the world‘s most significant mangrove stands. However, it is widely recognized that the coastal and marine ecosystem and its resources have witnessed various environmental stresses as a result of the increasing socio-economic and unsustainable developmental activities.

Increasing human and environmental pressures on the coastal and marine environment is associated with an overall decrease in biodiversity resulting from changes in the structure of many marine communities, with instances of uncontrolled or mismanaged use of coastal resources leading to overexploitation, degradation or decline. The depletion of living resources, uncertainty in ecosystem status including climate change effects, deterioration in water quality from land and sea-based activities, loss of habitats and coastal erosion, introduction of invasive alien species, and harmful algal blooms have been identified as significant transboundary environmental problems contributing to reduced ecosystem services (GCLME, 2008). Widespread poverty persists in part due to reduced ecosystem services arising from environmental degradation, socio-economic and socio-political issues.

The importance of environmental sustainability in the GCLME region is reflected in the many regional and international agreements to which Member States are signatory. Most of the countries in the region have ratified or acceded to a wide range of international treaties and conventions to protect and manage the GCLME and its littoral areas and estuaries sustainably, including the efforts towards the domestication and implementation of the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm,1972), African Convention on Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (Algiers,1968), Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar,1971), Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other matter (1972), International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/74), Convention on Migratory Species (Bonn,1979), the Abidjan Convention on Cooperation in the Protection and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the West and Central African Region and Protocol concerning Cooperation in Combating Pollution in Cases of Emergency (1981), Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Basel Convention, 1989), Article 39 of the Lome‘IV Convention relating to the International movement of hazardous wastes and radioactive wastes (1989), International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response, and Cooperation (OPRC), Convention on Fisheries Cooperation among African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean (1991), Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous wastes within Africa (Bamako, 1991) which allow for the establishment of regional agreements which may be equal to or stronger than its own provisions, the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), the Global Programme of Action (GPA) for the Protection of Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (1995), Convention on Degradation by Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (2001), the United Nations Agreement on Straddling and Highly

Migratory Fish Stocks (1995), the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995), as well as other Conventions in the Guinea current region.

These governmental initiatives and several others taken by non-governmental organizations towards conservation of coastal and marine resources and their protection have been focused to promote improved management of the marine environment. The populace in the region, especially coastal stakeholders, is becoming increasingly aware of the value the coast and the importance of effective coastal management. As the countries are poised to meet the challenge of sustainable development, they will require and seek accurate up-to date information about the state of the environment to help them make better decisions in all aspects of their national lives.

Keeping the environment under review is an important exercise for the GCLME region which calls for regular environmental monitoring, assessment and reporting for the purpose of analyzing regional trends. This requires a regional collaborative initiative to identify and develop a core set of standardized and scientifically credible indicators for state of the environment reporting usable within individual countries at the national level and among countries at the regional level. A first step is the need to build on existing capacity and experience to fill identified gaps in understanding and strengthening technology and capacity.

The ultimate aim is to bolster capacity in the GCLME region in the selection and use of indicators, assessment of regional and global environmental trends, analysis of data, and state of the environment reporting. Assessing progress towards environmental sustainability in the GCLME cannot happen in isolation but needs also to take cognizance of other regional and global assessment initiatives and approaches. Such reporting processes will be invaluable among others, for the United Nations Regular Process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment including socio-economic aspects.

This report presents a picture of the current condition of the coastal and marine environment and natural resources in the GCLME. It highlights progress made in the GCLME in developing and implementing appropriate policy responses at national, regional and international levels. It is prepared in a format usable as input into a State of Environment assessment report or outlook as a tool for decision making for the region in the foreseeable future. Annex I presents the approach for data and information gathering with respect to the ten countries that submitted environmental monitoring reports and the six countries that had no report. Annex II is the Job description for this exercise.

2.0 REGIONAL OVERVIEW

The GCLME is a shared resource that is one of the world‘s most productive marine areas with abundant fishery resources, oil and gas reserves, precious minerals, and an important global reservoir of marine biological diversity. Along with a high potential for coastal tourism, the natural resources are a veritable source of goods and services which provide livelihoods and play a major part in the region‘s economy. Most of the coastal wetlands provide unique ecological conditions and habitats for Palearctic migratory birds which overwinter in West Africa annually.

Almost one fifth of the world‘s mangroves are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 70 per cent of these are found in 19 countries of West Africa (UNEP, 2007). Mangroves are among the

most productive terrestrial ecosystems and are a natural renewable resource (FAO, 1994). An extensive mangrove forest support livelihoods in providing habitat for food species, timber for dwellings, fuel wood, and any other subsistence and commercial activities which rely on long-term functioning of the ecosystem. Mangroves also provide protection of the coastline from erosion and storm surges apart from serving as a sanctuary for the spawning, breeding and feeding of many fish and shrimp species. One estimate of the economic value of one square kilometer of mangrove ranges between US$ 200 000 and US$ 900 000 per annum. Mangrove deforestation in West and Central Africa continues, though at a slightly lower rate in the 1990‘s than in the 1980‘s with loss of habitat and species diversity of mangroves and the associated species. Declines in the production of demersal species along the coast of Guinea are generally the result of a loss of mangroves, pollution and overfishing (Shumway, 1999).

About 40 percent of the region‘s populations live in the coastal areas and are dependent on the lagoons, estuaries, creeks and inshore waters for their sustenance and socio-economic well being. Although poorly developed, rivers and lagoons are important waterways for the transportation of goods and people. Presently, they provide fish and shellfish which constitute a major source of animal protein in coastal communities. Inspite of the rich endowment in natural resources and recent improvements in economic growth, the majority of the population live in conditions of widespread poverty due to among others huge imbalances in the production and distribution of goods and services and socio-political issues. A differential progression in extremes of wealth and poverty threatens the stability of human existence and the region‘s environment.

The rapid population growth rate in the coastal areas have resulted in disruptions of social values and culture, socio-economic dislocations and conflicts in addition to serious environmental degradation (GCLME, 2008). For several decades, the region‘s socio- economic development has been held back by low human capacity that stems from high population growth rates, low levels of literacy, malnutrition, the prevalence of diseases including HIV and AIDS pandemic and in some countries protracted political instability and conflicts. Some of the GCLME countries are among the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Although there are disparities in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) among them, they generally do not indicate significant variation in levels of development. None of the countries is ranked as among the States with Very High or High Human Development. In 2009 eight of the countries were ranked with Medium Human Development while eight remain in the Low Human Development Index rank. The economy of the region is still overwhelmingly characterized by poverty despite the huge endowment in natural resources.

However, the region is undergoing rapid economic and social changes with environmental change and management trailing behind partly due to a high population growth which exacerbates the environment - poverty nexus and obscures real growth. Poverty and environmental degradation are linked in a vicious circle in which poor people are left with no choice but to use whatever natural resources are available to them. Hence, poverty is a cause and consequence of environmental degradation and resource depletion.

2.1 BIOPHYSICAL FEATURES

2.1.1 Geographic scope and ecosystem boundaries

The Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME) extends from Bissagos Island (Guinea Bissau) in the north to Cape Lopez (Gabon) and Angola in the south. Geographically the GCLME extends from approximately 12° N latitude to about 16° S latitude and variously from 20° west to about 12° east longitude. From an oceanographic point, the GCLME extends in a north-south direction from the intense upwelling area of the Guinea Current south to the northern seasonal limit of the Benguela current. In an east-west direction it includes drainage basins of the major rivers seaward to the Guinea Current front delimiting the Guinea Current from open ocean waters (GCLME, 2006).

The GCLME area includes the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of sixteen countries: Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d‘Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe, Sierra Leone and Togo (Figure 2.1). The coastal habitats include near shore waters, lagoons, mangrove swamps, estuaries, creeks, as well as other brackish and contiguous freshwater bodies. The total length of its coastline is about 7,600 km including the coastline of the island State of Sao Tome & Principe and the insular regions of Equatorial Guinea (i.e. Bioko and Annobon islands). The region covers a total surface area of about 6.8 million km².

The area is characterized by its tropical climate; in fact, climate is the primary force driving the LME, with intensive fishing as the secondary driving force. The coastline of the sub- region is generally low lying and interspersed with marshes, lagoons and mangrove swamps (UNEP, 2005). The physical system of the Guinea Current is highly variable and unstable with intensive seasonal upwelling in the northern sub-system especially of the coast of Ghana and Côte d‘Ivoire from July to September (Roy, 1995). The southern half is generally thermally stable and depends on nutrient input originating from land drainage and river flood and turbulent diffusion, although less intensive and periodic upwelling have been reported.

Table 2.1 is a summary of the statistics on the extent of the coastline, continental shelf and the EEZ which correspond roughly to the limits of the GCLME. Major geomorphic features of the continental shelf include bathymetric undulations of sand ridges, canyons, gullies, dead Holocene coral banks, pockets of hard ground and rocky bottoms. Submarine canyons occur off Vridi canal (Trou Sans Fond) in Cote d‘Ivoire, the Avon Deep, off western Nigeria; and the Mahin and Calabar canyons offshore Nigeria. A lagoon complex in West Africa include Nokoue and Porto Novo in Benin; Ebrie, Aby-Tendo-Ehy and Grand Lahou in Cote d‘Ivoire; Keta-Avu in Ghana among several others; and Lagos and Lekki in Nigeria. In Gabon they include Nkomi, Idogo, Ngobe, and Mbia lagoons. The Conkoti lagoon is found in Congo; altogether the lagoons cover more than 100 km².

Table 2.1: Coastal and Marine Boundaries/Areas by Country

Country Coastline Continental Shelf Exclusive Economic Zone (km) (km²) (km²) Angola 1650 51,000 330,000 Benin 121 3,100 27,100 Cameroon 402 10,600 15,400 Congo 180 11,300 60,000 Cote d‘Ivoire 566 10,200 104,600 Congo DRC 40 1,150 68,400 Gabon 885 46,000 213,000 Ghana 539 23,700 218,100 Equatorial Guinea 296 14,710 283,200 Guinea 346 47,400 71,000 Guinea Bissau 350 45,000 156,500 Liberia 579 18,400 229,700 Nigeria 853 46,300 210,900 Sao Tome & 209 1,459 160,000 Principe Sierra Leone 402 25,600 165,700 Togo 56 1,300 2,100 Total Source: FAO, 1997; World Resources 1994-95

In the Gulf of Guinea Large Marine Ecosystem four subsystems have been delineated which are the Sherbro area; Central-African upwelling area; Central Gulf of Guinea; and Southern Gulf of Guinea. Each of these is defined by its particular characteristics which contribute to the functioning of the ecosystem as a whole (Tilot and King, 1993). Three narrow coastal sedimentary basins with a few volcanic intrusions and outcrops of hard rock forming the major capes are recognized on the coastline along the Guinea Current region: namely from north to south they include the Cote d‘Ivoire basin, the Niger basin (Delta) and the coastal basin from Gabon to Angola (Quelennec, 1987). All along these three basins is a strong influence of the pattern of river basin drainage with four major river systems and numerous small rivers draining the entire coast from Guinea Bissau to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Figure 2.1: Location of the GCLME member countries (in blue colour) on the Atlantic coast in Africa (GCLME, 2006)

2.1.2 Hydrography, coastal erosion and sea level rise

The GCLME is one of the most endowed areas of the world in terms of rivers. Twelve major rivers including the Congo (Congo), Niger (Nigeria), Volta (Ghana), Wouri (Cameroon), Comoe and Bandama (Cote d‘Ivoire), enter the ecosystem from an extensive network of catchment basins transporting greater than 92 million tons of sediments per annum into the Gulf of Guinea. Among the most important rivers are the Niger, Volta, Comoe, Sangana and the Congo River which has the second largest mean annual run-off and catchment area in the world, with freshwater run-off and sediment discharge estimated at 30-80 tons/km² (GCLME, 2006). Substantial quantities of nutrients originating from municipal and agricultural effluents are also transported to sea through river outflows which in some areas leads to 17

eutrophication and Harmful Algal Blooms. Potentially toxic phytoplankton, particularly species responsible for major shellfish poisoning syndromes have been observed in Angolan waters (Fernandez-Tejedor et al., 2004).

The region‘s major rivers experienced concomitant decrease in average discharge from 40 to 60 percent from 1968-1972 due to a marked decline in rainfall from 15 to 30 per cent in most areas. Over the last 50 years, high climate variability has been associated with increased desertification and food insecurity in the West African region (Niasse, 2002). The region is considered to be one of the most vulnerable to climate change and unfortunately the least prepared in terms of mitigation and adaptation to its effects. Weather patterns and changes in the strong currents and upwellings that characterize the GCLME region will bring about the greatest changes to mangrove distribution patterns.

In addition to changes in rainfall, climate change is expected to affect atmospheric pressure, temperatures, evaporation, hydrological regimes, sea level, magnitude and frequency of storms and carbon dioxide concentration. These changes together with prevailing anthropogenic impacts can only exacerbate the current situation.

Coastal erosion

Coastal erosion is a common problem in many countries of the GCLME. The coastline is highly subject to natural erosion and sedimentation processes due to high wave energy and strong littoral transport. It is frequently intensified by human activities such as sand/gravel mining along the coast, damming of rivers, port and jetty construction, dredging, mangrove deforestation and disturbance of the hydrological cycles. Harbour and jetty construction are responsible for phenomenal erosion rates (5-25 m per year) in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Cote d‘Ivoire due partly to alteration of long shore sediment transport and dredging activities to maintain artificial harbours. Ibe (1988) recorded coastal erosion rates for some beaches on the Nigerian coastline, their causative factors and mitigation measures while UNEP (1999) gives further examples of habitat destruction arising from shoreline retreat and erosion.

Sea level rise

Sea level rise (SLR) due to climate change is a serious global threat. Dasgupta et al (2007) in their assessment have observed that of all regions, Sub-Saharan Africa has the least impact. Less than a quarter of 1 per cent of the region‘s GDP would be impacted by a 1 m SLR, while its agricultural extent would generally remain free of any impact even with a 5 m SLR, and less than 1 per cent of the population would be impacted with a 3 m SLR. Within the GCLME, Guinea Bissau would be the only country with greatest land area impact and that at well below 4 per cent with a 2 m SLR and well below 10 per cent for 4 m or greater. Five per cent of Benin‘s GDP and approximately 15 per cent of the country‘s wetlands would equally be impacted. However, much of the region‘s coastline is low-lying and interspersed with marshes, lagoons, and mangrove swamps. The potential for local impacts of SLR less than one meter would be substantial in terms of shoreline retreat and coastal erosion, increased frequency of submergence of coastal wetlands and salt-water intrusion into estuaries and coastal aquifers.

2.1.3 Biodiversity

Fish fauna

Fish biodiversity of the Gulf of Guinea is fairly well documented (FAO, 1990; Ajayi, 1994; Krakstad et al., 2006). The shallow tropical waters of the Gulf of Guinea have a highly diverse fish and invertebrate fauna many of which are important commercial species. Table 2.2a and 2.2b lists the major groups, number of families and number of species of the commercially exploited fauna and some of the commonly known invertebrates (Armah et al, 1997). Until recently, stock assessments in the Gulf of Guinea were few, often conducted far in- between and do not cover the entire region to allow for observation of trends. Very little is known of benthic macrofauna which are important as food for demersal fish apart from being useful indicators of environmental stress in aquatic ecosystems. Altogether, more than 480 marine species have been recorded (Table 2.3). Among elasmobranches found in the GCLME threatened species are shown in Table 2.4.

Marine turtles

Five marine turtles occurring in the region are also all threatened. These are Caretta caretta (loggerhead turtle), Chelonia mydas (Atlantic green turtle), Dermochelys coriacea (leatherback turtle), Lepidochelys olivacea (Olive Ridley turtle), and Eretmochelys imbricata (Hawkbill turtle). Marine turtles are secretly hunted for food, while their eggs are collected by humans and often destroyed by dogs and pigs on beaches. Most of the countries have in place initiatives to protect these threatened reptilian species and their nesting sites, apart from enforcing the use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in shrimp nets to allow turtles to escape when caught during trawling. Coastal sand mining and the removal of vegetation are further threats to nesting of marine turtles on beaches in Cameroon (Folack and Yongbi, 2007).

Table 2.2a: Major groups, families and number of species of the commercially exploited fin- and shellfishes of the Gulf of Guinea (Source: FAO, 1990)

GROUP FAMILY SPECIES Bony fishes 80 627 Sharks 11 77 Batoid fishes (sawfishes, 7 41 rays & skates) Lobsters 3 3 Shrimps & Prawns 10 17 Cephalopods 7 23 Bivalves 17 47 Gastropods 13 26 Sea turtles 2 6

Table 2.2b: Biodiversity of polychaetes, molluscs and other crustaceans which occur in the Gulf of Guinea (Source: Armah & Nyarko, 1998).

GROUP FAMILIES SPECIES REFERENCE Polychaetes (West 52 630 Kirkegaard, 1988 Africa) (Ghana) 28 140 Armah, 1998 Molluscs 83 200 Edmunds, 1978 Cumacea 5 10 Jones, 1956 Gammaridea 2 235 Reid, 1956 Caridean 11 246 Holthus, 1951 crustaceans

Table 2.3: Marine Biodiversity in West and Central Africa Flora and Fauna Number of Endemic Total species species Seagrasses 0 1 Corals 1 10 Molluscs 1 238 Shrimps and lobsters 3 47 Sharks 1 89 Seabirds 2 51 Marine mammals 2 44 Total 10 480

Table 2.4: List of threatened elasmobranches found in the Gulf of Guinea (Armah, 2006) Common name Scientific name Region Whale shark Rhincodon typus Cosmopolitan Blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus Cosmopolitan Dusky shark Carcharhinus obscurus Cosmopolitan Blue shark Prionace glauca Cosmopolitan Sand tiger shark Eugomphodus taurus Cosmopolitan Sandbar shark Carcharhinus plumbeus Cosmopolitan Great white shark Carchrodon carcharias Cosmopolitan Porbeagle Lamna nasus Cosmopolitan Kitefin shark Dalatias licha Cosmopolitan Smalltooth sawfish PPristis pectinata Cosmopolitan Common sawfish Pristis pristis East Central Atlantic Deepsea skate Bathyraja abyssicola World

Other reptiles recorded in the region include ninety-nine endemic species, 33 percent of which are reported in DR Congo and 20 per cent in Cameroon (World Resources, 1998-99). Of the 169 endemic and threatened amphibians recorded in the region, 66 and 53 species are found in the Cameroon and DRCongo respectively. High endemicity for fish and mammals are also associated with both countries (Djama, 2000; World Resources, 1998-99). Table 2.5 presents the numbers of endemic and threatened mammals and their relative densities in the region.

Table 2.5: List of endemic and threatened mammals in the GCLME region.

Country All species Endemic Threatened No. of species species species per 10,000 km² Angola 276 7 17 56 Benin 188 0 9 85 Cameroon 297 13 32 83 DR Congo 415 28 38 69 Congo 200 1 10 62 Cote d‘Ivoire 230 1 16 73 Equatorial 184 3 12 131 Guinea Gabon 190 2 12 64 Ghana 222 1 13 78 Guinea 190 1 11 66 Guinea Bissau 108 0 4 71 Liberia 193 0 11 87 Nigeria 274 6 26 62 Sierra Leone 147 0 9 77 Togo 196 1 8 110 Total 3,310 64 224 Source: World Resources, 1998-99

It is reported that whales especially toothed, fin and humpback whales migrate to the waters of the Gulf of Guinea from Antarctica at the end of the summer (Jefferson et al., 1983; Elder and Parnetta, 1991). A recent review of the species account of cetaceans in the West African region from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Congo River indicated that there were 18 species of dolphins (Jefferson et al., 1997). The species included the following: Globicephala melas, G. macrorhynchus, Pseudorca crassidens, Feresa attenuate, Pepnocephala electra, Grampus griseus, Lagenorhychus acutus, Steno bredanensis, Sousa teuszii (an endemic species), Tursiops truncates, Stenella coeruleoalba, Dtenella frontalis, Stenella longirostris, Stenella clymene, Delphinus spp and Lagenodelphis hosei. A complete list of threatened whales and dolphins occurring in the region is given in Table 2.6.

Table 2.6: List of threatened whales, dolphins and manatee in the GCLME region.

Order Family Species Common name Cetacea Balaenopteridae Balaenoptera Minke whale acutorostrata B. borealis Sei whale B. edeni Bryde‘s whale B. musculus Blue whale B. physalus Fin whale Megaptera Humpback whale novaeangliae Suborder Delphinidae (oceanic Delphinus delphis Common dolphin Odontoceti dolphins) Feresa attenuata Pygmy killer whale Globicephala Short-finned pilot macrorhynchus whale Globicephala melas Long-finned pilot whale Grampus griseus Risso‘s dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei Fraser‘s dolphin Lagenorhynchus Dusky dolphin obscurus Orcinus orca Killer whale Peponocephala electra Melon-headed whale Sousa teuszii Atlantic humpbacked dolphin Stenella attenuata Pan-tropical spotted dolphin Stenella clymene Clymene dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba Striped dolphin Stenella frontalis Atlantic spotted dolphin Stenella longirostris Spinner dolphin Steno bredanensis Rough-toothed dolphin Tursiops truncatus Bottlenose dolphin Physeteridae Physeter Sperm whale macrocephalus Ziphiidae (beaked Mesoplodon Blainville‘s beaked whales) densirostris whale Mesoplodon europaeus Gervais‘ beaked whale Ziphius cavirostris Cuvier‘s beaked whale Sirenia Trichechidae Trichechus West African senegalensis manatee Source: Adapted from Armah, (2006)

Avian fauna: Over 7,000 birds migrate to the West African coast seasonally with about 50 of them recorded as endemic. About 132 species are estimated to be under threat. Most of the coastal wetlands in the region provide unique ecological conditions and habitats for overwintering birds from Europe. In Ghana, the Keta and Songor lagoons both support over 100,000 water birds and the Sakumo I (Densu estuary) about 300,000 while at Sakumo II maximum number recorded has been 14,000 (Armah, 2006). About 46 species of marine birds belonging to 10 families occur at these Ramsar sites. Table 2.7 shows peak counts of the common birds recorded.

Tringa ochropus Family - Charadriides Héron cendré (Ardea cinerea)

Héron crabier (Ardeola ralloides) Actophilornis africana Family - Jacanides

Table 2.7: Peak counts of the twenty most common species of seashore birds of Ghana (EPC, 1990 in Armah, 2006)

Common name Scientific name Maximum No. recorded Peak month Waders Curlew sandpiper Calidris ferruginea 19,500 December Little stint Calidris minuta 19,500 ,, Spotted redshank Tringa crythropus 10,050 ,, Common redshank Tringa nebularia 8,100 November Common ringed plover Charadrius hiaticula 6,150 December Common ringed plover Calidris alba 4,800 ,, Black-bellied plover Pluvialis squatarola 3,850 ,, Pied avocet Recurvirostra avosetta 3,750 March Black-winged stilt Himantopus himantopus 2,750 February Red knot Calidris canutus 1,800 September Black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa 1,600 February Common sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 600 October Terns Common tern Sterna hirundo 17,200 October Black tern Chlidonias nigra 12,000 ,, Sandwich tern Sterna sandvicensis 6,100 ,, Royal tern Sterna maxima 3,300 ,, Little tern Sterna albifrons 1,000 August Herons/Egrets Little egret Egretta garzetta 12,200 February Western reef heron Egretta gularis 2,000 December Grey heron Ardea cineria 1,500 December

Flora: Marine flora diversity has received very little attention than its terrestrial counterpart due in part to more emphasis on the terrestrial components. However, the GCLME coast is home to vast forest resources of biological and socio-economic importance. Eight true mangrove species are found in West Africa. The five countries containing the largest amount of mangrove cover (km²) are Gabon (1,606), Cameroon (1,957), Guinea (2,039), Guinea Bissau (2,999), and Nigeria (7,386) (UNEP, 2007).

Virgin Mangrove Forest

Mangrove forests provide habitat to a variety of flora and fauna. Coastal vegetation associated with the mangroves include the climbers, Ipomoea aquatica, Vigna marina,

Diodia serrulata, Cassytha filiformis; the grasses, Vossia marina, Pennisetum purpureum, Paspalum sp, Andropogon sp. and Panicum sp; the sedges, Kyllinga peruviana, Cyperus sp, Mariscus ligularis and Fuirena ciliaris; the herbs, Stylosanthes erecta, Lindernia crustacea, Solanum nigrum, Acrostichum aureum; the succulent herbs, Sesurium portulacastrum, and Murdannia simplex; the shrubs, Dalbergia ecastaphyllum, Drepanocarpus lunatus and the trees, Cocos nucifera, Terminalia cattapa, Syzygium sp, Carthormium altissimum, and Ficus vogeliana. Variation in the distribution of these vegetation are common wherever mangroves are found, while in areas where much of the vegetation has been denuded due to erosion or other degradation, they are typically replaced by the hardy grass, Paspalum sp and Acrosticum aureum especially in the Niger Delta.

Phytoplankton in the Gulf of Guinea have been documented by several authors including more recently Kusemiju et al., (1998); Wiafe and Frids, (2000); Yakub (2002); Folack and Yongbi (2007) and CSIR (2010). Folack and Yongbi (2007) observed new appearances of Guinadias sp., Plantoniella sp., Rhizosolenia setigera, Thalassiothrix sp., Pleurosigma normanni, Gonyaulax spnifera, Ceratium fuscus and Ceratium lineatum in Kribi and Limbe coastal waters. Among zooplankton the authors also recorded increases in numbers of species in 2006 - 2009 and new appearances of Oncaea sp., Eucalanus piletus, E. attenuates, Podon sp., Farranula carinata and Copilia mirabilis in 2007-2008. The vegetation types in the estuarine/lagoon ecosystems are phytoplankton (diatoms and blue- green algae as dominants), benthic algae and lichens. There is generally a relatively low taxonomic diversity in estuaries and lagoons due in part to physiological adaption to unpredictable stresses in the environment.

2.1.4 Invasive alien species It is not clear how many species have been introduced to the GCLME as research and expertise in taxonomy is low (Armah, 2006). The few documented species alien to the region include the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), the gregarious Nypa palm (Nypa fructicans), the Indo-pacific sea urchin (Temnopleurus toreumaticus) and the giant tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon). The aquatic weed, water hyacinth is a menace in several coastal freshwater bodies in the region. The gregarious sea urchin is a major pest to artisanal fishermen in estuaries to the east of the Niger delta. It was probably introduced as larvae in ballast water. It has no known natural predators and thus makes it quite threatening to the region‘s waters. The giant tiger shrimp is an invasive of mixed blessings. While it gradually displaces the native shrimps in trawl hauls, it is preferred because of its large size and potential for aquaculture in the region.

2.1.5 Threats to marine biodiversity Among other threats to marine biodiversity in the region are the following: overharvesting of marine resources (unsustainable gathering, fishing and hunting); conversion of mangrove swamps (rice, shrimp, fish culture, and salt production); oil exploration, drilling and production; coastal erosion and habitat degradation; Urban and tourism development; pollution; sedimentation and siltation; changes to the hydrological cycle; and inadequate policy responses, legislation and enforcement.

Degraded Mangrove Degradation of Mangrove

2.1.6 Marine and Coastal Protected Areas

Armah (2006) recorded a total of 71 identified priority biodiversity areas in the region. Although several biodiversity reserves exist, many of these have not been formally designated. Museums of marine biodiversity are very few or non-existent in most of the countries. A number of Ramsar sites have been designated for protection or proposed. The Ramsar sites in Ghana are important for high biodiversity of coastal birds, mainly migrant waders. Marine and Coastal Protected Areas are established to limit harvesting of coastal resources and ensure their sustainable utilization. They conserve biodiversity by providing refuge for marine fauna and flora and undisturbed sites for research, monitoring, education and tourism. Strict Nature reserves are required for the protection of threatened and endangered species to prevent the loss of such biodiversity. The region is yet to achieve the world target of 20 per cent protected areas by 2012.

3.0 SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE

The human context, be it political, social or economic, has both direct and indirect impact on the environment. The population of the sixteen GCLME countries of about 240 million in 2006 is expected to reach 542 million in 2030 (Figure 3.1). Population growth rates remained positive and have increased from 2.06 per cent for the period 1970 -75 to 2.52 per cent in 2000-2005 (Figure 3.2). This is projected to decrease to 1.92 per cent in 2025-2030.

The population in the region as a whole is fast transforming from rural to urban although at varying rates (Figure 3.3). The transformation is generally slower in Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Liberia. The fastest drifts to urban centers occur in Congo and Cote d‘Ivoire, while the population in Sao Tome and Togo are highly urbanized. Gabon has the highest percentage of migrants from both the region and continent. In Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the drift to urban centers is connected to the prolonged civil conflict which ravaged the countries for several years.

With increasing migration from rural to urban areas the number and density of coastal urban cities are projected to increase. Coastal settlements that have developed into major GCLME cities are among the most densely populated in the world. For example, Lagos is expected to join the ranks of megacities with greater than 10 million inhabitants by 2020. More than 60 per cent of the existing industries in the region are concentrated in the coastal cities. It is estimated that more cities in the region will achieve this status, with the concentration of

development along the coast, within the next five decades. The rapid population growth in the coastal zone has resulted in increased pressure on economic and social infrastructure with consequences for environmental health and management. Similar to conditions in the rest of the world, many of the regions poor are crowded in urban slums and exposed to socio- economic dislocations, poor sanitation, high crime rates, and serious environmental degradation.

Figure 3.1: Changes in actual and projected total populations between 1970 and 2030 within: the GCLME countries (a&b); and (c) globally (adapted from WRI 2008a)

Human population of some GCLME countries from 1970 to 2030 200,000 0 1970197519801985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

Angola Benin CMR CIV Congo COD GNQ Gabon a

Human population of some GCLME countries from 1970 to 2030

250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 1970197519801985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

Ghana Guinea GNB Liberia b

World's human population compared to GCLME's

10,000 5,000

0 1970197519801985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

World GCLME Countries Devpd.C Devlp C c

Figure 3.2: Changes in actual and projected population growth rates between 1970 and 2030 (five-yearly averages) of: GCLME countries (a&b); and (c) world (adapted from WRI, 2008a).

Population growth rate of some GCLME countries 10 from 1970 to 2030

-5

Angola Benin CMR CIV -10 Congo COD GNQ Gabon a Population growth rate of some GCLME countries from 10 1970 to 2030

-5

Ghana Guinea GNB Liberia b World's population growthrates compared to 3.5 GCLME's 3

2.5 2

1.5

1 0.5

World GCLME Countries Devpd C Devlp C c

Figure 3.3: Changes in actual and projected population proportion in percentage between 1970 and 2030 in GCLME countries (a&b); and (c) world (adapted from WRI, 2008a)

100% Urban population of some GCLME countries from 1970 to 2030 80%

60%

40%

20%

Angola Benin CMR CIV a

100% Urban population of some GCLME countries from 1970 to 2030

50%

Ghana Guinea GNB Liberia b World's urban population compared to 100% GCLME's 80% 60%

40%

20%

World GCLME Countries Devpd C Devlp C c 29

Table 3.1 is a summary of biophysical, social and economic indices of GCLME countries. Figure 3.4 shows the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of the countries in 2008. The GNI per capita refers to the dollar value of a country‘s final income in a year divided by its population, and reflects the average income of a country‘s citizens. Only Equatorial Guinea has a GNI higher than the global average of greater than 10,000 current international US$ at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).

GNI per capita of GCLME Countries in 2008 $16

$14

$12

$10

Figure 3.4: GNI per capita (PPP, current international US$) in 2008 (The World Bank, 2009)

A very similar stage of national economic development characterizes the GCLME countries with minor exception. The economy is overwhelmingly characterized by poverty inspite of improvements in economic growth in recent times (Figure 3.4). The regional economic disparity to a large extent parallels many other social, economic and environmental indicators like average life expectancies, literacy rates, education and GDP. Despite some positive signs, the region still faces considerable development challenges. The proportion of the population living below the poverty line increased from 44 percent in 2000 to 47 percent in 2008. Some of the GCLME countries also suffer from rapid population growth, a heavy disease burden, notably HIV/AIDS, and environmental degradation.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI) which combines normalized measures of life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment, and GDP per capita for countries worldwide, is a standardized measure of human development that reflects a country‘s overall development (UNDP, 2009). Of the 16 GCLME countries assessed, none is in the Very High and High Human Development group. Eight are positioned within the Medium Human Development category while the remaining eight are

placed in Low Human Development category. Unlike the GNI, the GDP per capita is more reflective of the HDI ranking (UNEP/COBSEA, 2010).

Poverty varies within the region with the populations of Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone having the highest proportion of their population living below the national poverty lines although data is incomplete for a number of countries. The percentage of population living below US$ 2 per day is higher than the percentage living below national poverty lines for most of the countries. Apart from countries just emerging from protracted civil conflicts and political upheavals, the data clearly shows that although the region is endowed with abundant renewable and non-renewable resources, these have not been optimally utilized for the improvement of the quality of life of the people.

Economic growth has yet to impact meaningfully on poverty reduction, decent employment, private sector expansion, gender disparities and social inequalities. It is ―growth without development‖ which perhaps could only be rescued by a change in economic structure and altering the flow of benefits of growth in favour of businesses and citizens. Some of the GCLME countries are among the poorest in the world and although there are disparities in GDP among them, they generally do not indicate significant variation in levels of development.

3.1 Coastal Development

Approximately 40 - 80 per cent of the regions incremental economic activity takes place in the coastal zone. For most countries, about 60 per cent of industries are located in coastal cities (UNDP/GEF, 1993). A high percentage of the coastal populations traditionally depend directly or indirectly on the lagoons, associated wetlands, and inshore waters surrounding them livelihood. These coastal ecosystems contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of coastal cities.

In recent times coastal activities have greatly diversified with traditional resource-based practices such as fisheries, forestry, aquaculture and agriculture giving way to more profitable ones such as industry, shipping, commerce and tourism. The coastal zone has facilitated trade, commerce and socio-economic growth for centuries through maritime transportation and played significant role in regional integration and globalization. Rural-urban drift of population is predicated on a perceived availability of greater economic opportunities in coastal cities. The influx to metropolitan and urban areas however creates social problems of inadequate housing facilities, poor public hygiene and sanitation, poor educational and health facilities and unsustainable utilization of natural resources leading to environmental degradation. The rich living marine resources of the GCLME are providing livelihoods and employment for thousands of fishers and foreign exchange for the countries. The wealth of coastal ecosystems contributes to food security for the region. In the Eastern Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (CECAF) 70 per cent of the total production comes from the smallscale traditional artisanal fisheries. From 1990, a general upward trend in the number of people engaged in fisheries was recorded (Figure 3.5). Compared to the global total, the number is insignificant due to the scale of operation in the region where artisanal fisheries is heavily dependent on small-scale, low technology fishing techniques.

Figure 3.5: Changes in the toal number of people employed in fishing and aquaculture between 1970 and 2000 in : GCLME countries (a&b); and (c) world (adapted from WRI, 2008b)

People employed in fishing and aquaculture in some GCLME 120,000 countries

100,000

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0 1970 1980 1990 2000 Angola Benin CMR CIV Congo COD GNQ Gabon

People employed in fishing and aquaculture in some GCLME

600,000 countries

500,000

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0 1970 1980 1990 2000 Ghana Guinea GNB Liberia b

World fishing and aquaculture employment compared to GCLME's

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0 1970 1980 1990 2000 World GCLME Countries Devpd.C Devlp C c

Coastal, inland and marine capture fisheries in the GCLME have been increasing since the 1995 albeit marginally in some countries, in direct contrast to global trends (Figure 3.6). However regional capture production is insignificant compared to global average. The figures show an increasing trend in fish catches with occasional declines. Declines in Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) indicate that catch is exceeding sustainable yields in some resources while

species diversity and average body lengths of the most important fish assemblages have declined (FAO, 2000). This is reflected by reported decreases in the mean size of individual fish, the value of catches, and importation of large quantities of frozen fish to bridge the gap between demand and supply. A few of the countries are however net exporters of fish and fish products and for countries having agreements with foreign fleets the production are seldom reported. It is believed by some regional experts that some of the fish caught in the region by distant water fleets are imported to the region.

Figure 3.6: Changes in the inland and marine fisheries capture production between 1970 and 2005 in: GCLME countries (a&b); and (c) world (adapted from WRI, 2008b)

Capture fisheries production (inland and marine) in some GCLME countries 400 350 300

250

200

150

100

0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 Angola Benin CMR CIV Congo COD GNQ Gabon a

Capture fisheries production (inland and marine) in some GCLME countries 600

500

400

300

200

100

0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 Ghana Guinea GNB Liberia Nigeria STP SLE Togo b

World capture fisheries production (inland and marine) compared to GCLME's 120,000

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20,000

0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 World GCLME Countries Devpd.C Devlp C c

The animal protein needs of coastal communities in the GCLME region are largely met by fish consumption. With few exceptions, over 90 per cent of fish landings from artisanal fisheries are consumed locally as fresh, dried or smoked products. Marginal increases in fish protein consumption are noticeable for most of the countries from 1995 while in a few countries drastic decline are indicated (Figure 3.7). Fish protein intake is generally high for the region and greater than the global average. The contribution of artisanal fisheries to food security, employment and the preservation of socio-cultural traits are significant and deserve special attention.

Figure 3.7: Changes in consumption of fish protein (as a percentage of total animal protein) between 1970 and 2002 in: GCLME countries (a&b); and (c) world (adapted from WRI, 2008b)

Fish protein consumption as a % of total protein supply in some 30 GCLME countries

15 10

0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2002 Angola Benin CMR CIV Congo COD Gabon a

Fish protein consumption as a % of total protein supply in some GCLME countries 30

0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2002 Ghana Guinea GNB Liberia b World fish protein consumption as a % of total protein supply

14 compared to GCLME's 12

0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2002 World GCLME Countries c c

Coastal Tourism Although having a high potential for tourism with its rich biodiversity of global importance, unique ecosystems, favorable climate and relatively low prices, coastal tourism has contributed little to economic growth and local employment. Tourism in the region at best is yet to be developed. Total tourism receipts for the region are largely insignificant when compared with the international total (Figure 3.8). With the development of basic infrastructure, improvements in security and environmental management and publicity, coastal tourism industry could receive the boost necessary for opening the region to international tourism. However, due diligence and foresight in coastal management would be

required to avoid damage, loss of expensive infrastructure and loss of coastal habitats with severe impacts experienced in the past on various beaches and resorts from Dakar to Luanda.

Figure 3.8: Changes in total tourism receipts between 1995 and 2006 in the world (adapted from WRI, 2008c)

World's tourism receipts compared to GCLME's

1,000,000

900,000

800,000

700,000

600,000

500,000

400,000

300,000

200,000

100,000

0 1995 2000 2006 World GCLME Countries Devpd.C Devlp C

Overall, the region has achieved marginal increases in growth and development in the past three decades despite the economic boom in a few oil-dependent countries with substantial GDPs. Unfortunately, this growth has not reduced the pervasive poverty nor lead to increases in per capita incomes and other key social indicators. The economies are largely resourcedependent, with coastal and marine resources responsible for 80-90 per cent of their GDP. The awareness for some of the economies to expand and diversify to meet regional and global challenges is high, but very little progress has been made in this direction due in part to a lack of political will.

3.2 Climate change and socio-economic development

Climate change is an additional stress for this vulnerable continent. Africa‘s climate is predicted to become more variable and extreme weather events more frequent and severe. Changing climate is expected to affect key sectors such as agriculture, water, health, disaster risk reduction, coastal zones and ecosystem management. The West and Central African region is one of the most vulnerable regions to impacts of climate change and perhaps the 39

least prepared to meet the challenges it poses by mitigation and adaptation measures. African countries contribute only about 3.8 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions, but are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change.

Major challenges faced by most countries include lack of adequate information and projection; uncertainty regarding costs and benefits of various mitigation and adaptation measures for the public and private sectors; lack of adequate human and institutional capacity to address climate change; lack of appropriate technologies and capacity building; limited access to global financial assistance and inadequate development of climate-oriented market mechanisms. The countries need to establish an enabling environment and develop the capacity required at local and national levels to enable them design, finance, implement, monitor and adjust long-term integrated and cost-effective adaptation policies and plans that are robust within a wide range of possible changes in climate conditions.

Much of the region‘s coastline is low-lying and interspersed with marshes, lagoons, and mangrove swamps that are regularly inundated at high tides and are vulnerable to storm surges, floods, droughts and sea level rise. Additionally, these areas are subject to anthropogenic impacts from geo-engineering projects/development; canalization; sand dredging and sand filling for construction purposes; conversion activities (rice, fish/shrimp, sugarcane, salt ponding, etc); coastal settlements and other land-use changes. In particular the region‘s wetlands and vast mangrove resources are threatened by tropical storms and flooding as well as sedimentation and siltation.

Sea Level Rise Dasgupta et al. (2007) in a comparative study of some countries looking at the percentage of land area, population, and GDP that would be affected by Sea Level Rise (SLR) ranging from one to five meters (Figures 3.9; 3.10; 3.11; 3.12). Of all regions in the world, Sub-Saharan Africa has the least impact.

Figure 3.9: Impact on the area of various GCLME countries by sea level rises of 1-5 m. (Source: Dasgupta et al., 2007)

Within the GCLME region, the country with the greatest land area impact would be Guinea Bissau (Figure 3.9). Impact would remain well below 4 per cent with a 2 m SLR and should never rise above 10 per cent with a SLR of 4 m or greater.

For most countries in the region, population impacted would remain below 5 per cent even with a 5 m SLR.

Figure 3.10: Impact on the populations of various GCLME countries by sea level rises of 1-5 m. (Source: Dasgupta et al., 2007)

Figure 3.11: Impact on the populations of GCLME countries by sea level rise of 5 m (Source: Dasgupta et al., 2007)

Approximately 5 per cent of Benin‘s GDP would be impacted by a 1 m SLR (Figure 3.12). Urban extent is little impacted in the region (Figure 3.13). Agricultural extent would be most impacted in Guinea Bissau (Figure 3.14). Approximately 15 per cent of Benin‘s wetlands would be impacted by a 1 m SLR (Figure 3.15).

Figure 3.12: Impact on the GDP of various GCLME countries by sea level rises of 1-5 m (Source: Dasgupta et al., 2007)

Figure 3.13: Impact on urban extent in various GCLME countries by sea level rises of 1- 5 m (Source: Dasgupta et al., 2007)

Figure 3.14: Agricultural extent impacted by sea level rises of 1-5 m (Source: Dasgupta et al., 2007)

Figure 3.15: Impact on wetlands in various GCLME countries of sea level rises of 1-5 m (Source: Dasgupta et al., 2007)

Global sea-level is estimated to have risen by 10-25 cm over the past 100 years. The IS92a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Scenario estimates a global sea level rise, in addition to that recorded in the mid-1990s, of 6-25 cm by 2030, 10-65 cm by 2070 and 23-96 cm by 2100. Therefore, sea level rises lesser than 1 m would inundate extensive mangroves of Gabon, Cameroon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, and Nigeria. This would increase the rates of erosion of the shoreline. The coastal lagoons of Angola, Ghana and the entire lagoon complex on the west coast would also be vulnerable to sea storms, flooding and inundation. Sea level rise is also a major threat to low-lying coastal urban centers and ports, such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Cotonou, Lome, Abidjan, Conakry, etc. Its impacts could result in a loss of income from coastal industries and port activities throughout the region, as well as loss of opportunities for development of tourism.

4.0 STATE AND TREND OF THE COASTAL AND MARINE ENVIRONMENT

4.1 Natural Resource Exploitation

The marine and coastal resources of the GCLME are a rich and diverse regional asset providing important economic and social opportunities for the human population, which has developed a strong reliance on these resources for commercial opportunity and livelihood, food, recreation, and transport. These resources have facilitated job creation and enhanced economic activities in the coastal areas. However, increasing human and environmental pressure on the marine and coastal ecosystems has changed the functioning and structure of many of their components, and uncontrolled or mismanaged use has led to overexploitation, degradation, and resource loss.

These pressures have driven an overall decline in marine productivity, creating significant socio-economic opportunity costs. Direct impacts by humans are exacerbated by the fact that the ecosystem is transboundary allowing regular links and disperses marine populations over vast areas, thus easily spreading invasive alien species and pollutants. Climate change is also predicted increasingly to impact the marine and coastal resources. Although our knowledge and understanding of these effects remains speculative, they could be as severe as those of the uncontrolled human exploitation that has taken place to date.

Each of the coastal countries has an interest in the sustainable management of the coastal and marine resources. However, such systems including their upstream freshwater basins are at present affected by a number of human activities: industrial effluent discharges, agricultural run-offs, urban and domestic waste, mining activities, and oil and gas exploitation and exploration. In the GCLME, depletion of living resources, uncertainty in ecosystem status including climate change effects, deterioration in water quality, physical alteration and destruction of habitats and coastal erosion have been identified as significant transboundary problems.

Since the inception of the GCLME Project, the governments and general public, especially coastal stakeholders, appears to be increasingly aware of the value of our seas and coast and of the importance of effective management for their sustainability. Conservation and protection measures in the form of nature reserves and marine protected areas, pilot demonstration projects for restoration, and community participation for improved management has been receiving high priority at national and regional levels. Some policies and regional protocols to govern the coastal and marine environment have recently been introduced to promote and improve environmental management. Perhaps, it is not too early to measure their effectiveness but dramatic change for the better is required if the region is to benefit from the opportunities available and reverse the current negative trends.

4.2 Economic and Social Value The marine and coastal environment and its associated resources (animals, plants and marine life such as fish, shrimp and prawns, oil and natural gas reserves among others) contribute significantly to the regional economy in terms of employment and livelihoods, foreign exchange earnings and food security. The coastal contribution to the national economy is pivotal in such oil and natural gas exporting countries like Angola, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and Nigeria (Figure 4.1).

Figure 4.1: Oil production in some GCLME countries from 1970 - 2006 (adapted from WRI 2008d)

Oil production in some GCLME countries from 1970 to 2006 140,000

120,000

100,000

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006

Angola CMR Congo GNQ Gabon Nigeria

It accounts for up to 80-85 per cent of total annual export and foreign exchange earnings in these countries with substantial contribution to their total annual GDP. Compared with other employment sectors, the oil industry provides high quality employment, generating substantial individual incomes. Crude exploration and export is an enclave activity with few jobs and linkages, and limited domestic impact. Agriculture remains primitive and does not generate modern employment. The primary, secondary, and tertiary aspects of the fishing industry are also important sources of direct and indirect employment for thousands of people living at or near the coast.

4.3 Depletion, Degradation and Loss of Resources

Marine and coastal resources in the GCLME are displaying signs of modification and degradation and in some instances destruction. The section that follows highlights some of the key factors contributing to these damaging processes.

4.3.1 Population pressure

Coastal cities around the world have grown dramatically over the past 50 years and are predicted to continue doing so for the near future. The main reasons for this increase are the quest for employment and basic livelihoods, access to social infrastructure and amenities and in the recent past safety and security. Due to the high potential offered by coastal areas for socio-economic functions and activities, people find the marine environment highly attractive

for both settlement and exploitation. Major settlements along the seacoast of the GCLME include Monrovia, Conakry, Abidjan, Cotonou, Lome, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Douala among several others (Table 3.1). Presently more than 50% of the region‘s population lives within 100 km of the coast (Figure 4.2) resulting in substantial development pressure for infrastructure such as housing, education, health and roads. Overall population growth and increased development thus continue to pose severe threats to resources of the coastal zone.

Figure 4.2: Human population within 100 km of the coast in the GCLME countries in the year 2000 (Adapted from WRI 2008b)

Human Population within 100km of coast in the GCLME countries in the year 2000 120

100

4.3.2 Coastal Urban, Port & Harbour development

The areas of natural or undeveloped coastal land in are increasingly under threat from large- scale urban developments, mostly residential estates, and ports and harbour development. With economic growth, some of the countries in the region embark on huge infrastructural development such as Export Promotion Zones (EPZ) including new deep water ports and ancillary facilities to support export trade. This development will bring significant trade, industry and economic prosperity to the region although not without environmental costs.

Abandoned Ship at Cacuaco in Luanda. Wrecks of Ship/boat at a jetty in Freetown

Wrecks at ECOMOG Naval Base in Freetown. Discarded containers at Pointe Noire harbour

4.3.3 Mining The coastal and marine environment is mined for sand and gravel, and significantly for fossil fuels - natural gas and oil for which some of the countries (Angola, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria) are already net exporters. Crude oil has been found in economic quantities in Ghana, Cote d‘Ivoire, and Sao Tome & Principe. Increasingly, the region‘s continental shelf is a hub of prospecting activities with sporadic exploration, onshore and offshore in Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo and Benin. Some proven reserves have been discovered extending the frontiers of hydrocarbon deposits in the fragile ecosystem (Figure 4.3).

Coastal sand mining in Freetown Gravel Mining in Freetown

Figure 4.3: Proven oil reserves in some GCLME countries from 1980-2006 (adapted from WRI 2008d)

Proved oil reserves in some GCLME Countries from 1980 to 2006

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006

Angola Congo GNQ Gabon Nigeria

Diamond is a valuable solid mineral contributing to exports in Angola, with a yearly production of 6 million carats. Diamond sales reached approximately US$1.1 billion in 2006. Despite increased corporate ownership of diamond fields, most production is currently by small-scale prospectors. The government has established an export certification scheme consistent with the ―Kimberley Process‖ to identify legitimate production and sales.

4.3.4 Oil pollution

An unavoidable consequence of mining is disruption of the sediment, which ranges from extensive (onshore exploitation) to limited (offshore extraction) in the case of oil exploration and operations. In most instances mining completely destroys the biological community, including vegetation, in-fauna, and epi-fauna. Environmental policies such as a mandatory requirement for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in most of the countries necessitate coastal mining operations to conduct comprehensive studies to predict and resolve potential environmental impacts (especially negative impacts) and plan for decommissioning and rehabilitation throughout the mined area. If the requirements are followed, rehabilitated mined areas can normally recover within a few years.

At the international level a regulatory framework for EIA, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and environmental monitoring is provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Specifically, Article 206 requires that when States have reasonable grounds for believing that planned activities under their jurisdiction or

control may cause substantial changes to the marine environment, they shall assess the potential effect of such activities on the marine environment. Article 204 calls for States to monitor the risks or effects of pollution on the marine environment. The possibility of a transboundary oil spill is probably the greatest threat to the marine environment from this industry especially with the proliferation of exploration and production activities within the region

The degree of the impact of onshore and offshore oil and gas activities on the environment is considered to be largely local, but differs in different ecosystems and increases in those areas where there are a number of installations and development. There are linkages between the socio-economic and environmental effects of onshore and offshore oil and gas operations. When development is not performed in the context of open and participatory environment, it could result in serious resentment and social division with political, economic and security implications. As at 2006, over 1.5 million tons of crude oil had spilled into the Niger Delta environment. This is equivalent in volume to one Exxon Valdez spill a year for 50 years. Further statistics from the Department of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria shows that within a 30-year span (1970-2000) there had been over 7,000 recorded oil spills in the Niger Delta (Nairobi Convention WIO News, 2010). The country recorded 3,203 oil spillage cases in 2006-2010, 23 per cent of which was attributed to equipment failure (operational/maintenance error and corrosion) and 45 per cent to sabotage/vandalism (The Guardian, 24 August 26, 2010).

Commercial energy resources in the region, primarily petroleum and natural gas, are concentrated in coastal and offshore regions. The number of offshore platforms and various export/import terminals, refineries and tankers traversing the region means an ever-present threat of oil pollution. With the potential and rather rapid increase in ship traffic associated with expanded oil and gas exploration and exploitation, and taking into account the precautionary principle, it can be concluded that there is a shared regional interesting in combating particularly catastrophic release of oil. In particular, the patterns of onshore- offshore winds and ocean currents depict that any massive oil spill from any of the offshore or shore-based petroleum activities translate easily into a transboundary problem. A Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan should be a priority in the GCLME region for timely and adequate response to any transboundary oil spill incident in the region. Harmonization of policies at the national level may be required to achieve a cooperative regional plan.

Oil Impacted Site in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom, Oil Impacted Site. Nigeria

Oil impacted sites in Tebidaba, Ijaw LGA, Oil impacted site in Ataba, Andoni LGA, Nigeria. Nigeria.

4.3.5 Pressures on estuaries and lagoons

Estuaries and lagoons comprise a key component of coastal and marine ecosystems as spawning grounds, contributing significantly to overall fisheries production. West Africa has a chain of lagoon complexes adjacent to the Gulf of Guinea beginning from Cote d‘Ivoire and passing through the mouth of the Volta River in Ghana through the Republic of Benin and finally into Nigeria. The Lagos lagoon complex is the largest of the four lagoon systems of the Gulf of Guinea coast. As a stand-alone resource, the total landed catch of estuarine and estuarine-associated fish is presently unknown although it accounts for most of the artisanal landings in some countries.

There are over 90 lagoons and associated wetlands in Ghana including five Ramsar sites (Muni-Pomadze, Densu River Delta, Sakumo, Songhor and Keta). The lagoons and wetlands provide valuable products and services, which includes supporting fisheries, absorbing floodwaters and protecting biodiversity. The fisheries of almost all the lagoons and estuaries are artisanal but play an important role in the socio-economy of coastal inhabitants who rely on them for income, employment and fish protein. In addition to providing fish habitats, the lagoons are important staging, feeding and roosting areas for water birds, many of which are migrants of global importance.

Currently, there is a growing evidence of disquieting deterioration of these lagoons and estuaries under stress from man-induced interferences such as physical alterations from changing land use, destruction of fringing mangroves, and pollution from discharges of domestic and industrial wastes, overfishing and disruption of natural processes. Degradation in the coastal areas is a source of concern which along with poverty, poor health, and rapid urbanization inhibits human development in the coastal areas.

Mangrove harvesting for fuelwood - Conakry, Guinea Mangrove harvesting for fuelwood - Luanda, Angola.

Mangrove harvesting for fuelwood - Cameroon Beach degradation by water weed near Luanda, Angola

A classical case is Korle lagoon, located in Accra metropolitan area, which is mainly fed by Odaw River. The polluted nature of the lagoon has rendered what used to support a vibrant fishery virtually devoid of any fishes. Even the hardy black-chin tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron) which is the most common species in almost all the lagoons, including the periodically hypersaline Muni lagoon, is hardly encountered in the Korle lagoon. The fishery potential of the lagoon has been lost since the early 1960s. The lagoon is neither used for navigation nor recreation because of its shallowness and grossly polluted state. A restoration project started in 1998 has not recorded any positive change to the ecology of the lagoon to date.

Elsewhere in the region, around river estuaries and lagoons are highly productive mangrove forests and swamps which provide feeding and spawning grounds for many species of fish, crabs, shrimps and habitats (mudflats) for migrant shorebirds. The mangrove forests consist of salt-tolerant trees which protect the coastline from storm surges from the Ocean and other natural hydrological influences such as spring tides and disturbances from currents. Mangrove roots trap sediment that would otherwise be washed out to sea. The most severe direct pressures on estuaries and lagoons are reductions in freshwater input (quantity) and water quality, habitat alteration, changing mouth dynamics, over-exploitation of resources (for example, fish), sedimentation, recreational disturbance, and pollution. Compounding the existing threats, climate change poses a potentially serious future threat to estuaries and lagoons. Even with moderate rises in sea level these low-lying ecosystems are at risk of inundation and further erosion (French et al., 1995).

4.3.6 Invasive alien species

Invasive alien species are second only to habitat destruction as a primary cause of biodiversity loss. Invasive alien species are introduced deliberately or accidentally and unintentionally outside their natural habitats, and they have the ability to establish themselves, invade, out-compete natives and take over the new environments. The most frequent means of introducing marine invasive species is through the ballast-water of ships, which is discharged when loading cargo at ports or harbours, along with any surviving organisms. The dynamic nature of the GCLME marine environment appears to have prevented many marine invasive from becoming established. Once established, they are extremely difficult to control or eradicate and can significantly reduce ecosystem productivity.

The few documented species alien to the region include the water hyacinth, (Eichhornia crassipes), the gregarious and prolific Nypa palm, (Nypa fructicans), the Indo-pacific sea urchin (Temnopleurus toreumaticus) and the giant tiger shrimp, (Penaeus monodon). The floating aquatic weed, water hyacinth, is now common in several of the coastal lagoons in the region. It forms huge blooms in the freshwater segments of the Lagos lagoon, and Nokoue lagoon in Benin from where it invaded Nigerian waters through River Yewa in September 1984. Its seasonal invasion of the Lagos lagoon at the onset of the dry season each year (November) is fairly established. Large mats also occur in the frontier lagoon (the Aby lagoon) between Ghana and Cote d‘Ivoire; and in Cavalla River and the St. Paul River forming the borders of Liberia and Cote d‘Ivoire, and Guinea and Liberia respectively. The mats of weeds have extended to a distance of more than 200 km along the southeastern coast of Liberia - Harper, Greenville, River Cess and Buchanan.

The ornamental weed impedes navigation by clogging the waterways and hampers fishing by local fishermen using traditional gear. The low fish yield associated with the presence of the weed appears to be a physical rather than a biological problem. An array of flora and fauna is associated with the weed (algae, rotifers, nematodes, annelids, mollusks, hydracarids, cladocerans, copepods, conchostracans, isopods, amphipods, crabs, and fishes). This array is of economic importance and probably forms the basis for the use of the weed in fish culture practices, elsewhere it is considered a menace.

The Nypa or mangrove palm is an aggressive invasive weed with ability to establish dense populations that tend to ―crowd out‖ other native mangrove species and enjoys competitive advantage in colonizing abandoned clearings in mangrove swamps. It is negatively associated with other plant species, resulting in loss of biodiversity as it steadily displaces the native mangrove flora. Overexploitation of mangrove trees coupled with an extremely low utilization of Nypa is additional human induced factors responsible for the rapid Nypa spread in mangrove ecosystems. Presently, a GCLME community-based demonstration project in the Niger Delta focuses on restoration and the conjunctive sustainable management of native mangroves and Nypa palms in the Cross River Estuary of Nigeria.

Temnopleurus toreumaticus is a sea urchin of the Family Temnopleuridae of South-East Asian origin. It occurs from the intertidal to subtidal depths and could often be seen in aggregations. Its status as an invasive species is yet to be determined (Armah, 2006). It is reported as a major pest to artisanal fishermen in the estuaries to the east of the Niger Delta and in the Lofa, St. Paul, St. John and Cavalla River estuaries in Liberia. It has no known

natural predators and thus makes it quite threatening to the GCLME waters. It was probably introduced into Nigeria as larvae in ballast water from oil tankers from pacific ports.

The giant tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon is endemic to the Indo-Pacific region with its geographical distribution ranging from East and Southeast Africa, through the Red sea and Arabian Gulf, around the Indian subcontinent and throughout the Malay Archipelago to northern Australia and Japan. P. monodon has been reported in appreciable quantities in offshore trawls in the Gulf of Guinea (FAO, 1999). This non-indigenous giant prawn is increasing in abundance probably due to its fast growth and large size which gives it a competitive advantage over other penaeid shrimps. The species is the largest commercially available shrimp, reaching 13 inches or more in length. It is one of the major aquaculture shrimp species in Asia and other parts of the world accounting for a huge percentage of aquaculture production and global trade in cultured fisheries.

Currently, the origin of P. monodon in the region remains a subject of speculation. Shrimp farms in The Gambia and experimental farming in Ghana have been cited as likely sources as well as ballast water discharge in the Gulf of Guinea. It is a species of mixed blessings in the Gulf and increasingly a preferred candidate for aquaculture production in the region. Generally, the problem of introduced alien species is expected to get worse with increasing global trade and increases in maritime traffic in the region. This would significantly threaten the future stability and functioning and therefore the resource potential of the marine and coastal systems. The socio-economic impacts of invasive alien species can be enormous. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2000 considers invasive alien species as being a ―significant direct threat‖ affecting 10, 15 and 30 percent of all threatened mammals, plants, and birds, respectively. The costs due to invasive alien species are huge, and include not only costs of prevention, control and mitigation, but also indirect costs due to impacts on ecological services (SADC, 2008).

4.3.7 Water quality and emissions to sea

Pollution of coastal waters originate from land-based sources and activities (domestic/municipal, industrial, agricultural run-off), sea-based sources (shipping activity, accidental or deliberate discharges, garbage and dumping) and atmospheric gases. Domestic and industrial wastes (as effluents) are often untreated or only partially treated before discharge. With few exceptions, the co-disposal of domestic and industrial wastes is a common practice for lack of waste management facilities. Garbage/refuse and solid industrial wastes are dumped into open landfills and frequently left uncovered. Many cities lack the water quality infrastructure necessary to cope with the teeming population to be served. Most of the polluting outputs from small-scale industrial subsector contribute to the waste generated.

Contaminants from some sources include oils, hydrocarbons, and trace/heavy metals. Throughout the region, activities responsible for these contaminants are often concentrated in large urban centers with industrial establishments and outputs. Coastal waters are generally perceived as convenient sinks for numerous domestic and industrial wastes especially in the absence of effluent discharge guidelines and their enforcement. More of the pollutant load is transported by numerous rivers, creeks and streams during the wet season with storm water run- off and their eventual discharge into coastal waters.

Erosion at the opening of the Loango showing A view of the Loubi lagoon, in Congo the retreat of the sandy-clay bank Republic

Coastal beach covered with plant material Ghana - Korle Lagoon silted up with mud and sometimes with spilled hydrocarbons and debris

The lack of detailed scientific data on coastal, marine, and freshwater environments in the WACAF region results in a considerable degree of uncertainty in assessing pollution loads (UNEP, 1999). Often, where data on pollution concentrations are available, data on volumes of discharge are lacking. Where information on types of contaminants is available, no information on transport pathways exists. It is also clear that many of the key sources of pollution are very closely linked, e.g. sewage and nutrients, while knowledge on interaction and synergies between different land-based pollutants in the coastal and marine environment is insufficient. Apart from scanty data from sectoral activities in most GCLME countries, very little GPA relevant data is available. It has been suggested that an urgent need exist for a precise qualitative and quantitative assessment of the significant sources of land-based pollution in the region.

4.3.7.1 Sewage and Nutrients

Most of the coastal cities in the GCLME region lack basic sewerage infrastructure. Sewage in the region refers to untreated/partially treated human solid waste discharged into open drains and water bodies. The annual total biological oxygen demand (BOD) for the WACAF region (GCLME, 2003) was estimated to be 288,961 tonnes from municipal sewage and 47,269 tonnes from industrial pollution, while the annual total suspended sediment load was estimated at 410,929 tonnes from municipal sewage and 81,145 tonnes from industrial pollution. The rapid growth of urban population is far beyond the capacity of relevant local authorities and municipalities to provide adequate basic services such as water supply, sewerage, electricity, and wastewater treatment facilities. Poor sanitation systems, lack of investment, lack of technology, poor maintenance culture and inadequate management practices and poverty have been identified as the root causes of the sewage and nutrient pollution in the region.

The coastal urban centres are preferred for industrial development due to the availability and easy access to ports and harbours. Huge volumes of untreated wastewater with low proportion of treated wastewater from domestic and industrial sources are discharged directly or indirectly into near shore waters and ultimately the ocean. In some selected cities, Cofie et al (2003) reported that urban farmers use wastewater for crop irrigation as a result of the volume available. Such water have high nutrient and bacterial load and may be unfit for contact with humans since they contain harmful pathogens.

Of all the GPA/LBA source categories, nutrients are the most difficult to quantify given the close linkage with other source categories as well as their extremely dynamic spatial and temporal variability. There has been no recent comprehensive assessment of nutrients for the region. However, it has been estimated that loss of nitrogen via hydrologic export to the Gulf of Guinea is about 1.5 x 109/kg while the loss from de-nitrification is estimated at 1.1 x 109/kg. Recent primary productivity surveys have recorded an increasing occurrence of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) indicating intense eutrophication and thus excessive nutrient loading from human activities.

From the surveillance and monitoring of coastal waters undertaken in GCLME countries in 2005 - 2008, the following could be reported:

4.3.7.2 Physico-chemical parameters

(Temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, BOD, COD, phosphate, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia concentration, total suspended solids, and total dissolved solids)

With few exceptions, values obtained were within the background or limits expected for the bodies of water sampled (estuaries, lagoons and freshwater bodies) for the wet and dry seasons. For the chemical parameters, elevated values are explained in terms of discharge of organic load, indicative of pollution and the parent terrigenous material derived from land especially during the rainy season. The nutrient levels reported (Benin, Cameroon, Cote d‘Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria) are generally low with the exception of sulphates, which were high in the dry season and very low in the rainy season.

Typically, the nutrient results for water samples collected at 15 different locations off the Nigerian coast showed the mean values in ppm for Phosphate (0.027 - 1.027), Nitrate (0.279- 5.024), Nitrite (0.008 - 0.152), and Silicate (1.10 - 4.24) in the Gulf of Guinea waters to be 0.302, 2.067, 0.065, and 2.189 respectively (Figure 4.4). Stations 1 to 7 are off Lagos bar while stations 8 to 15 are located off the Niger Delta. The nutrient results for sediment samples collected showed mean values in ppm of 1.970, 0.654, 0.027, and 13.933 respectively. The values recorded for phosphate were found to be higher in sediment samples than in water (Figure 4.5). This may be due to the relative insolubility of phosphate in water, and also its high depositional tendency. The mean value for phosphate in the seawater samples (0.302ppm) was found to be higher than the value expected in natural marine water (0.01ppm) (Nubi et al., 2008).

Nitrite concentrations were found to be generally much lower than nitrate in both water and sediment. The mean value for nitrates in the seawater samples (2.067ppm) was found to be higher than the value expected in natural marine water (0.25ppm). Nitrate values from

selected wetlands in Ghana also establish some degree of conformity with the values reported.

Figure 4.4: Nutrient levels at fifteen locations in Nigerian coastal waters during the wet season - Stations 1 to 7 are off Lagos bar while stations 8 to 15 are located off the Niger Delta (after Nubi et al., 2008)

Figure 4.5: Nutrient levels at fifteen locations in Nigerian coastal sediments during the wet season -- Stations 1 to 7 are off Lagos bar while stations 8 to 15 are located off the Niger Delta (after Nubi et al., 2008) 4.3.7.3 Heavy metals

The major anthropogenic sources of heavy metals are mining and smelting, urban settlements and industrial complexes. Heavy metal pollution largely derives from industrial emissions and effluents. Additionally, widespread contamination of the Guinea Current occurs by aeolian/atmospheric transport in the harmattan season (December to February) as metal enrichment from the Sahara and Sahelian zones. Natural sources of metals are important and in many cases are found to be the main source to the marine environment. For most of the region, heavy metal concentrations reported are below detection levels (Scheren & Ibe, 2002). This has been attributed to the low level of industrial development in the region with the exception of a few industrial hotspots e.g. Cd-rich phosphorite deposits of Hahotoekpogame in Togo, the direct disposal of which effluent (yellow phosphate plumes) lead to coastal water pollution in the neighbouring countries.

Trace metal analysis in all the lagoons had iron and lead showing the highest concentrations exceeding their background levels. Elevated levels were recorded for Pb²+ in Nsiafumu water and fish samples taken from Ancienne Banque in Congo DR. (10 - 104 µg/kg sec). The critical levels were due to exposure to effluents from a local refinery in Muanda. Elsewhere in the region, industries were a major source of metal contaminants in coastal waters. Upward trend in the concentrations of heavy metals was also observed where data from equivalent samples collected five years apart were compared. The increases were attributable to continuous/unabated discharge of metal-laden domestic and industrial effluents into such water bodies (Oyewo, 1998). Additionally, the non-degradable nature of heavy metals and possibly the slow rate of dispersion into the sea may have led to the observed consistent and significant increases over the 5-year period.

4.3.7.4 Microbial pollution

Coastal water bodies near human population or receiving domestic and industrial wastes were all contaminated by sewage, a reflection of the poor sanitary conditions due to absence/ lack of sewerage systems and treatment for domestic effluents. High counts of heterotrophic bacteria were recorded in water and fish samples, an indication that the water bodies received high organic matter. Total coliform counts were high (>1000cfu/100 ml) but reduced with tidal flushing. Faecal coliforms levels were high for surface and bottom water samples while water-borne pathogens such as Vibrio sp, and Salmonella sp. associated with risks of cholera and typhoid epidemics were recorded.

Where measured in Ghanaian lagoons, the Biological Index of Pollution showed that the riverine portion of the River Pra estuary (BIP:-70) and the shoreline portion of the Benya Lagoon (BIP:-63) were grossly polluted; the rest all had BIP polluted values although both shoreline areas of the Keta and Korle lagoons had much lower values of 23 and 22 respectively. The levels of cyanobacteria species which were high in numbers do not augur well for the development of the fisheries as these are non-preferred food for both plankton eating fishes and macro-invertebrates. The results indicated that most of the water bodies are unsuitable as drinking water sources and other domestic purposes although some are suitable during some period of the year. All communities near such sources had boreholes as their drinking water sources. None of the lagoon water bodies were found to be safe enough to be used as primary contact waters such as swimming and washing of clothes in 2009 due to heavy pollution of all the water bodies studied. Only a few water bodies were found to be suitable for secondary contact water or

activities involving boating and fishing with total coliform less than 5000cfu/100 ml and less than 1000cfu/100 ml of faecal coliform bacteria. The severity of wastewater pollution in the marine environment should be halted by stringent regulations and enforcement at the national level, and the implementation of the second Protocol to the Abidjan Convention on Land-based Sources and Activities by the Contracting Parties in West and Central Africa.

4.3.7.5 Solid waste (domestic and industrial) Huge volumes of solid non-hazardous waste are generated in coastal urban settlements throughout the region. Domestic solid waste is mainly putrescible matter (leaves, food wastes, sticks, rags, paper, leather, etc) with 65-70 percent organic matter and highly compostable. Waste from overflowing bins frequently clog the open drains and provide suitable habitats for vermin e.g. rats, mosquitoes, flies, etc. In the rainy season they amplify flooding and expose residents to considerable health risks from water borne diseases.

Solid waste dumping into coastal waters

Inland solid waste dumping

Invariably, co-disposal of municipal and industrial solid waste is common practice. Disposal is into refuse or open waste dumps since there are very few engineered land-fills. Leachate from such dumps is often a potential danger to groundwater. Pollution from solid waste is also aggravated by illegal and indiscriminate refuse dumping at outskirts of cities and burning by local residents. Domestic waste generation in the region is best estimated at 0.21- 0.5 kg/head/day. Disposal of solid waste is a local concern for virtually all coastal communities because solid waste disposal systems are at present poor. The participation of the private sector has proven to be beneficial in municipal and industrial solid waste management in major cities across the region.

Most of the small-scale industrial sector has service functions (repair and maintenance) and craftsmen in carpentry, shoe making, furniture, clothing, electronics, etc. Other economic activities are directed towards wholesale, transportation, hotels, restaurants, business centres,

retailing and office-based activities. For these, the polluting output contributes to the general waste load at the same level as household and septic effluents. An exception is oil and grease from repair and maintenance which are assumed equal to amounts being spilled from major enterprises.

Industries working with synthetic fibres and plastics are common and have a very bad reputation for wastes including air emissions as VOC, and effluents with high BOD5 and suspended solids. Depending on the product, a number of organic chemicals (acids and pigments) may be discharged from such industries. Food processing industries have been ranked as the second highest polluting industry after the steel works. Industries producing the largest amounts of hazardous wastes are steel, metal fabrication and finishing, textiles, pharmaceuticals, tanning, oil refining and large paint plants. Other small industries manufacturing paint and lacquers, glass, breweries, soft drinks, flour mills, and cement trading enterprises produce hazardous or putrescible waste and large amounts of particulates.

4.3.8 Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)

Phytoplankton forms the basis of primary productivity in marine ecosystems and is essential in supporting large fisheries. Blooms of certain phytoplankton species can occur because of increased nutrient loads, either natural or human-induced, often resulting in harmful, toxic conditions (DEAT, 2006). There is no well documentary evidence on present status, time of occurrence, and the distribution of algal bloom events in most of the GCLME area. What exists are evidences on various conditions that could lead to bloom events. Such conditions include upwelling in the northern, southern and mid-central areas, nutrient loading, eutrophication, availability of bloom-forming resident and invasive (through ballast water) species amongst others. HABs may be occurring in the northern and western parts of the region but there are no well documented epidemiological data or reports to support this claim.

Along the Southern African coastline, the Benguela upwelling region is most frequently subjected to harmful algal blooms, although isolated incidents have been recorded along the south coast. Results obtained over the years indicate that potentially toxic phytoplankton is present in Angolan coastal waters. HABs, also known as red tides, are an ecological prominent component of coastal variability. In particular, species responsible for several of the major shellfish poisoning syndromes have been observed including Alexandrium tamarense, A. catenella, Gymnodinium catenatum, and Pyrodinium bahamense, all of which are implicated in paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Also reported are Dinophysis acuminate, D. caudate, and Prorocentrum lima which are implicated in diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) episodes and Nitzschia spp. (now known as Pseudo-nitzschia) responsible for amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) (Fernandez-tejedor et al., 2004). In addition, other HAB species linked to fish and animal mortalities have been observed in Angolan waters. They include Chatonella antique, Heterocapsa circularisquama, and several Prorocentrum species.

Further up the food chain, seabirds and marine mammals that feed on affected mussels, zooplankton and fish are in danger of accumulating the toxins to lethal levels. The resulting accumulation of the algal toxins may reach levels lethal to humans and other shellfish consumers. The problem faced is in terms of assessment of the impacts and managing the implications for fisheries and the quality of seafood. In addition to human health impacts, HABs can have significant economic consequences for coastal fisheries, algae cultivation and mariculture.

Even when HABs end, the death of the phytoplankton which constitutes these algal blooms presents further problems as the dead cells fall to the sea-bed consuming oxygen as they decay (UNEP/COBSEA, 2010). This ultimately leads to anaerobic conditions, or low dissolved oxygen conditions known as hypoxia, and depopulation of the sea-floor with implications for benthic community structure. Major ecological impacts of hypoxic and anoxic environments include a decrease in biodiversity and the alteration of community structure and ecology.

4.3.9 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Information on Persistent Organic Pollutants (initial 12 substances fitting Stockholm Convention) and several other similar substances that satisfy the criteria and collectively referred to as Persistent Toxic Substances (PTS) relies on the Regionally-based Assessment of PTS in Sub-Saharan Africa (UNEP, 2002). The identifiable main sources of PTS in the region are agricultural use of pesticides, production and imports, vector control, stocks of obsolete and expired pesticides, industrial sources (manufacture, mining and electricity) and as by-products of combustion including open burning of waste.

Pesticides constitute one of the major sources of PTS in Sub-Saharan Africa. They are generally imported and not produced although pesticide formulation plants exist in many of the countries in the region. Sub-Sahara Africa imports less than 5% in terms of value of total pesticides import of the world. The most widely used PTS pesticides are mainly organochlorines; DDT, Endosulfan, Chlordane, Lindane, HCH, Heptachlor, Toxaphene, HCB and Aldrin, and Atrazine. Based on FAO import data, Nigeria, Cote d‘Ivoire, and Ghana are among the highest users of pesticides in the GCLME region. FAO estimates further highlighted the issue of stocks and reservoirs of obsolete discarded and banned PTS, greater than 40,000 tons, believed to be scattered over many parts of Africa.

The major industrial PTS chemicals of concern in the region are adjudged to be PCBs (mainly from electricity generating industry), HCB (also a PTS pesticide), pentachlorophenol (PCP) and phthalates. Data is lacking on the use and import of these industrial PTS chemicals. However, using industrial output and electricity generation as criteria to rank countries on the production of PTS, especially PCBs and Dioxins from industrial sources, indicate Nigeria, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d‘Ivoire, and Cameroon as among the countries in Africa releasing the largest PTS emissions.

A big data gap also exists for levels of PTS in the environment. Data gathered for trend analysis show that during the 1970 -1979 period, only seven PTS were reported (DDT, dieldrin, endosulfan, lindane, toxaphene, PCBs, and HCB whereas in the second period, 1980 - 1989, the period of awareness, banning and / restriction, this number increased to nine, with heptachlor and atrazine. During the third period, (1990-2002) new chemicals of agricultural, construction and industrial use, viz. endrin, chlordane, PAHs (pyrene), and nonylphenols were detected in the region. The trend for concentration of PTS in biotic media has been DDT> PCBs> toxaphene. The main risk remains food-web contamination. The occurrence of relatively high levels of DDT, PCBs, and dioxins/furans in adipose tissues and blood of occupationally exposed persons is of immense concern. Equally disturbing is the high levels of HCB, lindane and endosulfan in human breast milk in the region in view of WHO‘s vigorous campaign that mothers breast milk is best for children.

Other sources of PTS of concern are PAHs (from exhaust emission or combustion of fossil fuels in vehicles and electrical generating sets) dioxins and furans (from accidental and deliberate waste combustion). Country experts rated the unintentional production of dioxins/furans as well as the problem of PCBs as the highest concern for most countries. Monitoring data indicate that DDT and PCBs in fish and fish products were two of the PTS most often encountered since 1970. Fish constitutes a major source of animal protein for coastal, lacustrine and riparian populations and thus is an indirect source of exposure to PTS for these populations.

The development of alternative chemicals to replace PTS has started in earnest although on a small scale. Most of the banned PTS pesticides have been replaced by pyrethrums, some of which are locally formulated and manufactured. Some international research institutions in Africa are also implementing alternatives to PTS pesticides in agriculture and vector control. Significant environmental data gaps identified include those on PTS atmospheric concentrations, sediment and levels in the marine environment; dioxins and furans in environmental compartments and humans; food-web contamination and bio-magnifications; effect of emissions from various sources; PAHs and organometallics (mercury, tin and lead) levels in environmental media and biota; and long-term effect of the accumulated stocks of obsolete PTS on the environment, human health and animal populations near them. The pathways and fate of PTS in the region should be studied for identification, followed by the evaluation of the relative impact of processes, estimation of transport fluxes, and assessment of remedial measures.

Capacity building needs are critical and deserve priority action to ensure regional and global success for the Stockholm Convention and other international regulations for environmentally sound management of PTS and other hazardous chemicals. Training of African experts in the use of models for sound chemicals management and environmental protection is critical for filling data gaps. For the region there is a big data gap concerning atmospheric transport of PTS which underscores the importance of modelling.

4.3.10 Organochlorine/Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons contaminants

Organochlorine contaminants (chloropesticides and DDT and their metabolites) are a class of non polar toxic and persistent chemical compounds classified as dichlorodiphenylethane cyclodienes and chlorinated benzenes. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants which have spread globally and have been detected in foodstuffs, drinking water, sediments as well as a wide range of biota including fish. These compounds were banned in 1970 but are still in use in developing countries.

The continued use is of international concern because of their persistence and ability to undergo long distance atmospheric transport and deposition in areas far from the point of application. Numerous studies have provided evidence of the toxic potential of these compounds including health effects such as reproductive failures, birth defects, endocrine disruption, immune system dysfunction and cancer. The high efficacy and lower cost of OCPs compared with alternative pesticides is the reason for their continued use in most developing countries. They are widely used in agriculture as well as in mosquito and tsetse fly control. Fish samples from coastal waters in Nigeria have been analyzed for organochlorine residues in Tilapia zilli (red belly Tilapia), Ethmalosa fimbriata (Bonga shad) and Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus (catfish). These species are a significant part of the diet of

local residents. The organochlorine pesticides analyzed included DDT (pp‘1,1,1-trichloro- 2,2-bis-(4-chlorophenyl) ethane), DDD, DDE (pp 1, 1-dichloro-2, 2-bis-(4-chlorophenyl) ethylene, HCH (gamma 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclohexane, HCB (hexachlorobenzene), Dieldrin (1,2,3,4,10,10-hexachloro-6,7-epoxy-1,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a octahydro-1,4,5,8 dimethanonaphthalene) and transnonachlor. The mean concentration of OCPs ranged from 0.01-8.92 ppm (Adeyemi et al., 2008). OCPs were below the extraneous residue limit of 5 ppm set by the codex alimentarious commission of FAO-WHO-1997. The concentrations were higher in adult fish than juveniles indicating bioaccumulation in fish tissue.

In some nine fish samples analyzed for 18 chloropesticides and related residues as well as PCBs, 13 of the 18 compounds and PCBs were detected in all samples, but the concentrations were generally low (< 30 µg/kg, wet weight, ww), and relatively high (> 3000 µg/kg, lipid weight, lw) indicative of a relatively contaminated ecosystems. p, p‘-DDD, p, p‘-DDE, and p,p‘- DDT (sumDDT) were the dominant pesticides observed. The concentrations were suggestive of impacts from small agricultural activities than industrial origin. The result for similar measurements in oysters from lagoon Ebrie is shown in Table 4.1. The levels observed are attributable to the use of agricultural herbicides and illegal fishing with toxic commercial preparations of lindane and endosulphan. Lower values were reported in fish, shrimps and oysters from Limbe and Douala in the Cameroon (Folack and Yongbi, 2009).

4.3.11 Marine litter pollution

Marine litter is solid waste, mostly of human origin that is found on our beaches, on the sea surface, in the water column and/ or on the sea-bed. Marine litter includes all kinds of wastes from land-based sources (recreational/picnickers wastes) and sea-borne wastes (garbage dumped from ships, boats, fishing operations, oil platforms, etc) often illegally disposed at sea. Hazardous materials such as medical wastes, syringes, fluorescent bulbs, glass and other dangerous debris are washed up on beaches.

UNEP (2009) reported that the major land-based sources of marine litter include wastes from dumpsites located on the coast or banks of rivers; rivers and floodwaters; industrial outfalls; discharge from storm water drains; untreated municipal sewerage; littering of beaches and coastal picnic and recreation areas; tourism and recreational use of the coasts; fishing industry activities; ship-breaking yards; and natural storm related events.

Sea-borne waste is reported to be prevalent in the region, although this has not been quantified in any of the national and regional reports. The major sea-based sources of marine litter include shipping (merchant, public transport, pleasure, naval and research vessels) and fishing (vessels, and fish farming) activities; offshore mining and extraction (vessels, and oil and gas platforms); legal and illegal dumping at sea; abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear; and natural disasters (UNEP, 2009).

Garbage and sewage have traditionally been dumped into near shore waters and the sea with little thought for their ultimate fate and the capacity of the water bodies for absorbing such wastes. In the last two decades, marine debris emanating from land-based (mainly recreation and artisanal fishing activities) and sea-borne waste (ship thrash) foul and pollute beaches and coastal waters in the region. Among earlier reported surveys of marine debris are those of Awosika (1995) for Victoria beach in Lagos; Owusu-Mensah (1997) for Benin, Cameroon, Cote d‘Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo; and Folack, et al. (1999) for some beaches in West and Central Africa under a UNESCO/IOC project.

Data for investigations on West African beaches have recorded plastic bags, milk jugs, bottles, tyres, fishing lines, discarded nets, polystyrene foam, packing straps, rags, metal cans, crockery, tar balls, lining and paper products (cigarette stumps, packages, sweet wrappers, etc), food/plant wastes (groundnut husks, sugarcane chaff, orange peels and skins, almond fruits, leaves and garden eggs. Horse and donkey dung arising from popular horse and donkey rides by picnickers were also collected on Victoria beach Nigeria).

Plastics (polythene bags) predominate as the commonest item on beaches in the Gulf of Guinea (60-90%). This is in consonance with a worldwide trend reported on the USA/Canada/Mexico coast among the several items collected in clean-up exercises. The source of the plastics however differs between the regions. Whereas they emanate from dumping by cruise liners on the American coast, in the Gulf of Guinea they are derived from land-based activities traceable to poor management of domestic and industrial waste. Non- biodegradable polythene bags are commonly used as packaging for a variety of products. These constitute aesthetic nuisance by impairment of scenic beauty, while some of the wastes have serious public health impacts apart from ecological and socio-economic impacts. Ingestion by and entanglement of marine life are common apart from fouling of coastlines and interference with navigation. Marine debris sickens, injures, and kills wildlife in and around waterways everywhere as ocean winds and currents circulate dangerous trash all across the world.

African coast marine debris. Photo: Candace Feit Beach littering by picnickers on Victoria beach, Lagos (http://coastcacre.org/2009/11/plastic-pollution

Plastic in the ocean includes not only whole or fragmented consumer items, but also the pellets that are used to manufacture them. Plastic resin pellets are small granules generally with shape of a cylinder or a disk with a diameter of a few mm. These plastic particles are industrial raw material transported to manufacturing sites where ―user plastics‖ are made by re-melting and molding into the final products. Resin pellets can be unintentionally released to the environment, both during manufacturing and transport. The released resin pellets are carried by surface run-off, stream, and river waters eventually to the ocean. Resin pellets can also be directly introduced to the ocean through accidental spills during shipping. Plastic fragments and pellets can be found on beaches worldwide.

Persistent micropollutants in the marine plastic resin pellets include pollutants Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), dichloro-diphenyl-dichloroethylene (DDE; degradation product of organochlorine pesticide), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) sorbed from ambient seawater and plastic additives (e.g., anti-oxidants) and their degradation products. The high accumulation potential of the marine plastic pellets suggests that plastic resin pellets serve as a carrier of toxic chemicals to marine biota (e.g., seabird) which intakes the plastic resin pellets, and could be useful as a tool for monitoring of organic micropollutants in seawater. It is now a basis for the International Pellet Watch tagged Global Monitoring of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) using Beached Plastic Resin Pellets.

Plastic resin pellets

For Ghana, the presence of microplastics have been reported with measurements of HCHs, PCB and DDTs as 0.1, 47 and 31 ng/g pellet in beached plastic resin pellets respectively (http/www.tuat.ac.jp/-gaia/ipw/index.html). Pellets spill and travel to the ocean through sewer systems, rivers and streams, and even on the wind.

From 2006 - 2009 monitoring of beaches along the West African coast from Cameroon to Nigeria have examined the abundance of tar balls of petrogenic origin on the beaches. Concentrations recorded on fourteen sandy beaches in the Cameroon ranged from 0.11-75.00 g/m² (Folack and Yongbi, 2007). Okonya and Ibe (1985) reported a total concentration of 32.4 g/m² for Badagry beach in Nigeria. Highest concentrations were found close to a port

handling petroleum export. These values are small compared with 3625 g/m² recorded in Israel (Golik, 1982). Tar balls on recreational beaches constitute a hazard to the safe use of such coastal amenities for tourism.

Only Ghana and Nigeria are mentioned in the Ocean Conservancy‘s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) events carried out since 1989 in many countries around the world, including 73 countries from the UNEP-assisted Regional Seas. Education and awareness on the impacts of marine litter in the region needs to be encouraged as marine debris is yet another stress on an ocean already beleaguered by many other human-caused stresses including coastal development, pollution, overfishing, and now climate change.

There are numerous international conventions that directly address various aspects of marine litter and form the foundation of the UNEP Marine Litter Initiative. The three primary conventions most relevant to marine litter are the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78) and its Annex V (which prohibits the at-sea disposal of plastics and garbage from ships), the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter (London Convention) and the Convention on the Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (Basel Convention).

4.3.12 Sedimentation/Siltation

Natural sedimentation and siltation are important in the development and maintenance of numerous coastal habitats. Reduction in natural rates of sedimentation by e.g. damming of major rivers, dredging associated with channelization/canalization, ports and harbours, etc

can compromise the integrity of habitats and have aggravated coastal erosion in the region (Vridi canal in Cote d‘Ivoire, Cotonou port (Benin), and Victoria beach in Nigeria). Excessive sediment load may bury benthic communities and threaten sensitive habitats where sedimentation leads to clogging/ blocking of outlets of estuaries and lagoons resulting in frequent flooding, and changes in species composition and biodiversity.

Excessive and destructive sedimentation rates caused by poor land use management and flooding have been reported on wetlands and River mouths of the Densu (Ghana), Niger (Nigeria), Chical Island (Angola), Freetown (Sierra Leone), and coastal plains in Congo. The FAO World River Sediment Yields Database (FAO, 2005) provides information on the sediment yield of several WACAF rivers, which ranges from 3.1 - 483 tonnes/km2/yr. The dynamics and magnitude of sediment entrapment by impoundments in the region is yet another area where concrete data are lacking. Sedimentation arises from an array of human induced activities that should be considered individually and collectively to address the issue. The removal of vegetation cover is a major problem leading to PADH from sedimentation along river banks, estuaries, wetlands, deltas and mangrove ecosystems.

4.3.13 Physical Alteration & Destruction of Habitats (PADH)

There is a strong link between sediments and physical alteration and destruction of habitats. Resource-use, agricultural practices, human development and settlement activities result in degradation/destruction of the fragile balance in mangrove ecosystems through conversion for salt ponds, sugarcane and rice fields, aquaculture ponds, cutting for fuel wood and construction materials, and reclamation for urban development. The loss of mangroves results in loss of biodiversity, biomass, productivity, and especially fisheries losses from degraded feeding, nursery and breeding grounds of several fish species, both brackish and marine. The removal of mangroves also aggravates shoreline erosion as the binding function of mangrove roots is lost and sediment resuspension allows easy mobility and loss to sea.

Physical alteration and fragmentation of habitats is considered a major threat to biological diversity on a global scale. In the GCLME region, it is a regional and global concern as it affects mangrove ecosystems, fisheries resources, sanctuaries of over wintering bird species and shoreline stability. Hotspots of Physical alteration & Destruction of Habitats have been identified in the region (GCLME, 2006) and shown to be one of the most serious threats to coastal ecosystems. While the direct effects are often local, impacts extend well beyond the geographic boundary particularly where habitats are important breeding and nursery grounds and play important roles in fluxes of water, nutrients and sediments.

Sand and Gravel extraction on the beach and within the coastal zone is a major economic activity which exacerbates PADH issue in the GCLME region (GCLME, 2006). Both artisanal and commercial-scale exploitation are observable in coastal cities as driven by the demand for construction and land reclamation. In some locations, unregulated extraction degrades the landscape and accelerates coastal erosion. Site quantitative data for volume removed are generally lacking. Management measures implemented within a coordinated approach to coastal areas and associated river basins are required for sustainable development.

Mangrove degradation - Congo Forest Clearing for Charcoal Production - Libreville Gabon

Clearing of Mangroves - Deforestation and De-vegetation in Coastal Libreville, Gabon

4.4 FISHERIES EXPLOITATION AND USE

STATUS OF THE FISHERIES RESOURCES OF THE GULF OF GUINEA

The fisheries resources in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) can be categorized into four main groups; the small and large pelagics, demersal fish resources and the molluscans and crustaceans resources. This grouping is based on several published studies and survey reports carried out over the past four decades in the region. Such publications include Williams, 1968; Longhurst, 1969; Troadec and Garcia, 1980; Fischer, et al, 1981; Villegas, and Garcia, 1983, Stromme 1984; Oliver et al, 1987a,b; Martos et al, 1991; several reports of Dr. Fridtjof Nansen Surveys (from 1970s to 2007) in the region. The species composition under each group is as stated below:

1. Small Pelagics a. Sardinellas (Sardinella maderensis and S. aurita) b. Bonga (Ethmalosa fimbriata) c. Carangids (Trachurus trachurus, T. trecae, Decaperus spp and Caranx spp) d. Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) e. Scombrids (Scomber japonicus and Scomberomorus tritor)

2. Large Pelagics (Tunas and Tuna-like fishes) a. Tunas i. Katsuwonus pelamis ii. Thunnus albacares iii. Thunnus obesus

b. Tuna-like i. Euthynnus alletteratus ii. Sarda sarda iii. Bilfishes 1. Istiophorus albicans 2. Xiphias gladius 3. Makaira nigricans 4. Tetrapturus albidus

3. Demersal resources (several species classified into communities - Table 4.2) a. Scieanid community b. Lutjanid community c. Coastal Sparid Community d. Deepwater sparid community e. Deep shelf Community f. Continental slope community g. Eurybathic or Thermocline species

4. Molluscan and Crustacean resources a. Molluscs i. Cephalopods (Sepia officinalis hierreda, S. bertheloti, Ilex spp, etc) ii. Gastropod (Cymbium spp) iii. Bivalves (Oysters, etc) b. Crustaceans i. Shrimps 1. Penaeus notialis 2. P. kerathurus 3. P. monodon 4. Parapenaeopsis atlantica 5. Parapenaeus longirostris 6. Nematopalaemon hastatus 7. Other shrimps (Aristeus varidens,etc) ii. Lobsters 1. Panulirus regius 2. Scyllarides herklotsii iii. Crabs 1. Callinectes spp 2. Greyon maritae 3. Portunus validus 4. Other crabs (Maja squinado, Paramola cuvieri, Cronius ruber, etc)

Table 4.2: Demersal communities of the tropical Atlantic (Longhurst, 1969)

FISH COMMUNITY / SPECIES HABITAT AND DEPTH RANGES SCIAENID COMMUNITY Brachydeuterus auritus Galeoides decadactylus Vomer setapinnis Pseudotolithus senegalensis Pseudotolithus typus Arius spp. Ilisha africana Inhabit soft, sandy, and muddy bottoms at depths Pteroscion peli between 15 and 50m. B. auritus and Pseudotolithus Drepane africana spp dominates Pomadasys margarita

Cynoglossus browni Pentanemus quinquarius Sphyraena spp. Ephippion guttifer Chloroscombrus chrysurus Lagocephalus laevigatus Gerres melanopterus LUTJANID COMMUNITY Lethrinus aclanticus Lutjanus goreensis Lutjanus agennes Rocky and fossils bottoms at depths between 15 and Balistes forcipatus 40m. Lutjanus spp dominates Chaetodon hoefleri Acanthurus monroviae Ostracion tricornis SPARID COMMUNITY (COASTAL) Chilomycterus antennatus Pagrus caeruleostictus Inhabits hard and sandy substrate between 15 and Pagellus bellottii 70m. P. Bellottii, Pagrus caeruleostictus and Dentex canariensis Dactylopterus volitans Balistes capriscus Dactylopterus volitans SPARID COMMUNITY (DEEP- WATER) Priacanthus arenatus Fistularia villosa Pseudupeneus prayensis Epinephelus aeneus Pagellus coupei

Raja miraletus

Dactylopterus volitans

Sardinella aurita

Torpedo torpedo Mustelus mustelus Found below thermocline on soft bottoms between 40 Boops boops and 200m Scomber japonicus Trachurus spp. Pentheroscion mbizi Brotula barbata Uranoscopus albesca Lepidotriglia cadmani Lepidotriglia laevispinis Dentex angolensis Dentex congoensis Squatina aculeata 71

Paracubiceps ledanoist Smaris macrophthalmus Saurida parri Eucitharus linguatula Sphyraena spp. Lagocephalus laevigatus Scyacium micrurum Neanthias accraensis DEEP SHELF COMMUNITY Soft bottoms on the shelf and at depth between 200 Peristedion cataphractum and 300m Antigonia capros Zenopsis sp. Synagrops microlepis Bembrops heterurus Pterothrissus belloci Monolene microstoma Chlorophthalmus sp. CONTINENTAL SLOPE COMMUNITY Chaunax pictus Benthodesmus tenuis Setarches guentheri Epigonus telescopus Galeus polli Moridae Macrouridae Etmopterus pusilus Soft bottoms beyond 400m Halosaurus oweni Cyttus roseus Merluccius spp. Trigla lyra Dibranchus atlanticus Gonostomatidae Hypoclidonia bella Chascanopsetta sp. EURYBATHIC OR THERMOCLINAL SPECIES Trichurus lepturus Cynoglossus canariensis Parageleus gruveli Scoliodon terranovae Platycephalus gruveli Torpedo torpedo

The status of the fisheries resources in the Gulf of Guinea region is described below:

Small Pelagics:

The small pelagics constitute about 70% of the total catch of marine resources in the Gulf of Guinea region. They are mainly exploited by the artisanal fisheries but also by the semiindustrial and industrial fisheries. Major species are the Sardinellas, Bonga, Carangids, Anchovy and Scombrids and they occur throughout the region but their abundance and distribution patterns varies due to influences of major and minor seasonal upwelling and some environmental forcing (rainfall pattern, etc). For convenience, the Gulf of Guinea is divided into four major sub-regions;

Northern - Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone Western - Cote D‘Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin Central - Nigeria, Cameroon Southern - Gabon, Congo, Congo DR, Angola

Each of this sub-region have some distinct species that dominates for example, Sardinella aurita is more dominant in the northern and western sub-regions while Ethmalosa fimbriata dominates the central and southern region.

The total catch:

The total catch of all major small pelagics species or group for the region from 1990 to 2008 is as shown in Figure 4.6. The data presented here are national data of the 14 countries mentioned above and no data was available from Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome & Principe. For some countries, there are no well documented time series data sets but the data available were used for this purpose. The observable trend in the catch shows a relatively slight variation from the average catch recorded year to year with the highest catch recorded for 1996 and the lowest for 1999. The catch trends for each species or species group shows that S. aurita were dominant in the landings in the region up till about 2001 (237,188 tonnes) where the catch of E. fimbriata increased more than other groups since 2002 (Figure 4.7).

800000

700000

600000

500000

400000

300000

200000

100000

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Year

Figure 4.6: Total catch of all major small pelagics in the Gulf of Guinea region

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50000

0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Year

Sardinella aurita Sardinella maderensis Sardinella spp Trachurus trecae Decapterus rhonchus Decapterus spp. Trachurus sp. Scomber japonicus Engraulis encrasicolus Ethmalosafimbriata Ilisha africana Caranx spp Other Carangidae Others

Figure 4.7: Total catch recorded for major species or group from the countries in the Gulf of Guinea region between 1990 and 2008

The percentage contribution of each species or group to the total landings from all countries is as shown in Figure 4.8 with Sardinella aurita accounting for more than 20% of the total catch followed by Ethmalosa fimbriata while Ilisha africana and D. ronchus had the least catch.

Species or Group Figure 4.8: Percentage contribution of species or group to the total catch landings in the Gulf of Guinea region.

Average catch landing for an interval of five year period from 1990 to 2008 and the total average for the same period is presented in Table 4.3. The average total catch increased steadily from the 1990-‘94 period to 2000-‗04 period and there was a decrease in the average catch (about 40000 tonnes) for the remaining period of 2005-‘08 (Figure 4.9).

Table 4.3: Average catch landing for an interval of five year period from 1990 to 2008 and the total average for the same period

FIVE YEARS INTERVAL AVERAGE AVERAGE SPECIES / GROUP TOTAL CATCH 1990-1994 1995-1999 2000-2004 2005-2008 1990-2004 Sardinella aurita 2102425.5 85153.5 157094.4 112766.0 81839.0 110654.0 Sardinella maderensis 944590.9 29317.5 54810.9 54966.2 62279.4 49715.3 Sardinella spp 537387.1 77120.2 2471.2 12774.8 18889.0 28283.5 Trachurus trecae 872956.8 53723.8 45305.4 45680.3 37352.3 45945.1 Decapterus rhonchus 506.7 0.0 0.7 87.8 16.1 26.7 Decapterus spp. 73377.7 27.0 4974.1 5543.6 5163.6 3862.0 Trachurus sp. 775693.6 54566.8 51865.6 32358.6 20434.7 40826.0 Scomber japonicus 264378.1 11674.7 9977.4 19173.4 15062.7 13914.6 Engraulis encrasicolus 1306988.4 79317.7 72171.9 78206.0 39627.5 68788.9 Ethmalosafimbriata 1734860.9 37504.3 78740.0 116064.0 143329.9 91308.5 Ilisha africana 48977.5 130.0 805.5 2773.5 7608.0 2577.8 Caranx spp 173163.1 7354.1 6168.4 9588.1 14402.5 9113.8 Other Carangidae 166454.5 20.5 4496.2 15625.6 16435.7 8760.8 Others 181944.1 1068.6 6788.8 13217.4 19142.6 9576.0 Total 9183704.8 436978.8 492496.7 515440.8 475578.3 480362.9

540000

520000

500000

480000

460000

440000

420000

400000

380000

1990-1994 1995-1999 2000-2004 2005-2008

Five Years Interval

Figure 4.9: Average total catch (of 5 years interval) from countries in the Gulf of Guinea region

The total catches of some species per area in the region are presented in Figure 4.10 (a-f). This indicates the major species that are prominent within the Gulf of Guinea.

Sardinella aurita 140000 120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Northern Western Years Central Southern

Figure 4.10a: Catches (tonnes) of Sardinella aurita (1990-2008) per area. Species more dominant in western area.

Sardinella maderensis 250000

200000

150000

100000

50000

0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Northern Western Central Southern Total Years

Figure 4.10b: Catches (tonnes) of Sardinella maderensis (1990-2008) per area. Catches relatively the same over the period except for southern stock since 2006 to 2008

Figure 4.10c: Catches (tonnes) of Ethmalosa fimbriata (1990-2008) per area. Catches of central area dominates

Figure 4.10d: Catches (tonnes) of Engraulis encrasicolus (1990-2008) per area. Catches of western area dominates

Figure 4.10e: Catches (tonnes) of Trachurus trecae (1990-2008) per area. Catches of southern area dominates

Figure 4.10f: Catches (tonnes) of Decapterus spp (1990-2008) per area. Catches of northern area dominates

Efforts and Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE)

There is a lack of adequate national data on the fishing efforts from most of the countries in the region for the small pelagics hence information on the estimation of CPUE for most fish species or a particular fishery is very difficult. However, some data exist for artisanal (Guinea, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Congo and Sierra Leone), semi-industrial (Ghana) and industrial (Guinea, and Angola) for estimation of CPUE for some species or groups (Figure 4.11a-g).

Sardinella aurita

8 Years 4

0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

YearsGuinea_Industrial

Figure 4.11a: CPUE of Sardinella aurita for the northern area using effort from industrial fishery of Guinea

Sardinella aurita Western

1.60 1.40 1.20 1.00 0.80 0.60 0.40 0.20 0.00 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Years

Ghana Artisanal Ghana Inshore Togo Artisanal Benin Artisanal Figure 4.11b: CPUE of Sardinella aurita for the western area using effort from artisanal fishery of Ghana, Togo and Benin and the semi-industrial (inshore) fisheries.

Sardinella aurita Southern 5.00 0.06

4.00 0.05 0.04 3.00 0.03 2.00 0.02

1.00 0.01

0.00 0.00 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Congo Industrial A ola All Fleet Congo Artisanal ngars Figure 4.11c: CPUE of Sardinella aurita for the southern area using effort from industrial and artisanal fishery of Congo and all fleet from Angola.

Sardinella maderensis Guinea 0.05

0.04 0.04

0.03 0.03

0.02 0.02

0.01

0.01 0.00 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Guinea Industrial Years Guinea Artisanal Figure 4.11d: CPUE of Sardinella maderensis for the northern area using effort from industrial and artisanal fisheries of Guinea

0.30 Sardinella maderensis Ghana, Togo&Benin 0.25

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 Years

Ghana Artisanal Ghana Inshore Togo Artisanal Benin Artisanal

Figure 4.11e: CPUE of Sardinella maderensis for the western area using effort from artisanal fishery of Ghana, Togo and Benin and the semi-industrial (inshore) fisheries

Sardinella maderensis 40 Congo&Angola 0.05 35 30 0.04 25 0.03 20 15 0.02 10 0.01 5 0 0.00 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Years Congo Industrial Angola Industrial Congo Artisanal

Figure 4.11f: CPUE of Sardinella maderensis for the southern area using effort from industrial and artisanal fishery of Congo and all fleet from Angola.

Ethmalosa fimbriata

6.00 2

4.00

2.00

0.00 0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 Years

Congo Art. Libe ria _Art Congo Art. Libe ria _Art Libe ria _Ind S ie rra Le one _Ind Gha na Art Guine a Art. Gha na _Insh Ga bon _Art1

Figure 4.11g: CPUE of Ethmalosa fimbriata estimated from both artisanal and industrial fisheries from various countries in the region.

Biomass Estimation for the Small Pelagics:

Acoustic and swept area biomass estimates were available from various part of the Gulf of Guinea region. Most of these estimates were carried out during the R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen survey in the area. More surveys were carried out in some countries or area than others but available ones are presented in Figure 4.12 (a-i). A more recent survey using another vessel R/V Itaf Deme in Sierra Leonean waters is also presented in Figure 4.12c.

Acoustic Surveys R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen Guinea -Bissau, Guinea , Sierra Leone and Liberia 1600000 1400000 1200000 1000000 800000 600000 400000 200000 0

Sardinella spp Pel II (carangids , scombrids , barracudas and hairtail)

Figure 4.12a: Acoustic biomass estimates from R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen surveys in the northern area

Sw ept-area estimates R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen Congo

30000

25000

20000

15000

10000

5000

0 2004/6-7 2005/6 2006/6

Figure 4.12b: Swept area estimate of the small pelagics (mainly carangidae) in northern area

Acoustic Surveys R/V ITAF DEME 140 Sierra Leone 120

100 80

40 20

0 2008/5 2009/5 Year / Month

S. aurita S.maderensis Pel II (mainly Chloroscombrus chrysurus) Horsemackerel (Trachurus trecae and Decapterus rhonchus) Figure 4.12c: Acoustic biomass estimates from a more recent survey in the northern area using R/V ITAF DEME (2008-2009)

Acoustic Surveys R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen Côte d'Ivoire , Ghana , Togo and Benin 140000 120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0

Sardinella spp Engraulis encrasicolis Pel II

Figure 4.12d: Acoustic biomass estimates from R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen surveys in the northern area

Swept-area estimates R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen Ghana , Togo and Benin

60000

50000

40000

30000

20000

10000

Figure 4.12e: Swept area estimate of the small pelagics (mainly carangidae) in western area

Acoustic Surveys R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen 250000 Nigeria and Cameroon

200000

150000

100000

50000

0 2004/6-7 2005/6 2006/6 2007/6

Sardinella spp Pel I (mainly clupeids) Pel II(carangids , scombrids , barracudas and hairtail)

Figure 4.12f: Acoustic biomass estimates from R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen surveys in the central area

Swept-area estimates R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen Nigeria and Cameroon

40000 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 2004/6-7 2005/6 2006/6

Figure 4.12g: Swept area estimate of the small pelagics (mainly carangidae - Chloroscombrus chrysurus) in western area

Acoustic Surveys R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen 450000 Congo and Gabon 400000

350000

300000

250000

200000

150000

100000

50000

0 2004/6-7 2005/6 2006/6 2007/6 2008/5

Sardinella spp Trachurus trecae Pel II(carangids , scombrids , barracudas and hairtail) Pel I (Other clupeide)

Figure 4.12h: Acoustic biomass estimates from R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen surveys in the southern area

Acoustic Surveys R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen Angola

800 700

600

500 400

300

200 100

Sardinella spp Trachurus trecae Trachurus capensis Figure 4.12i : Acoustic biomass estimates from R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen surveys carried out in Angola since 1995 to 2009

Summary of the status of the fisheries

Based on available data from national total catches (production), efforts, CPUE and biomass estimates, the state of each species, or group or fishery was assessed using the Schaefer logistic production model. This model required total catch of a stock and an index of abundance (CPUE/biomass). The summary of the assessment for the small pelagics is presented in Table 4.4.

The major inferences from this assessment is 1. Bcur/B0.1 which is the relationship between the estimated biomass for the last year (Bcur) and the corresponding biomass at F0.1. where F0.1 is the Fishing mortality level at which the increase in Yield with F is 10% of Virgin Biomass and B0.1 is the biomass at which the stock natural relative rate of increase is F0.1 Fcur/F0.1 which is relationship between the fishing mortality coefficient observed over the last year of the series and F0.1

Table 4.4: Summary of assessments for the Small pelagics

Sardinella aurita Stock Last year catch Bcur/B0.1 Fcur/F0.1 Assessment (tonnes) % % (5 year average) West 36585 58 65 Stock is overexploited. (CI,Ghana Togo (71322) Benin) Central 3745 - - No assessment made as no (,Nigeria (3451) CPUE series is available. Cameroun ) Trends in catches show a stable situation

Sardinella maderensis Stock Last year catch Bcur/B0.1 Fcur/F0.1 Assessment (tonnes) % % (5 year average) West 18085 90 124 Stock is considered (Ghana,Togo (21295) fully exploited. Benin) Central 32842 - - No assessment made (Nigeria, (29735) as no CPUE series Cameroun) are available. Trends in catches show an increasing trend

Bonga (E. fimbriata) Stock Last year catch B/B0.1 Fcur/F0.1 Assessment (tonnes) % % (5 year average) North 80678 107 96 Stock is fully exploited (Guinea/Sierra L ) (79140)

Central 570323 - - No assessment made, (Nigeria/ Cameroun ) (57977) but catches are stable the last years West 1819 - - No reliable results from (Ghana, CI, Togo, (684) model. Catches Benin) fluctuates annually South (Gabon Congo, 9705 104 71 Stock is fully exploited DR Congo, ) (11000)

Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) Stock Last year catch B/B0.1 Fcur/F0.1 Assessment (tonnes) % % (5 year average) West 48415 77 89 Stock fully exploited. (CI, Ghana, (43582) Acoustic survey estimates Togo, Benin) showed a decrease in biomass in 2005 and 2006 South 399 No assessment made. Catch Congo (530) rates stable last 2 years. Acoustic estimates of 2 000 tonnes in 2005.

Horse mackerel and other carangidae Stock Last year catch B/B0.1 Fcur/F0.1 Assessment (tonnes) % % (5 year average)

Trachurus trecae North 10527 - - No reliable results from (GB, (18163) model. Catches in 2007 low. Guinea,Sierra,Liberia

South - - No reliable results from (Gabon, Congo DR, 44518 model. Other information Angola , ) (16844) indicate that stock is overexploited

Decapterus spp. North 31203 - - No reliable results from (, , , ) (3767) model.

Caranx spp 186 - - Catches of this species stable (193) over the last years

Large Pelagics:

Three tuna species, Katsuwonus pelamis (Skipjack), Thunnus albacares (Yellow-fin) and Thunnus obesus (Big-eye) are the most abundant of all tuna fish species in the Gulf of Guinea. They occur all year-round and are of high economic importance. Other tuna-like fishes exists and are part of the species associated with the fishery.

Information on the catches, efforts and consequently CPUE for the large pelagics (tuna and tuna-like fishes) was not available for most countries but information on annual landings by countries per year was obtained from Statistical Bulleting of ICCAT (2010). Extraction of data for various countries (Table 4.5) was made and the total landing for all tuna species from 1990 to 2008 is presented in Figure 4.13 with an average landing of 64,257 tonnes per year.

Percentage total landings for each country are also presented in Figure 4.14 with catches from Ghana accounting for almost 90% of the landings in the region. Tuna fisheries in Ghana are very active with a number of tuna boats and purse seine vessels licensed and active. Data collection is also very good and reliable as compared to other countries where there are no registered vessel and no good monitoring, control and surveillance of the tuna or offshore resources within their territories.

Tuna fish exploitation is a distant water fishery and most of the values being officially reported may not actually be the actual state of exploitation as there are cases of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities in the region

120000

100000

80000 Average Landing = 64,257tonnes

60000

40000

20000

0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 Year

Figure 4.13: Yearly total landings of tuna fishes (all species) from countries in Gulf of Guinea (1990 - 2008).

100 90 80 Total Landings = 1.23million tonnes 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Countries

Figure 4.14: Percentage average landings of tuna species from Gulf of Guinea countries (1990-2008)

Table 4.5: Total catches and average catch per country from 1990 to 2008 per country in Gulf of Guinea Average Total Five years average catches (tonnes) Country Catches Catches (tones) 1990-2008 1990-1994 1995-1999 2000-2004 2005-2008 Angola 16,131.0 948.9 606.0 376.2 315.4 4,821.5 Cote D'Ivoire 63,515.0 3,342.9 6,377.4 440.0 1,116.2 5,961.8 Gabon 5,581.0 398.6 174.5 580.4 448.4 44.0 Ghana 1,098,776.0 57,830.3 41,423.6 55,677.8 68,794.4 67,324.3 GuineaEquatorial 2,433.0 304.1 374.0 187.7 - - Guinea 330.0 330.0 330.0 - - - Nigeria 708.0 101.1 76.0 164.0 - - S.Tome & Principe 17,036.0 896.6 800.6 908.0 1,029.0 837.0 Benin 4,684.0 260.2 330.8 432.6 171.4 3.3 Cameroon 18.0 4.5 4.5 - - - Congo 252.0 36.0 39.4 27.5 - - Guinea Bissau 31.0 4.4 3.8 6.0 - - Liberia 5,808.0 322.7 210.6 472.4 407.6 118.3 Togo 9,354.0 519.7 237.0 256.0 630.8 1,245.0 1,220,885.0 64,257.1

Source: extracted from ICCAT (2010)

The current status of the tuna fishery in the region will be very difficult to determine as available data are not enough to make an actual estimate. Judging by the fishing activities from various countries in the region, it may be assumed that the tuna resources in the region are not fully exploited. This is based on the fact that most of the countries have not developed capacity, technology and financial muscle for exploitation of these distant water resources. Moreover, countries having agreement with European Union (EU) vessels are limited and are restricted to fishing within the territory of those countries.

DEMERSAL RESOURCES:

The demersal resources assemblage or composition in the Gulf of Guinea is homogeneous but the distribution over a particular area is determined by the bottom types, depths, hydrological conditions and ecological characteristics. The ecological characteristics affecting distributions are shallow and stable thermocline, warm and low salinity tropical waters, narrow continental shelf and seasonal upwelling in the western (Cote d‘Ivoire and Ghana) part of the region. Main target of the resources varies per area in the region. While the main targets are the carangids in the northern zone, the seabreams in the western and the shrimps in the central areas.

Biomass distribution along the coast also varies considerably as a result of migration of species between coastal and oceanic waters and also productivity in the waters. Distribution of species or group based on habitat and depth ranges is presented in Table 4.6.

Table 4.6: Demersal fish communities with habitat characteristics and depth ranges

FISH COMMUNITY / SPECIES HABITAT AND DEPTH RANGES Sciaenid Community Inhabit soft, sandy, and muddy bottoms at depths between 15 and 50m. B. auritus and Pseudotolithus spp dominates Lutjanid Community Rocky and fossils bottoms at depths between 15 and 40m. Lutjanus spp dominates Sparid Community (Coastal) Inhabits hard and sandy substrate between 15 and 70m. P. Bellottii, Pagrus caeruleostictus and Dactylopterus volitans Sparid Community (Deep- Water) Found below thermocline on soft bottoms between 40 and 200m Deep Shelf Community Soft bottoms on the shelf and at depth between 200 and 300m Continental Slope Community Soft bottoms beyond 400m Eurybathic or Thermoclinal Species Found tolerating wide salinity and temperature ranges in coastal waters(T. lepturus and C. canariensis) Source: Longhurst 1969; Martos et al, 1990

Exploitation of demersal resources in the region

Actual catch and effort data is not available for most of the countries in the region but a production data does exist from the FAO websites (FIGIS) for the CECAF region. The total annual production for demersal fishes in the region is as shown in Figure 4.15. This data was extracted for all marine species fish excluding herring-like, sardines, anchovies, miscellaneous pelagics, tunas and tuna-like fishes. There was a steady increase in the total catch with an average total catch of 1,437,536 tonnes. There were no reliable data on the total effort for these production values therefore the catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) cannot be estimated.

Figure 4.15: Total annual production for demersal fishes in the Gulf of Guinea region

There were several surveys carried out by the Dr. Fridtjof Nansen in the region estimating catch rates and swept area biomasses. An example of the biomass estimate for the countries in the northern and central region is presented in Figure 4.16. Although survey efforts were not the same for the surveys carried out in each country, this is a good indication of the abundance of the demersal resources in the area.

Figure 4.16: Biomass estimates per country in the northern, central and southern area (2004 - 2007)

The results of the Nansen surveys also show the distribution of the resources along the depth gradient with the resources more abundant within the 50 to 100m belt Figure 4.17.

40000 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 20-30 m 30-50 m 50-100 m 100-200 m Depth zone

Figure 4.17: Biomass estimates (2007) along depth gradients in the Northern area

Most of the demersal resources being exploited as of today are within the zero to 50m depth range and unfortunately, the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen vessel could not survey below the 20 m depth (a depth zone believed to be high in biomass and diversity but heavily exploited). Also, the survey efforts in the deeper waters (> 100m) were not as much as in the shallower zones, the resources in the deeper water could even be much more than what was estimated. A case in point was the Ariommas (Ariomma bondi and Ariomma melanum) which were found to be the most abundant of all species in beyond 100 m for Nigeria and Cameroon in the 2004 to 2006 surveys with a catch rate of 110, 125 and 343kg/hr for 2004 through 2006 respectively. This resource had also been reported and recommended for commercial exploitation through research surveys carried out by the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research in the ‗80s.

Major species or groups of the resources being exploited are the croakers, grunts, seabreams, snappers, groupers, sharks and rays. The biomass estimates for some countries in the central and southern areas per species or group is presented in Table 4.7.

Table 4.7: Biomass estimates of species or groups for some countries in the central and southern areas.

The distribution of these species or group along the depth gradients for the 2007 survey for the countries in the northern area - Guinea Bissau to Sierra Leone is as shown in Figure 4.18 while the estimates for Cote d‘Ivoire and Ghana are shown in Figure 4.19.

25000

20000

15000

10000

5000

0 20-30 m 30-50 m 50-100 m 100-200 m

Sparids Haemulids Sciaenids Serranids Lutjanids B. auritus Sharks Rays Cephalopods Figure 4.18: Biomass estimates of species or groups for all countries in the northern area

Figure 4.19: Biomass estimates for species or groups in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana

Status of the demersal resources

As a result of inadequate catch and effort data for the resources in the region, it is very difficult to estimate the current status of the resources within the region. Available information indicates that resources exploitation is mainly concentrated in the 0 - 50 m depth zone and very few fishing activities are carried out in the depth zones beyond 100m from available records (Koranteng (1998 & 2001), Martos (1990), Stromme (1984), Troadec and Garcia (1980) and Villegas and Garcia (1983). These authors concluded that the resources within

the 0-50m depth zone are over exploited, 51-100m are optimally exploited and the resources beyond the 100m are not exploited.

Crustaceans

There are three major crustacean groups within the region; shrimps, lobsters and crabs. The most common and most abundant are the shrimps particularly the penaeid shrimps (Penaeus notialis, P. kerathurus, P. monodon, Parapenaeopsis atlantica, and Parapenaeus longirostris) and the while shrimp (Nematopalaemon hastatus) while the lobsters (Palunurius regius and Scyllarides herklotsii) were the least. The crab species includes the Callinectes spp, Greyonidae, Portunus validus and Calappa spp to mention a few.

The penaeid shrimps, the royal spiny lobster (P.regius), and the portunid crab (P. validus) are the major species of high economic values and hence are heavily exploited. The distribution of these resources overlaps and majority are found within the 0-50m depth zone which puts more pressure on both crustacean and the finfish resources. P. atlantica, P. notialis, P. monodon and P. kerathurus all occur in abundance within the 0-50m range while the P. longirostris is the only species found in abundance beyond 50m. The white shrimp (N. hastatus) is found to occur up to a depth of 40m but are only being exploited by artisanal fishermen in Liberia and Nigeria. P. monodon was an introduced species in the mid ‗80s and as of today, it is found in high commercial quantity and it abundance is still growing compared to the other indigenous species.

Other shrimp species such as Aristeus varidens exists in deeper waters but much is not known about them as there are less fishing activities in deeper waters. The crabs and the lobsters are also found in the 0-50m depth range but the only deepwater crab species is the Greyon maritae which had been found to be in commercial quantity.

The current status of the crustacean resources follow the same pattern for the finfish resources as there is much effort being exacted in the 0-50m depth zone. Therefore, the resources within 50m depth are over-exploited while the resources beyond this zone are under-exploited. Although, there are records of exploitation of the deep water shrimp P. longirostris in Angola, the current status is not known.

Molluscs

The molluscan groups being exploited are the cephalopods, gastropods and some bivalves. The cephalopods (squids and octopuses) are usually caught along with other finfish and shellfish in the exploitation of the demersal resources and are of high economic value. They are also found to occur in the shallow water zone and hence overexploited. There are reports also that some vessels in Nigeria and Ghana sometimes target the cephalopods through light fishing method but there exist no formal documentation for this reports.

The gastropods include the giant seawater snail (Cymbium spp) which is a by-catch of the demersal trawl fishery. In many countries, these snails are thrown back into water but there is a growing trend of retaining the catch since there is an emerging market for them as seen in Ghana and Nigeria. The oysters, clams and mussels are the major bivalve species group being exploited by the artisanal fishermen in the region. Most of these species are sessile and are associated with hard substrate. They are found in abundance in the region where there are mangroves and rocky shorelines. There are also no available records on exploitation level and

current status but there are reports that anthropogenic activities (such as oil exploration and exploitation, mangrove de-vegetation, coastal urbanization and industrialization, etc) on the entire coastline of the Gulf of Guinea affects the species and their natural habitat coupled with exploitation for human consumption. Therefore, it may be concluded that they are overexploited.

5.0 COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS

5.1 CURRENT STATUS AND EMERGING TRENDS

Coastal ecosystems are among the most productive in the world. Despite occupying less than 5 per cent of the global land area, they offer disproportionately more services relating to human well-being than most other and very often larger ecosystems (UNEP/COBSEA, 2010). However, inspite of their value in providing goods and services, they have been subjected to various degradations and are becoming increasingly vulnerable. Recent estimates indicate that coastal habitats are disappearing at a rate of 1.2 to 9% a year globally, which is about four to ten times faster than that of the tropical rainforest. This rapid loss tends to indicate that they are currently one of the most imperiled of all major ecosystems in the world.

The lack of adequate quantification is yet to establish the extent of loss for some of the coastal and marine environment in the GCLME. However, the nature and causative factors responsible for the losses are known and could be remedied by appropriate actions as contained in the GCLME Strategic Action Programme (SAP). Many of the environmental impacts are consequences of rapid urbanization and industrial development - overexploitation, water pollution, habitat degradation, etc apart from those imposed by and potential threats of global warming and climate change. Thus managing urbanization along the coast and ensuring sustainable development presents formidable challenges.

The topography of the coastal areas facilitates the deposition of sediment and submersion of the mouths of rivers. The depositional environment consists of a wide range of ecosystems such as beaches, mangrove forests and swamps, marshes, mudflats, tidal creeks, lagoons etc. On the west coast well-developed mangroves are often found in large river deltas, in lagoons, along sheltered coastlines and on tidal flats. Regional conditions enable mangroves to grow as far as 100 -160 km inland due to strong tidal influences on rivers such as in Guinea Bissau, River Niger, and Cameroon rivers. Along the coast in Cameroon and Nigeria, mangrove trees may reach heights of up to 40 m. Among the best-structured forests in western Africa are the Niger Delta communities (Nigeria), with stands stretching 30-40 km inland. Mangroves also characterize the wetlands of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Cote d‘Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Congo, Congo DRC and Angola. Mangroves are among the most productive terrestrial ecosystems and are a natural renewable resource (UNEP, 2007).

Throughout the GCLME livelihoods of coastal populations depend heavily on access to natural resources. Entire communities rely on mangrove functions in terms of providing wood and non-wood forest products (fuel wood, timber for houses and boat construction, wood for charcoal, tannins, medicines, beverages, and natural herbicides), shoreline protection, conservation of biological diversity, provision of habitat, spawning and breeding

grounds, nutrients and food for a variety of fish and shellfish and other aquatic species of commercial importance, and salt production. The loss of mangroves increasingly translates to decline in artisanal fisheries for several communities, apart from accelerating coastal erosion.

The overall trend for the region using area estimates from 1980-2006 indicates a moderate decline of mangrove cover (Table 5.1). Three countries appear to have an increase in mangrove area (Benin, Guinea Bissau, and Togo); two a slight decline (Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome & Principe); eight countries moderate decline (Angola, Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone) and three countries (Congo, Cote d‘Ivoire and Democratic Republic of the Congo) show a severe decline in mangrove habitat.

Table 5.1: Trend in Mangrove cover in GCLME countries (after UNEP, 2007)

Country Mangrove % of African Number of Estimated cover (km²) mangrove cover species change/decline Angola 333 1.0 3 Moderate decline Benin 66 0.2 6 Increase Cameroon 1,957 6.0 6 Moderate decline Congo 17 <0.1 6 Severe decline Cote d‘Ivoire 99 0.3 5 Severe decline DRCongo 201 0.7 6 Severe decline E. Guinea 258 1.0 2 Slight decline Gabon 1,606 5.0 7 Moderate decline Ghana 137 0.5 6 Moderate decline Guinea 2,039 7.0 7 Moderate decline Guinea Bissau 2,999 8.0 6 Increase Liberia 110 0.5 6 Moderate decline Nigeria 7,386 22.0 8 Moderate decline Sao Tome & 1.40 <0.1 4 Slight decline Principe Sierra Leone 1,052 3.5 6 Moderate decline Togo 11 <0.1 3 Increase

According to the results of the current assessment, Africa has lost about 500,000 ha of mangroves over the last 25 years. The GCLME countries have lost 82,649 ha out of a total of 3.24 m ha since 1997 (FAO, 2007) with the major losses occurring in Gabon, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In relative terms, Cote d‘Ivoire and Liberia have been identified as the countries with the highest negative annual rate of change (Figure 5.1). Commercial exploitation and the massive urbanization in Cote d‘Ivoire have been identified as the main causes of this annual change, which is the highest in the region (-4.4 percent for the period 1980-2005). In Liberia, uncontrolled urbanization and extensive felling caused a loss of -4.1 per cent over the last 25 years. Better information is needed on both the extent and the condition of mangroves as an aid to policy and decision- making for the conservation, management and sustainable use of the GCLME‘s remaining mangrove ecosystems.

During the past decades, substantial areas of mangrove in the GCLME have been converted to other land uses (rice, sugarcane, and salt production) and in a few countries for shrimp farming (e.g. Guinea). Other causes of mangrove loss are the overexploitation of resources,

urban and tourism development. In contrast, awareness of benefits provided by mangroves is growing in most West and Central African countries. In Benin and Sierra Leone efforts were made to rehabilitate degraded sites and control the exploitation of mangroves for fuel wood for fish smoking in the late 1980‘s and early 1990s; in the Congo, several activities and initiatives are raising awareness of the services and importance of sustainable management of these coastal ecosystems as a source of food security for local populations and of their restoration in already degraded sites.

Despite this positive note, mangroves in the GCLME still have to face major threats, particularly the ever-increasing human pressure on coastal lands (e.g. Cameroon, Guinea, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone), the lack of sustainable resource management (e.g. Nigeria and the Congo), and the absence of adequate legislation for mangrove protection (e.g. Nigeria and Cameroon). Pollution is also a constant threat in several countries (Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d‘Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ghana). Natural expansion of mangroves is very rare in Africa (FAO, 2007). Inspite of efforts by several organizations, conventions and governments, the true value of mangroves and other wetlands is still underestimated. Much remains to be done to reduce the rate of loss, which is significantly higher than for other forest types. Ultimately, the health of mangroves and of all the related marine and terrestrial ecosystems depends on their effective conservation and sustainable management.

Percentage change in mangrove cover of GCLME member countries 8

2 n s unrepd unrepd 0

-2

-4

-6

-8 n s - not significant unrept - unreported

% CHANGE 1980-1990 % CHANGE 1990-2000

Figure 5.1: Percentage change in mangrove cover in GCLME countries for 1980 - 2005 (after FAO, 2007)

5.2 Environmental impacts

The combined threats to the region‘s coastal ecosystems have a significant impact that is hindering the potential capacity for increased productivity and development (Table 5.2). As such environmental degradation undermines the establishment of appropriate polices and management interventions. In a vicious cycle of positive feedback, economic growth and poverty reduction initiatives that contribute to environmental degradation increase the stress further. Human-induced pressures on the region‘s coastal resources compromise the delivery of many ecosystem goods and services important to the socio-economic well-being of coastal communities and their national economies. The accelerated transformation of the coastal areas has concomitantly resulted in habitat alteration with consequences beyond the immediate impact zones.

A considerable proportion of the region‘s coastline is low-lying and potentially subject to large-scale natural processes such as floods, storm surges and coastal erosion apart from any accelerated eustatic sea level rise, making them extremely vulnerable. At present, periodic storm surges on the Atlantic coast subject many areas to extensive flooding which could be more frequent and severe with progressive inundation farther inland. The entire coastal zone of some of the countries are physically vulnerable to any rise in sea level and thus could have very serious socio-economic consequences including a significant problem of massive ―environmental refugee‖ migration akin to the recent displacement of over 13 million rural inhabitants of Pakistan by monsoon floodwaters in the first week of August 2010.

About 50 per cent of the region‘s populations live within 100 km of the coast (Figure 4.2). The continuing degradation of coastal ecosystems places them at risk and potentially severe risk in some cases. The management of coastal resources and anthropogenic impacts for most of the region is inadequate and ineffective, leading to uncontrolled exploitation, decreases in goods and services, loss of vigor and resilience of natural systems to changing environmental conditions. In most cases, poor management are the result of inadequate funding, late release of critical funding and resources, poor infrastructure, lack of capacity - human and material, lack of appropriate technology or access to technology, lack of awareness of the dynamics of integrated processes that affect the coastal environment. This leads to ad-hoc rather than holistic planning for effective implementation of management interventions that could address identified environmental issues and problems.

The current environmental issues and problems of significance affecting the coastal and marine environment of the GCLME member countries are varied and their impacts differ among the countries. Despite the variability, some common regional trends and emerging threats are evident. In all cases, the main driver of coastal degradation is the rapid expansion of human population in coastal areas as a result of rural-urban drift and migration. The rapid rate of urbanization impacts negatively on coastal resources because it outpaces any planning in the coastal areas for absorbing the influx which has little or no regard for the carrying capacity of coastal space.

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Habitat destruction and degradation occur when coastal urbanization and development is not planned and managed effectively or when resources are exploited in a destructive or unsustainable manner. Within the region, transboundary issues related to the coastal and marine environment are expected to become increasingly critical due to gradual integration allowing free movement of goods and services (as in ECOWAS member States and the Central African Community (CEMAC)) and the downstream nature of ocean systems that act as a medium of transport for pollutants, the movement of resources between countries and the expanding marine related activities (shipping, fishing, etc). The causes and impacts invariably involve more than one country and hence the cooperative/joint commitment of GCLME participating countries to the integrated management, and use of the resources for sustainable development.

Some of the most critical transboundary issues within the GCLME have been identified and prioritized as follows:

 decline in GCLME fish stocks and unsustainable harvesting of living resources (fish trawlers landings manifest the degrading status of the stocks as landings are dominated by juveniles of the most common species, while certain highly valued/prized species have virtually disappeared);

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 uncertainty regarding ecosystem status, integrity (changes in community composition, vulnerable species and biodiversity, introduction of alien species) and yields in a highly variable environment, including effects of global climate change;  deterioration in water quality (chronic and catastrophic) from land and sea-based activities, eutrophication and harmful algal blooms;  habitat destruction and alteration including inter-alia modification of seabed and coastal zone, degradation of coasts capes, and coastline erosion.

5.2.1 Overexploitation/overharvesting:

It is important to note that the depletion of fish stock will cause not only a problem in protein supply for the large populations around the coastal communities but the whole of the West African region, especially since the shared or ―straddling stock‖ are transboundary in nature, even as the livelihoods of commercial fishermen in the region are threatened. Increasingly, some of the discard of by-catch (juveniles and small-size species) which in the past contribute to inefficient and wasteful exploitation are landed and used as food. Damage from destructive fishing practices is on the decrease in coastal waters with awareness of its implication and self-policing by artisanal fishermen.

5.2.2 Habitat degradation:

The physical destruction and degradation of coastal habitats, including wetlands and mangroves, causes the loss of spawning and breeding grounds for most living resources and the loss of the rich and varied fauna and flora of the region, including some rare and endangered species, resulting further in the loss of biodiversity.

5.2.3 Water quality deterioration:

Improvement in water quality is predicated on reduction of the major sources of coastal and marine pollution in the region - untreated domestic and industrial wastes. The current level of treatment is very low. With increasing population, additional load of sewage and organic wastes will accelerate eutrophication and associated threats to public health across the region. International trade and shipping will increase in the region and thus likely increases in oil pollution could be anticipated to impair water quality.

5.2.4 Climate change impacts:

The low-lying coastal areas of the GCLME countries will be most impacted by any rise in sea level. In the absence of any mitigation and adaptation strategy the potential catastrophic consequences of even a small rise in sea-levels are obvious. The largest impact to coastal ecosystems will be caused by global climate change, and since the rates of warming are generally expected to increase in the near future, projected climate change-related impacts are also expected to rise. An increase in sea surface temperature is evident at all latitudes and in all oceans.

The current understanding is that ocean warming plays a major role in intensified cyclone activity and heightened storm surges. The vulnerability of coastlines to storm surges is of utmost importance in the low-lying coastal areas where more damaging flood conditions and their destructive impacts could be expected. Recent disasters in Bangladesh and Myanmar have demonstrated that losses from storm surges are huge. Such losses could be reduced by

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allocating resources to increased disaster resilience especially given the expected intensification of storms and storm surges along particularly vulnerable coastlines.

Dasgupta et al., (2009) using the best available data conducted analysis to estimate the relative vulnerability of various coastal segments in developing countries to storm surges. The vulnerability of coastlines to intensified storm surges were ascertained by overlaying Geographic Information System (GIS) information with data on land, population density, agriculture, urban extent, major cities, wetlands, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for inundation zones likely to experience more intense storms and a 1 m sea-level rise. The results show that Nigeria is one of the four Sub-Saharan countries (besides Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritania) where surge zones are concentrated accounting for 53 per cent of the total increase in the surge zones resulting from SLR and intensified storm surges.

The percentage increases in surge zones when compared to current surge zones are largest for Cote d‘Ivoire followed by Benin, Congo and Liberia in the GCLME (Figure 5.2). The coastal population impacted is mainly concentrated in Nigeria, Cote d‘Ivoire, and Benin. More than one-half of coastal population in Togo would also be subject to inundation risks from intensification of storm surges and SLR. Ghana and Togo may lose more than 50 % of their coastal GDP while GDP loss in absolute terms will be highest in Nigeria (US$407.61 million). Coastal agriculture in terms of extent of croplands will be affected 100% in Nigeria, 66.67% in Ghana, and 50 % in Togo and Equatorial Guinea.

Figure 5.2: Percentage increase in storm surge zone - GCLME countries (adapted from Dasgupta et al., 2009)

The report further highlighted that many countries of Sub-Saharan Africa including Togo, Equatorial Guinea, and Cote d‘Ivoire will experience significant increases in the percentage of their coastal urban extent falling within the surge zones with SLR and intensified storm surges. Absolute impacts on coastal wetlands will be largest in Nigeria (1,318 km²) and although small in terms of area measured in km² up to 62% of Guinea would also be susceptible to significant damages from SLR and intensified storm surges. Major cities at risk 103

are Buguma and Okrika (Nigeria) and Freetown (Sierra Leone). Recent floods in Germany, Poland, India and Pakistan illustrate the human and ecological catastrophes that could result from non-action despite the overwhelming evidence of the vulnerability of the GCLME region.

5.3 VULNERABILITY TO NATURAL DISASTERS

West and Central Africa is marked by a multiplicity of crises characterized by their complexity, severity and impact on coping capacities. The region is also vulnerable to natural disasters, and particularly exposed to the risks associated with climate variability and its disastrous consequences (Table 5.3). Weather-related hazard is critically important in the configuration of global risk patterns. Two of the principal global datasets on disaster losses agree that more than two thirds of the mortality and economic losses from internationally reported disasters is associated with meteorological, climatological and hydrological hazard. An observation of disaster risk patterns and trends at the regional level allows a visualization of the major concentrations of risk and an identification of the geographic distribution of disaster risk across countries, trends over time and the major drivers of these patterns and trends.

Changes are already occurring in the amount, intensity, frequency and type of precipitation. This is associated with increases in the extent of the areas affected by drought, in the numbers of heavy daily precipitation events that lead to flooding, and increases in the intensity and duration of certain kinds of tropical storms (UNEP/DEWA, 2009). Hazard is changing due to climate change, urbanization and environmental degradation.

5.3.1 FLOODS

Natural disasters such as floods are an increasing threat. Floods are the most widely shared natural disaster in the region - affected more than 1.8 million people since 2007. In 2009, many West African cities experienced torrential rains which caused loss of human lives, livestock and the destruction of important socio-economic infrastructures. Floods are large rural events, flash floods or urban flooding from inadequate drainage. 193 people died and over 770,000 others were affected by floods between June and September 2009. Two years ago, more than 800,000 were affected by floods (http://ochaonline.un.org/westafrica).

5.3.2 DROUGHT

Drought is second only to floods in the frequency of occurrence in the region. Drought differs from other hazard types in several ways. Drought can occur anywhere (with the exception of desert regions where it does not have meaning). Secondly, drought develops slowly, resulting from a prolonged period (from months to years) of precipitation that is below the average, or expected, value at a particular location. Drought also differs from other hazard types in the way losses are incurred. Few droughts lead directly to mortality.

Drought ultimately represents a condition of insufficient water supply relative to demand, both being highly location specific. There are three general categories of drought: meteorological, agricultural and hydrologic. Meteorological drought refers to a prolonged period of deficient precipitation, while agricultural drought occurs when soil moisture is depleted to the point where crops, pastures or rangelands are impacted. Hydrologic drought

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refers to a prolonged period with below-average water levels in rivers and streams, lakes and reservoirs, or groundwater. The unique characteristics of drought make it difficult to analyze vulnerability and risk in the same framework as the other hazard types.

Table 5.3: Frequency of Occurrence of Natural Disasters in the GCLME countries from 1900 - 2010 (after www.emdat.be/country profile)

Country Flood Drought Storm Volcano Earthquake/ Wildfire Extreme Seismic temperature activity Angola 6 4 - - - - - Benin 8 2 - - - - - Cameroon 2 2 - 2 - - - Congo 7 - - - 1 - - Cote ------d’Ivoire DR Congo 2 2 1 2 2 - - Gabon 1 - 2 - - - - Ghana 9 2 - - - - - Equatorial ------Guinea Guinea 6 - - - 1 - - Guinea 1 2 1 - - 1 - Bissau Liberia 3 - 2 - - - 1 Nigeria 8 1 - - - - - Sao Tome & - 1 - - - - - Principe Sierra-Leone 4 - 2 - - - Togo 7 2 1 - - -

5.3.3 WILD LAND FIRES

Wild land fires and other biomass fires annually burn in several locations throughout the region as a result of the agricultural practice called ―slash and burn‖. This makes it one of the most spatially prevalent hazards after drought. Emissions from biomass burning inject pollutants into the atmosphere, as well as green house gases (GHGs). The IPCC attributes 17.3% of total anthropogenic emissions to biomass burning, making it the second largest source of GHGs from human activities after the burning of fossil fuel. Biomass fire is the only hazard that has both an impact on, and is exacerbated by, climate change. Most fires have human causes (UNEP/DEWA, 2009).

5.3.4 VOLCANIC HAZARDS

Mount Cameroon, one of Africa's largest volcanoes, rises above the coast of west Cameroon. More than 100 small cinder cones often fissure-controlled parallel to the long axis of the volcano, occur on the flanks and surrounding lowlands. A large satellitic peak, Etinde, is located on the southwest flank. During historical time, moderate explosive and effusive

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eruptions have occurred from both summit and flank vents. The last recorded eruption on October-November 1982, produced lava fountaining from a radial fissure 6.5 kilometers southwest of the summit and a lava flow that moved 12 kilometers down the southwest flank. Two towns were evacuated, and tephra caused damage to plantations.

Along the Cameroon volcanic line, numerous maars and basaltic cinder cones lie on or near the deeply dissected Mount Oku massif. Two of these crater lakes, Lake Nyos to the north and Lake Monoun to the south (~100 kilometers ESE of Lake Nyos), have produced catastrophic gas release events. On 15 August 1984 gas release at Lake Monoun that killed 37 people (Sigurdsson and others, 1987) was attributed to overturn of stratified lake water, triggered by an earthquake and landslide. The Lake Nyos event of 21 August 1986 with emission of around 1 cubic kilometer of magmatic CO2 has been attributed to overturn of stratified lake waters as a result of a non-volcanic process, or to phreatic explosions or injection of hot gas into the lake. It caused at least 1, 700 fatalities.

Three active volcanoes of Equatorial Guinea (Santa Isabel, San Joaquin and San Carlos) are located on Bioko Island, offshore from Cameroon. They are part of a volcanic chain extending from Pagalu Island in the Atlantic Ocean to the volcanic plateaus of Biu in Nigeria and Ngaoundere in Cameroon.

5.3.5 EARTHQUAKES/SEISMIC ACTIVITY

Much of the continental margin off Equatorial Guinea is influenced or controlled by fracture zone tectonics. South of the Kribi Fracture Zone, Oceanic crust is offset c. 350 km to the southwest, resulting in a broad rift margin off Gabon that is unaffected by major offset fracture zones. Although Ghana is far away from the major earthquake zones of the world, it is prone to earthquake disaster. Ghana has records of damaging earthquakes dating as far back as 1615. The last three major events occurred in 1862, 1906 and 1939 (Amponsah, 2004). Historical earthquakes of magnitude greater than 6.0 and current local tremors with magnitudes ranging from 1.0 to 4.8 on the Richter scale have been recorded since the establishment of the seismograph stations. Most of the earthquakes in Ghana occur in the western part of Accra at the junction of the two major fault systems namely, the Coastal boundary fault and Akwapim fault zone.

The most destructive earthquake in Ghana that caused a lot of damage and loss of life and property occurred on 22 June 1939. On 11 March 1964 and 9 February 1969 earth tremors of magnitudes (ML) 4.5 and 4.7 were recorded respectively. Both events were felt in Accra. The 1964 event was located not far from the multi-million dollar hydroelectric dam in Akosombo. This has been described as Reservoir - Triggered Seismicity (RTS) or reservoir-induced seismicity (RIS) which is the triggering of earthquakes by the physical processes that accompany the impoundment of large reservoirs (Gupta, 2002). The latest tremors, which were felt in all the regional capitals, occurred on 8 January 1997, 14 February 1997 and 6 March 1997. Many minor tremors were recorded from 1998 to 2002 with magnitudes ranging from 1.0 to 3.0 on the Richter scale.

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Seismic hazard in West and Central Africa could be classified as moderate. This means that strong earthquakes may occur in the region, but considerably less frequently than in highly threatened areas of the world. Perhaps, regarded over the long-term, the seismic risk is comparable with the risk related to flooding: floods are far more frequent but their consequences are less serious. However, the level of preparedness and awareness of the catastrophic consequences of earthquakes in the region need to be raised by appropriate education and public enlightenment programmes.

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6.0 ECONOMIC VALUATION OF THE COASTAL & MARINE ENVIRONMENT

BACKGROUND

From an economic perspective, coastal and marine ecosystems should be treated, counted and invested in as elements of development infrastructure, i. e. as a stock of facilities, services and equipment which are needed for the economic development and sustainability of society (Interwies, 2009). The economists‘ perspective reflects the monetary value of goods and services using private market transactions, while the ecologist is interested in the intangible value inherent in ecosystems such as watersheds protection and carbon dioxide fixation and storage. Many international organisations have worked on the economic valuation of ecosystem services. Among the most important in the context of marine protection and transboundary water management are IUCN, WWF, the Ramsar Secretariat and the UN agencies. Each organisation has put a special focus on its work, while invariably all of them rely more or less on similar basic concepts/tools that have been used by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment on the global scale (Brown et al., 2006).

Different groups have different perspectives on the value of ecosystems. Environmental economists have gone some considerable way towards evolving the taxonomy of economic values by specifying the total value of natural environments. Generally, the total economic value (TEV) of a resource includes the use value (UV) and the non-use value (NUV). The use value of a resource also referred to as total user value is the benefit derived from the actual use or potential benefit of a resource while the non-use value is existence value (EV) which arises from the satisfaction of merely knowing that the asset exists, although the valuer has no intention of using it (BDCP, 2006). In order to ensure their productivity and continued support to human development, ecosystems need to be maintained and improved to meet both today‘s needs and those of intensifying demands and pressures in the future — just like any other component of infrastructure.

The concept of the total economic value is a method of creating a single monetary metric that combines all activities within an LME and to express the levels of each activity in units of a common monetary measure, such as US dollars. Before the concept of the total economic value was introduced, economic values have quite narrowly been defined as benefits. Values of ecosystems have been attributed only to raw materials and physical products that ecosystems generate for human production and consumption. These direct uses however represent only a small proportion of the total value of ecosystems, which generate economic benefits far in excess of just physical or marketed products. Instead of focusing only on direct commercial values the concept of Total Economic Value (TEV) also encompasses the subsistence and non-market values, ecological functions and non-use benefits.

In contrast, a failure to value ecosystems when choices are made about allocating land and marine resources and investment funds can incur far-reaching economic costs. In the past ecosystem values have been almost ignored in decision-making. Natural resources and ecosystems were thought to be gifts from nature and should be exploited to the fullest and there was no need to value them. One of the reasons for that ignorance is identified as the failure of markets that often do not assign economic value to the public benefits of ecosystem services, but attribute value to the private goods and services, which production may lead to ecosystem damage (Sukhdev, 2008). Economic valuation can help to provide evidence for public benefits that are not reflected in private goods and services.

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Rationale for Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Services

It is increasingly evident that successful long term economic development depends on wise use of natural resources especially as natural ecosystems are under enormous pressure from growing and conflicting demands placed on them. The major reason for excessive depletion of natural ecosystem is the failure to account for their value in development decisions. Thus concerns about the need to conserve natural ecosystems for the present and future generations based on the benefits derived from them, and the dangers of losing them, which sometimes are irreversible when damaged, have led to interests and explosion of efforts to value them and the services they provide. With valuation, some information and knowledge accrue to society (BDCP, 2006). These include:

the cost, and financing mechanism for ecosystem conservation; identification of the main beneficiaries of conservation and the magnitude of benefits they receive, and information on the design measures to capture some of these benefits and contribute to financing of conservation; an accurate sense of how important ecosystems are to the economy in addition to estimates of the benefits from an ecosystem that could guide and justify spending for its conservation; a means for comparing and measuring the various benefits of wetland and marine resources, such that economic valuation can be a powerful tool to aid and improve wise use and management of global/transboundary wetland and marine resources; ensuring that conservation is financially sustainable in two ways: by demonstrating the benefits that ecosystems generate, and the increased benefits (or avoided looses) that conserving these ecosystems can bring to stakeholders, valuation can help convince decision makers to allocate more resources to conservation and can provide invaluable support to these efforts by identifying and quantifying the major benefits provided by a given ecosystem.

In the GCLME valuation is of utmost importance if the current perceived environmental problems in the region are to be mitigated or reversed to achieve the desired state envisaged in the Strategic Action Programme. In order to achieve the objectives of recovering and sustaining depleted fisheries; restoring degraded habitats; and reducing land and ship-based pollution, it will be important to understand the total value of the ecosystem‘s contribution to the society. Economic valuation would help to demonstrate and quantify its economic value in terms of raw materials, protection of natural and human systems, and maintenance of options for future economic production and growth, as well as the costs associated with the loss of these benefits through resource degradation.

In addition, it will be important to know the impact of different management approaches; the change in the value of the ecosystem if conservation action is undertaken, including opportunity cost of conservation; how the change will affect different stakeholders (that is who are the beneficiaries and the losers); and how beneficiaries could be made to pay for the services they receive to ensure that the GCLME is conserved and its services sustained - that is identifying and developing potential financing mechanisms and economic incentives for management. It will also assist in obtaining funding for mitigation measures if resources are inadvertently damaged through an accident, such as a massive oil spill or a natural disaster. The results of economic valuation contribute to a better understanding of the socio-economic situation of the any given area and which opportunities are at stake for future developments.

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Often this information can feed into global databases that help to better understand processes at the global scale.

Valuing the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem

There is a vast range of methods that can be used for the valuation of ecosystem services. The proposed assessment approach that will guide the economic valuation of GCLME is the total valuation approach. The total valuation approach will enable the estimation of total benefits derived from the conservation of the marine ecosystem. The information to be obtained will guide the inclusion of benefits in national accounts and in determining resource rents.

Total Economic Value (TEV) involves estimation of the net benefits from each nation‘s marine activities and sums all the benefits across all activities. These benefits are then summed for all countries to obtain the aggregate value for the entire marine area. Net benefits are the sum of consumer surpluses (what consumers are willing to pay over and above the market price for good or service) and producer surpluses (what firms, e.g. trawling companies, earn from sale of goods and services over and above their cost of production). Normally, net benefits from environmental goods and services that are not traded in the market are estimated using any of the methods as outlined in Table 6.1 and then added to TEV. The cost of implementing government policies to help manage the marine environment is subtracted from TEV (as resource rents). The TEV could be obtained for each county of the GCLME and then aggregated for the entire GCLME (BDCP, 2006).

In economic valuation it is often helpful to have value estimates from multiple methods as valuation estimates are mostly sensitive to the valuation method used. Thus, a combination of conventional economic valuation techniques (both market and non- market valuation techniques) and sustainable livelihood approach is recommended for the economic valuation of the GCLME. A summary of conventional valuation techniques proposed to be used for specific goods and services in the GCLME is shown in Table 6.1.

Table 6.1: Valuation techniques to be used for goods and services in the GCLME Goods and Services Kinds of Value Economic Valuation Techniques Fishery Direct Use Value Economic rent/contingent valuation/ change in productivity approach Recreation/tourism Direct Use Travel Cost Ecological functions Indirect and option Contingent valuation Cultural Values Contingent valuation Biodiversity generally Direct use/indirect use Choice experiment/ contingent valuation Other mangrove Direct use/indirect use and Contingent valuation/choice experiment resources option Source: Recommendations by the authors - BDCP (2006)

Constraints in Valuing Marine Ecosystem

The marine environment has some futures which tend to constrain economic valuation. A large part of the marine areas are outside the territorial limits of individual countries and are being exploited like a common property resource (in terms of fishing), and also used as a (costless) sink for wastes. Thus there is a tendency of tragedy of open access (BDCP, 2006). Apart from being transboundary, some of the resources are multi-purpose in nature having both use and non-use values. For example, besides fish, the marine area serves for recreation,

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biological productivity, performs other ecological functions and serves as an important pool of biodiversity. Also coastal resources, such as mangroves produce, among other things, wood (which can be processed into useful timber or charcoal), medicinal and aromatic plants and serves as breeding and feeding grounds for shrimp and fish, and as bird sanctuaries, among several other useful functions.

In addition, the fact that some species are straddling/migratory in nature and not confined to national boundaries makes it more difficult to prepare precise accounts, even for the marine resources within the 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of nations. Furthermore, there are significant limitations in knowledge on how pollution physically affects marine output, biodiversity, and the various services. Besides, measuring stocks of fish and that of other organisms and the determination of their sustainable level of exploitation presents some difficulties.

The Preliminary Report on Economic Valuation of Ukwe (2007) provides a good starting point for the further elaboration of a methodology for the economic valuation of ecosystem services in the GCLME. The report provides a first overview of the main uses of ecosystems and economic activities in the GCLME region. The analysis of the fisheries sector includes valuable differentiations and data sources. A critical point however is the inclusion of economic benefits that derive from the extraction on non-renewable resources in particular mining and oil production. The revenue of these activities may not be regarded as an ecosystem service or good, because the existence of these resources is not dependent on the existence of an ecosystem (Interwies, 2009).

On the contrary, mining and oil production in general must be regarded as activities with negative impacts to ecosystems and their functions. Thus mining and oil production should only be considered in regard to their environmental impact or in other words how much of the value of the ecosystems these activities would deteriorate. Mining is a major activity in the coastal areas of some of the GCLME countries although this activity sometimes is illegal and become a source of coastal area degradation. Data on mining in the coastal area is also often fragmented and not well documented.

The valuation of ecosystem goods and services should be based on the current status of the ecosystem. If the sole objective of the valuation exercise in the framework of the large scale GCLME is to get a first idea about the costs and benefits deriving from LME conservation and considering the urgency to achieve a first but also validated estimate of the ecosystems goods and services, perhaps as suggested, this requires a much easier and less rigorous methodology that considers the situation in the GCLME at stake.

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7.0 OUTLOOK AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE ASSESSMENTS

Some projections regarding the outlook for the GCLME coastal and marine environment based on observed trends since the inception of the GEF Project, 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 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.

7.1 Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Conservation and Management Strategies

The general outlook for the coastal and marine environment of the GCLME region could be said to have improved over the last ten years. In the last decade, considerable awareness and positive national and regional actions have resulted in conscientious environmental stewardship and its sustainability within the region. This has been borne out of increased political will and commitment by successive governments in member countries to mainstream environmental considerations into every aspect of governance at the local/provincial, national and regional levels.

Some development and implementation of local and national policies and strategies for longterm environmental protection include measures for regular attention, weekly and monthly, by entire communities, municipalities, cities and states to collective actions and strict compliance to such by the populace. These constant reminders have awakened a new era for environmental accounting in some countries with strong lead institutions to coordinate and manage the change.

Most of the GCLME countries have formulated and developed detailed policy documents establishing current and future environmental policies, strategies, objectives and targets. Some of these policy documents are specific and address priority environmental issues of primary concern especially in relation to the socio-economic conditions and general political settings for good governance. Some other countries have general policy and strategy documents incorporating environmental considerations in which the coastal and marine environment is mentioned among several other components. Increasingly, economic development and globalization makes it imperative for some actions to be institutionalized for compliance with global standards and benefits derivable from them by society.

Common environmental issues in the GCLME, 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 and efforts to address specific transboundary issues are achieving the desired results 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/IOC etc) have been particularly active in facilitating and supporting such initiatives within the region.

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7.2 Water Quality

Recent monitoring of coastal waters in some GCLME countries suggests that coastal water quality will continue to deteriorate unless actions to revert the degradation are implemented and enforced. Land-based sources and activities are on the increase affecting near shore waters, estuaries, lagoons, creeks, etc and invariably the adjacent seas. With increasing population and drift to coastal areas, coastal water degradation will persist for the foreseeable future. A preliminary qualitative assessment of land-based activities in the GCLME region (Table 7.1) illustrates the range of potential pollutants entering water courses through anthropogenic activities.

Table7.1: Preliminary Qualitative Assessment of Land-based Activities in the GCLME Region Activity Sour Sew Solid Sedi Ma He Petrole Persi Atmos Ero Physi ce age/ wast ment rine av um stent pheric sio cal (Wit Nutr e / De y Hydroc Orga polluti n Altera hin/ ients (dom Siltat bris me arbons nic on tion Outs estic ion / tals Pollu and ide & Litt tants Destr GCL indus er uction ME) trial) of Habit ats Oil & Gas w w w w W w w w w Mining w w w w w w Forestry/ w w Agric. w Urban- w w w w w W w w w Residenti w al Industrial w w w W w w Ports & w w w w w W w w w Harbours w Dredging/ w w w damming w of Rivers Recreatio w w w w n/ Coastal w Tourism w = existing source of concern to the GCLME marine environment

The table is compiled from a qualitative assessment of the information contained in the Country National Plan of Action, Report on Pollution Hotspots, Coastal Profiles, Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) (2006), Strategic Action Programme (SAP), Report on Physical Alteration and Destruction of Habitats in the Guinea Current LME (2006), and the draft Second Protocol to the Abidjan Convention on Land-based Sources and Activities (LBSA) in the West and Central African Region (2007).

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Many sources contribute to the degradation of coastal waters in the GCLME region, most are associated with the input of pollutants from domestic, agricultural, and industrial discharge. A major problem is the disposal of untreated sewage into coastal water bodies which leads to the presence of enteric pathogens (bacteria, viruses, and protozoans) and represents a potentially significant threat of waterborne microbial diseases. Epidemic is a number one cause of health hazard throughout the region (International Disaster Database) with the exception of Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome & Principe.

In the past few years, low level endemic incidence of water borne microbial disease cases caused illness and deaths in Ghana. A fundamental problem with current regulatory approach is that coliform standard used for evaluating the ―sanitary quality‖ of treated water does not reliably assess the presence of cyst-forming protozoans or enteroviruses (CSIR, 2010). There is need to significantly improve the ability to determine the adequacy of municipal water treatment to prevent microbial waterborne pathogens from causing epidemic as well as endemic disease. The level of environmental sanitation predicated on adequate water supply and sewage treatment must be significantly improved in the region. Sewage and nutrients from ever increasing population will accelerate eutrophication and result in greater threats to public health, possibly at transboundary levels.

Without exception, the coastal monitoring reports point to a need for systematic monitoring to capture the trends in pollution loading by pesticides, industrial contaminants and any new contaminants being introduced into the environment. Such inputs would continue for the foreseeable future with the transportation of heavy metals, HCHs, PCBs, etc to coastal waters further compounding pollution problems apart from threats of major oil pollution from shipping and the intensification of prospecting within the region.

A major challenge for reverting water quality deterioration is water quality management responsive to information and data gathering, with adequate capacity (human, material, and technological) within the region and assessment programmes at the national and regional levels.

7.3 Fisheries

The region is rich in terms of diversity and abundance of fish and other marine organisms. According to FAO (2005b), during the 1950-2002 period 22 coastal States and 47 distant water fishing Nations reported about 190 species or groups of species in the commercial catches from the part of the Western African Seas region under the influence of the Canary and Guinea currents. Important multi-national fishing fleets (EU, Japan, Korea, etc) operate in the Western African Seas region, targeting tuna and highly valuable demersal fish species. Total production from capture fisheries in the Western African Seas region was about 3.2 million tonnes in 2007 including about 2.4 million tonnes produced by the region‘s coastal States (FAO, 2009).

The six member States of the Fishery Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) produce about 900 000 metric tonnes of marine fish annually with artisanal fisheries (Figure 7.1) as the backbone of fishery production in the central Gulf of Guinea region. The major fish resources in the area are round sardinella, skipjack tuna, Bigeye grunt, madeirian sardinella, and Bonga shad. The countries have several shared fish stocks and identified a need for cooperation and shared management of these resources.

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Figure 7.1: Reported fish production in the FCWC countries of the GCLME.

In general, capture production decreased by more than 10 percent after 2000 in both the Western and Eastern Central areas of the Atlantic Ocean, although they are quite different in terms of the main fishery resources and type of fishing. At its first meeting the FAO CECAF Working Group on the Assessment of Small Pelagic Fish (WGASPS) Sub-Group South the stocks analysed were: sardinella (Sardinella aurita and Sardinella maderensis), bonga (Ethmalosa fimbriata), anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), Cunene horse mackerel (Trachurus trecae), false scad (Caranx honchus) and other Carangidae in the region between the northern border of Guinea-Bissau and the southern border of Angola. For each of these, standardized information updated until 2004 is given on stock identity, fisheries, abundance indices, sampling, biological data, assessment, management recommendations and future research.

The Working Group agreed on the existence of four stocks in the southern CECAF area. The northern stocks (Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia), western stocks (Côte d‘Ivoire, Togo, Ghana and Benin), central stocks (Nigeria, Cameroon, Sao Tome and Principe and Equatorial Guinea) and southern stocks (Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola). There was a decrease of 18 percent in total catches of the main small pelagic species analysed by the Working Group, from 447 000 tonnes in 2003 to 368 000 tonnes in 2004.

However, despite the observed decrease for 2004 the general upward trend observed since 1999 continued. Total catches of the main small pelagic fish analysed by the Working Group for the period 1990 to 2004 have been fluctuating around 300 000 tonnes. The round sardinella (S. aurita) constituted nearly 32 percent of the catches of small pelagic species, and is the most important group in the region. A dynamic version of the Schaefer model was used to assess the current state of the stocks. The preliminary results of the assessments indicate the overexploitation of S. aurita (northern and western stocks) and S. maderensis (northern stock); S. maderensis (western stock). The Ethmalosa fimbriata (southern stock) is underexploited while Trachurus trecae (southern stock) is fully exploited.

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In the last decade, cooperation of CECAF and the GCLME Project with the Nansen programme has ensured regular stock assessment in the region. This is a laudable achievement considering that capacity for assessment has been lacking since the last Guinean Trawl survey of 1968. Recommendations of CECAF Working Group for the pursuit of future research have included the following:

• continuation of acoustic surveys and related activities; • improvement and harmonization of statistics; • improvement and intensification of biological sampling; • continue to develop and improve the assessment methods; • further develop the version of the production model used by the group including other versions of the production functions, multiple abundance indices and uncertainty estimates.

The FCWC, established in 2006, is the third committee within the zone covered by the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF), after the Regional Fishery Committee for the Gulf of Guinea (COREP) in the south and the Sub-regional Fisheries Commission (CSRP) in the north. The multiplicity of these management groups would be beneficial to the region if each is focused on specific aspects for the improvement, conservation and sustainability of the fisheries resources

In the region, small-scale fisheries significantly contribute to food security and poverty alleviation and this contribution is under threat for various reasons, including over-fishing, negative impacts by other sectors and social, economic and political marginalization of small- scale fishers. Concerted efforts are needed to secure the land, sea and fishing rights of fishing communities and to strengthen their preparedness and capacity to withstand natural disasters to which they are especially exposed when living along the coast in often precarious conditions. It should be emphasized that artisanal fishermen and women, indigenous people and traditional fishing communities are people with their own territory, culture and economic activities. Therefore, artisanal fishing is a socio-cultural expression and not merely a form of employment.

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Artisanal fishery is the backbone of fishery production in the West and Central Africa. (http://www.fcwc-fish.org/)

7.4 Mangroves

Although mangroves are traditionally used for the collection of wood forest products and as a source of subsistence for local populations, removal of wood and non-wood forest products is rarely the main cause of the loss of mangroves. Human pressure on coastal ecosystems and the competition for land for aquaculture, agriculture, infrastructure and tourism are often high and are major causes of the decrease in area reported. These activities are often an answer to the financial constraints on many farmers and local communities and represent a source of livelihood. The high population pressures frequently present in coastal zones has in some places led to the conversion of mangrove areas for urban settlement and development. However, if unsustainably planned and managed, they can lead to uncontrolled deforestation and to pollution of coastal waters, damage or total destruction of coastal ecosystems and the loss of the services and benefits provided by mangroves.

A wide range of commercial and non-commercial fish and shellfish also depends on these coastal mangrove forests. The role of mangroves in the marine food chain is crucial. The average yield of fish and shellfish in mangrove areas is about 90 kg per hectare, with maximum yield of up to 225 kg per hectare (FAO, 1994). When mangrove forests are destroyed, declines in local fish catches often result. Assessments of the links between mangrove forests and the fishery sector suggested that for every hectare of forest cleared; nearby coastal fisheries lose some 480 kg of fish per year. Mangroves also help protect coastlines and shipping lanes by trapping upland runoff sediments. This is a key function in preventing and reducing coastal erosion and provides nearby communities with protection against the effects of wind, waves and water currents. Invariably, wherever mangroves are cleared/removed, coastal erosion sets in to degrade swamp habitats.

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Despite the many services and benefits provided by mangroves, these coastal forests have often been undervalued and viewed as wastelands and unhealthy environments. Over the last few years, however, awareness of the importance and value of mangrove ecosystems has been growing, leading to the preparation and implementation of new legislation and to better protection and management of mangrove resources. In some countries, restoration of mangrove areas through natural regeneration or active planting has also been observed. Some examples can be found in Benin, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. As a national demonstration project, the UNIDO/GCLME restoration and conjunctive sustainable management of native mangroves and Nypa palms in the Cross River Estuary in Nigeria has the potential for ensuring better public education and community participation for conservation and sustainable utilization of the vast mangrove resources in the Niger Delta.

The increasing popularity of ecotourism activities also represents a potentially valuable and sustainable source of income for many local populations, especially where the forests are easily accessible. Mangrove and Nypa products are gradually becoming popular as souvenirs for tourists and providing livelihood and employment for an increasing number of unemployed youths in the Niger Delta. Regular updating of information on the extent and condition of mangroves is needed as an aid to policy- and decision-making for the conservation, management and sustainable use of the region‘s remaining mangrove ecosystems.

Many countries have promulgated laws and regulations to protect remaining pristine mangrove areas and mitigate widespread loss. Effective enforcement of this legislation is, however, often hampered by a lack of financial and human resources. Several GCLME countries have ratified the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (2004) and should seek to designate mangrove areas as Ramsar sites or as national parks, reserves, protected coastal areas, and wildlife sanctuaries. Mangroves are a national heritage. Some pristine areas should also be designated as World Heritage sites of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

7.5 Coastal development

The pace of coastal development is dictated by economic growth in the region. Of importance is recent development of Export Processing Zones and ancillary handling facilities such as Ports and Harbours, 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 resulting erosion of these coastal areas are often transferred downstream of the development to alter the coastlines elsewhere in the future. Such development creates new problems that have to be addressed at a later date especially in the absence of strict compliance with their Environmental Management Plans (EMP).

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.

7.6 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 long shore currents, high wave energy, the nature of sediments and low

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coastal topography are responsible in some locations. 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 due cognizance to near shore ocean dynamics and shoreline evolution. The most phenomenal erosion rate is that recorded for Victoria beach in Nigeria (25 - 30 m/yr) (Ibe, 1988). Recently, the Lagos State government tackled the erosion and flooding problem by erecting tripods and a sea wall behind them to contain the menace.

Ibe (1988) alerted the region to concerns about the economic loss occasioned by coastal erosion which could be addressed through assistance from donor agencies in adoption of proven coastal defense measures. Coastline erosion uproots coastal settlements, decimates agricultural and recreational grounds, destroys harbour and navigation structures, dislodges oil producing and export handling facilities and upsets the hydrological regime in the coastal areas (GCLME, 2006). The dead are not spared, as cemeteries are washed into the sea. Actions to control coastal erosion are needed throughout the GCLME. The national demonstration project in Cote d‘Ivoire, if successful, should provide lessons learned for replication throughout the region.

7.7 Marine debris/litter

Data and information on marine litter in the GCLME countries were initiated in the 1990s through projects sponsored by IOC of UNESCO and later UNIDO/GCLME (Owusu Ben, 1997; Folack, 1998). These efforts have been complimented by monitoring and beach cleanup exercises on annual basis, at least in Ghana and Nigeria. The results achieved so far clearly indicate that the Gulf of Guinea beaches will be constantly polluted by debris items, so long as coastal population increases daily, and fishing, refinery and vessel transit activities continue.

The outlook for the region‘s marine litter issue over the coming decade is for 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 within the region. This prediction is based entirely on examination of related trends and relationships predicated on the sources, causes, quantities and distribution of marine litter at the regional level.

The leisure derived on our coastal beaches has encouraged the hospitality industry to focus on increasing tourism activities through improved quality and additional facilities on the recreational beaches. Improved quality of the beaches can be achieved through concerted efforts at solid waste management to foster a healthy environment for recreational activities. An effective marine litter prevention and control measure is intricately linked with good solid waste management with which it should be addressed. For the region, proposals made in the past towards achieving this aim include inter alia: Integrating solid waste management issues into local and national coastal and marine areas management plans by member countries; Initiating socio-economic surveys to define, measure and understand the impact of marine debris on local activities with attention to loss of fishing materials as well as the loss of tourism and related revenue;

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Promoting effective solid waste management practices through education and public enlightenment campaigns at the local level, preferably with the collaboration of Nongovernmental Organizations in the communities; Creation of national and local committees for marine debris/solid waste management with partners from municipal and private waste managers and collaboration with global organizations for technical assistance; Involving local industries, shipping managers; Ports and Habour authorities in the management of marine debris; Identify model beaches in each country for education, training and awareness campaigns and institute local clean up exercises to complement the annual global September clean up exercise; Creation of a regional comprehensive data base and communication network for exchange of ideas and best practice in cooperation with relevant international organizations, industries and NGOs; and Development and implementation of a regional action plan on marine litter which recognizes the transboundary nature of the problem.

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 both the local, national and global levels.

7.8 Invasive alien species

The current lack of information on how many ―migrant species‖ have become residents in the GCLME region is attributable to shortage in expertise in taxonomy for the relevant research. Furthermore, until the species show signs of invasiveness, they generally may go unnoticed in the environment (Armah, 2006). 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 with economic growth and therefore the outlook for transfer of alien organisms through ship‘s ballast water could be expected to grow.

Although not all introduced species may survive in totally different ecosystems, some will thrive and may have competitive advantage over local species in the environment. The serious invaders often displace native/indigenous species and may eliminate them from the natural community structures and food webs over time. These species may be beneficial or harmful to human health or the socio-economic setting including livelihood. Once established, such species are difficult to eradicate e.g. water hyacinth, and continuously require substantial economic cost to control. A number of invasive species could also be a mixed blessing e.g. the tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, of Asian origin, in the Gulf of Guinea which recently forms the bulk of shrimp catch and is increasingly favoured for culture.

Fortunately, all the member countries in the GCLME are in partnership and/or collaboration with the Globallast Programme through the GCLME Project. The main objectives of the programme are to assist developing countries to implement effective measures to control the introduction of alien marine invasive species by reducing the transfer of harmful organisms from ship‘s ballast water; implementing the IMO ballast water guidelines; and preparing for

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the implementation of the newly adopted IMO Ballast Water Convention. Active participation by GCLME countries, including the involvement of her private sector with partners from major maritime companies, should reduce the regional exposure to the global threat of invasive species.

As a precautionary measure the GCLME countries will need to introduce stricter control measures, which could be effectively enforced to restrict the intentional and accidental introduction of harmful invasive species into local habitats. Equipping lead agencies such as the Quarantine Service with adequate capacity (human and material), periodic support with technical assistance from developed countries, and their regular education and awareness programmes for the public on invasive organisms should be part of the resources to combat invasions. Additionally, measures to accommodate settled/established invasive species should be addressed by putting them to beneficial uses rather than engaging in futile efforts to eradicate them e.g. utilization of the exotic Nypa palm and its products as an alternative to mangroves in the Niger Delta.

7.9 Petroleum and other mineral 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 and prospecting by emerging energy endowed countries in the region. Virtually, all the GCLME countries have untapped reserves which could contribute to the general economic development of the region in the nearest future. Ghana is the newest member of the oil exporting countries in the region and may be followed shortly by Sao Tome, Benin, Togo, Cote d‘Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone, any of which could become a major producer.

Other member countries with long histories of oil and gas production are extending operations offshore and with recent technology exploring marginal fields for recoverable reserves. Upstream activities have included development of natural gas plants and the bulk export of their products to the international market. This trend is expected to continue in the foreseeable future.

Both onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) activities are associated with a variety of environmental impacts, especially at the local level. Many host governments are or will be increasingly concerned about the environmental viability of E&P activities. A response is often by recourse to stringent regulatory controls. This proliferation of prescriptive environmental policies is not limited to countries with long existing offshore oil and gas activities. It is evident that a wide variety of policy tools and strategies are applied in various countries, in order to protect the marine environment from unacceptable pollution derived from oil and gas E&P activities.

The proliferation of regulatory controls has given rise to a debate over the efficiency of environmental law as a tool for achieving environmental policy objectives. Central in this debate is the question of effectiveness of the policies, implementation, enforceability, and cost effectiveness. In the last three decades, there has been a trend towards a goal-setting approach in which the operators are more responsible for self-regulation and implementation. Broadly speaking, the prescriptive and performance-based approaches have been employed.

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The prescriptive (―command and control‖) approach to regulating an operator‘s environmental and safety performance is one which is practiced in most countries. It comprises specific regulatory requirements made by government and requiring compliance by operators. Prescriptive measures tend to encourage a compliance mentality but block the will for innovation and limits cooperation between governments and the industry. The industry develops faster than governments can produce prescriptive regulations to regulate their activities. ―Governments very often lose out as overseers in ―command and control‖.

Covenants between industry and governmental authorities, one form of goal-setting instrument, are often seen as a more effective and appropriate instrument for achieving the objectives of environmental policy goals than existing or newly developed prescriptive legal instruments. It allows industry (mostly multinationals) to accept its responsibility for environmental impacts and to take initiatives to control them, while taking into account the technical and economic feasibility of the policy.

Such ―objective based regulation‖ is predicated on agreements made between government and operators in which environmental goals /standards to be met are specified. Goal-setting principles are beginning to form the basis for new environmental legislation in a variety of developed countries e.g. Norway, Netherlands, and Australia. Environmental plan and industry-specific environmental guidelines are developed to cover a variety of environmental settings by national and international associations. These guidelines are complementary to regulations and are seen to be of particular value in countries with little or no established regulatory framework as a basis for objective regulation approaches.

The exploitation of diamonds in Angola makes up most of the country‘s export apart from oil and gas. The annual production is about 6 million carats. Diamond sales reached US$1.1 billion in 2006. Much of the prospecting is done by small-scale operators despite increased corporate ownership of diamond fields. For coastal solid mineral prospecting, the lessons learned in Angola are invaluable for new entrants into this market and its environmental challenges.

Oil and gas exploration and production in the GCLME region are steadily increasing and will eventually result in the region becoming a major producer and exporter in the near future. While these developments might change the political and economic fortunes of the region, the real challenge for sustainability will be in the management of the socio-economic and environmental issues arising from E&P operations and activities.

7.10 Natural disasters

Among the limited studies on vulnerability of the GCLME to natural disasters is the aerial videotape assisted vulnerability analysis of French et al. (1995). Using Nigeria as a case study, the analysis demonstrated the vulnerability of the country to any amount of sea level rise. Estimates of the impacts in physical and economic terms for the low-lying coastlines have some parallels, but on a lesser scale, to such countries as Egypt and Bangladesh where large population and agricultural land are at risk from sea level rise. Increased flooding could be expected with hundreds of villages at risk and virtual destruction of most coastal wetlands, some of which support large artisanal fishery.

The current human settlement pattern and development in the coastal areas throughout the region is in complete disregard of their vulnerability to inundation with potential for

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dislocation of millions of ―environmental refugees‖ in the event of a disaster. The recent flooding in Pakistan displaced more than 13 million rural inhabitants within a week, and one million in a single day to add to the massive human misery experienced. Epidemic is often a follow-up disaster if prompt response is delayed even for a few days. Rising sea levels would increase saltwater intrusion and may contaminate aquifers throughout the coastal areas. Some coastal population depends on groundwater exclusively for their freshwater needs. The socio- cultural consequences would be severe and should not be overlooked in preparedness for response.

Fortunately, the region has recorded very few natural disasters in the past. The region is also largely unprepared for any natural disaster, with the exception of drought and periodic floods during the peak rainy season. It is often accompanied by displacement of a few hundred for a few weeks or days. However, the consequences of a single disaster (volcanic eruption, earthquake/seismic activity, wildfires, storm surges, landslides, etc) could far outweigh the impacts from several weather- related periodic flooding and should receive adequate attention from national emergency management agencies.

Early Warning Systems with adequate and appropriate capability for monitoring and predicting disasters are valuable national and regional investments for now and the foreseeable future. Capacity building and collaboration with global disaster observatories and established disaster relief organizations are part of the final steps in improving national and regional mitigation of geohazards.

7.11 Projected impact of 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). The risks of catastrophic events will increase with temperature. Perhaps, these are sufficient assessment of projected environmental impacts for formulating actions for mitigation and adaptation. UNDP (2009b) 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

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resources and poor access to modern and sustainable energy services, the continent is particularly vulnerable.

Gas flaring in the Niger Delta: Gas flares emit about 390 million tons of CO2 every year globally. (Photo courtesy: Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR).

In order to mitigate these threats and address some of the concerns for the poorest countries, the World Bank in 2008 launched a Strategic Framework on Climate Change and Development and New Financing Initiatives for Mitigation and Adaptation. Also under its US$92 million programme ―Supporting Integrated and Comprehensive Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation in Africa‖ supported by the Government of Japan, UNDP will assist 21 countries across the African continent in incorporating climate change risks and opportunities into national development processes to secure development gains under a changing climate. The key envisaged outcomes are the following:

Countries have introduced dynamic, long-term planning mechanisms to manage inherent uncertainties of climate change; Countries have built leadership and developed institutional framework to mange climate change risks and opportunities in an integrated manner at the local and national levels; Countries are implementing climate-resilient policies and measures in priority sectors; Financing options to meet national adaptation costs have been expanded at the local, national, sub-regional and regional levels; Knowledge on adjusting national development processes to fully incorporate climate change risks and opportunities is being generated and shared across all levels. Important elements of the programme include:

i. focusing not only on technical responses, but on critical policy, regulatory, leadership and institutional mechanisms that are critical for creating resilience and sustainable results; ii. recognizing that transformational change is needed to address climate change risks in an integrated fashion; iii. addressing underlying causes, building partnerships, integrating gender equity and building on existing initiatives looking for synergies, catalytic impact and strategic leverage; iv. developing platforms for learning-in-action to promote scaling;

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v. basing actions on solid evidence of climate risk, where possible, and contributing to building this where not available. Climate change is an additional stress for the GCLME region and Africa at large. Each country should develop and implement national climate change plans or strategies based on national considerations and circumstances. These should outline the objectives, basic principles, key actions, policies and measures that are deemed appropriate to address climate change applicable for the next 20 years. Additionally, focus should be on mitigation and adaptation, institutional strengthening, capacity building, technology and transfer, and key sectors such as fisheries, and marine and coastal area management (UNEP/COBSEA, 2010).

8.0 Specific recommendations on future assessments

Keeping the environment under review is an important exercise for the GCLME region which calls for regular environmental monitoring, assessment, and reporting for the purpose of analyzing national and regional trends. In view of the need for sustaining the process of producing the State of Environment Report, GCLME regional environment reporting should be closely linked to and built from national environment reporting. Furthermore, the GCLME Environment Report should be dynamic in order to accommodate new and emerging environmental challenges.

The objective of the report is to inform, motivate and empower people at all levels of environmental decision-making in the GCLME, from the individual and NGOs to the private sector and governments, to take positive actions to counter environmental degradation of the coastal and marine ecosystems and move towards sustainable development paths by providing them with clear, objective and meaningful information on the environment.

The pertinent observations and recommendations from this exercise and comments from national reports include the following:

A first step is the need to build on existing capacity and experience to fill identified gaps in understanding and strengthening technology and capacity.

Environmental monitoring should be established as a systematic programme at the national levels to provide data and information for periodic and/or regular assessment.

The set of environmental sustainability indicators and variables employed in this report is provisional. It requires national testing by scientists in the region, evaluation and further discussion, including discussion on what additional indicators may be necessary to describe environmental sustainability more comprehensively.

Due to data gaps and conceptual limitation, the indicator set falls far short of the ideal (measurable and quantifiable). The indicators presented here should therefore be seen as a first step. Over the following years, the set needs to be improved to enable us to measure environmental sustainability more fully.

This requires a regional collaborative initiative, possibly arranged through one or two consultative meetings, to identify and develop a core set of standardized and scientifically credible indicators for the ―State of the Environment Reporting‖ usable

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within individual countries at the national level and among countries at the regional level.

9.0 CONCLUSION

In the last decade a great number of actions and important management measures have been taken to improve the state and outlook of the GCLME region‘s coastal and marine environment. Several other initiatives within the region, by partners and collaborators, have augmented and assisted in the realization of a healthier environment for sustainable economic and social development. The actions advocated are both in response to the identified threats facing the region and attempts to address climate change and other emerging issues.

Most of the countries are already developing and implementing improved management strategies in order to mainstream environmental concerns into national policy, regulatory, and institutional mechanisms that are critical to achieving sustainable results. These include improvements in many of the regulations governing the marine environment, designation of new Marine Protected Areas and proposals for several coastal protected areas. Improved regulations also require focused enforcement efforts to assist in sustaining gains in environmental protection, rebuilding stocks, and maximizing the long-term benefits of the goods and services provided by the ecosystem.

Overexploitation of natural resources from the coastal and marine areas is still the single greatest threat to the marine environment. This is predicated on overwhelming dependence by rural and coastal communities on such resources in the face of widespread poverty and limited opportunities for alternative livelihoods. The resultant environmental degradation could however be reversed by a strong political will to addressing the identified transboundary issues as demonstrated by the participating countries in the GCLME within the last decade. Notable is the increased awareness of environmental problems by both governments and the populace and a growing commitment to allocate the necessary resources to resolving current problems and tackling proactively other emerging issues.

Such issues requiring priority attention include the potential threats of invasive species, marine litter, increasing uncontrolled coastal development leading to habitat degradation and changing land-use patterns, and climate change. There is increasing evidence that global climate change is beginning to affect the GCLME region and Africa at large by its impacts, although there is still some uncertainty about the extent and severity of such impacts. However, the vulnerability of the region and risks associated point to a need for adequate preparedness through long-term integrated and cost effective adaptation policies and plans that are robust within a wide range of possible changes in climate conditions.

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Folack, J., Abe, J. and Ben Owusu, (1999): Marine debris/solid waste management survey of the Gulf of Guinea Large Marine Ecosystem (GOG-LME) (West Africa), Joint IOC/UNIDO Consultancy Report, 66p.

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GCLME (2003): Draft Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis, Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem Project, GEF/UNIDO/UNDP/UNEP, 152pp.

GCLME (2006): Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis - a Programme of the Governments of the GCLME Countries, with the assistance of GEF/UNIDO/UNDP/UNEP/US NOAA/NEPAD/FAO and IMO; Accra, Ghana, download (http://igcc.gclme.org/downloads/TDA_book.pdf.)

GCLME (2006b): Report on the Inventory of hotspots and course notes on Physical Alteration & Destruction of Habitats in the GCLME, GP/RAF/04/004/11-B2, 263pp.

GCLME (2008): Strategic Action Programme, Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem Project, 76p.

GCLME/UNEP/UNEP-GPA/US-NOAA (2007): Draft Protocol to the Abidjan Convention Concerning Cooperation in the Protection of Marine and Coastal environment from Land-based Sources and Activities in the West and Central African region. 13pp.

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Ibe, A. C., (1988): Coastline Erosion in Nigeria. Ibadan University Press, Ibadan, 217p.

ICCAT (2010): Statistical Bulletin - Volume 39 (1950 - 2008). 197pp

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Koranteng, K. A. (1998). The impacts of environmental forcing on the dynamics of demersal fishery resources of Ghana. PhD Thesis, University of Warwick, 377 pp.

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Kouakou, R., (1997): Accumulation des organochlores dans l‘huitre (Crassostrea gasar) d‘un milieu estuarien : cas de la lagune autour d‘Abidjan. Memoire de DEA, Universite d‘Abobo-Adjame, 106p.

Krakstad, J., Isebor, C. and Oddgeir, A., (2006): Surveys of Fish resources of the Eastern Gulf of Guinea (Nigeria, Cameroon, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, and Congo). Cruise Report Dr. Fridjof Nansen.

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Nubi, O. A., Ajao, E. A., Oyewo, E. O. & Unyimadu, J. P. (2008): Nutrient levels in Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GC - LME) waters, Science World Journal Vol. 3 (No 2), p 89-94

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ANNEX I

Task 1: Review the 10 (ten) submitted reports from participating countries-identify gaps in data and information and liaise with National Experts to fill such gaps.

Country Identified gaps in data How filled? - Sources of data & information used as & information figures/graphs/tables 1. Benin Biodiversity; threats to World Bank (2009): World Development Indicators 2009. biodiversity; MPAs; 434p. conservation & management strategies; WRI (World Resources Institute); (2008a): Population, natural disasters; Health, and Human Well-Being: Searchable Database. climate change effects, http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.php?theme=4 impacts, mitigation & adaptation measures. WRI (World Resources Institute); (2008b): Coastal and Marine Ecosystems: Searchable Database. http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.php?theme=1

WRI (World Resources Institute); (2008c): Economic, Business, and the Environment: Searchable Database. http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.php?theme=5

WRI (World Resources Institute); (2008d): Energy and Resources: Searchable Database. http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.php?theme=6

Dasgupta, S., Laplante, B., Meisner, C., Wheeler, D., and Yan, J. (2007): The impact of sea-level rise on developing countries: A comparative analysis. World Bank policy research working paper 4136. 51p.

Dasgupta, S., Laplante, B., Murray, S., and Wheeler. (2009): Sea-level rise and storm surges: A comparative analysis of impacts in developing countries. World Bank Policy Research working paper 4901. 43p. UNEP (2007) World Mangroves FAO (2007) Mangroves UNEP (2009) Human Development Report UNEP (2009) Climate report Armah (2006) GCLME Biodiversity report International disaster data base/UNEP-DEWA(2009)

2. Cameroon MPAs; conservation & management strategies; natural disasters; ……ditto…….. climate change effects, impacts, mitigation & adaptation measures. 3. Congo MPAs; conservation &

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management strategies; invasive species; harmful algal bloom; ……ditto……… natural disasters; climate change effects, impacts, mitigation & adaptation measures. 4. Cote Socio-economic; d‘Ivoire threats to biodiversity; MPAs; conservation & management strategies; invasive species; harmful algal bloom; marine debris; heavy ……..ditto………. metals; POPs, PTS, Hydrocarbons; oil pollution; coastal erosion; natural disasters, climate change effects, impacts, mitigation & adaptation measures. 5. Congo Socio-economic; DRC threats to biodiversity; MPAs; conservation & ……..ditto……… management strategies; invasive species; harmful algal bloom; marine debris; heavy metals; POPs, PTS, Hydrocarbons; oil pollution; coastal erosion; natural disasters, climate change effects, impacts, mitigation & adaptation measures. 6. Ghana Marine biodiversity; threats to biodiversity; socio-economic; frame survey; conservation & management strategies; harmful algal blooms; invasive species; ……..ditto…….. marine debris; POPs; PTS; PCBs; coastal erosion; physical alteration & destruction of habitats; natural disasters, climate

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change effects, impacts, mitigation & adaptation measures.

7. Guinea Socio-economic; biodiversity; threats to biodiversity; MPAs; conservation & management strategies; mangroves; invasive species; harmful algal …….ditto……. bloom; marine debris; heavy metals; POPs, PTS, Hydrocarbons; oil pollution; coastal erosion; natural disasters, climate change effects, impacts, mitigation & adaptation measures. 8. Liberia MPAs; conservation & management strategies; marine litter; natural disasters; climate ……..ditto……… change effects, impacts, mitigation & adaptation measures. 9. Sao Tome Socio-economic; & threats to biodiversity; Principe MPAs; conservation & ……...ditto……… management strategies; invasive species; harmful algal bloom; marine debris; heavy …….ditto…….. metals; POPs, PTS, Hydrocarbons; oil pollution; coastal erosion; natural disasters, climate change effects, impacts, mitigation & adaptation measures. 10. Sierra Socio-economic; Leone marine biodiversity; threats to biodiversity; MPAs; conservation & management strategies; mangroves; invasive …….ditto…….. species; harmful algal bloom; marine debris;

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POPs, PTS, Hydrocarbons; oil pollution; coastal erosion; natural disasters, climate change effects, impacts, mitigation & adaptation measures.

General comments: The submitted 10 country reports were meant to present trends in environmental monitoring of coastal/near shore waters in each of the countries. Additionally, a few reports documented biophysical and socio-economic features of the countries. Most of the reports employed only a few of the already adopted ecosystem-wide environmental indicators for coastal waters, due to oversight or lack of capacity for the required measurements and quantification.

None of the National Experts contacted submitted any input to update data and information from the various countries, inspite of several attempts by E-mail and Telephone contacts.

Task 2: Compile/collate data and information from National Experts and the GCLME office for the 6 (six) countries (Angola, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria and Togo) without reports and update in line with new information from the countries. Country Data & Information required How obtained/supplied/sourced? 1. Angola Socio-economic; biodiversity; threats to National Plan of Action biodiversity; MPAs; conservation & (NPA); Coastal profile - management strategies; invasive alien updated for socio-economic; species; harmful algal bloom; marine recent monitoring data was debris; heavy metals; POPs, PTS, unavailable; PADH report; Hydrocarbons; oil pollution; coastal WRI website erosion; natural disasters, climate change effects, impacts, mitigation & adaptation measures. 2. Gabon …..same…. …..ditto…….. 3. Equatorial ― Guinea …...ditto……. 4. Guinea ― Bissau …ditto…… 5. Nigeria Draft NPA; Coastal profile; …..ditto….. PADH report; WRI website. 6. Togo - same- …ditto…..

General comments:

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Information was collated for the 6 (six) countries without reports from the sources mentioned above. It was also not possible within the time frame for this assignment to visit any of the countries.

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ANNEX II

UNIDO PROJECT/PROGRAMME Combating living resources depletion and coastal area degradation in the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem through ecosystem-based regional actions

JOB DESCRIPTION GP/RAF/04/004/1191 Contact: TOR OF STATE OF THE COASTAL AND MARINE ECOSYSTEMS IN THE GUINEA CURRENT LARGE MARINE ECOSYSTEM REGION

DURATION: 3 Months

Date required: 1st June, 2010

Coverage: GCLME Region

Counterparts: GCLME Regional Coordination Unit, GCLME Project Manager, Project Experts, Universities and Research Institute, Ministries of environment, Environmental Protection Agencies, UNIDO, UNDP, UNEP, FAO, US-NOAA, etc

Purpose: To prepare a report on the State of the Coastal and Marine Environment in the GCLME Region which would be a valuable input for a State of Environment (SOE) report.#

Duties: Under the overall direction of the GCLME Project Coordinator/IGCC Executive Secretary and the technical supervision of the GCLME Environmental Scientist, the International Expert shall be responsible for compiling and updating data and information on the present status of the coastal and marine ecosystems in the GCLME region using the submitted report from nine (9) participating countries in the project and sourcing the required data and information from the seven (7) remaining countries. In particular, the International Expert shall standardize or produce a format for reporting that could be useful as input into a State of the Marine Environment Assessment, a tool for decision making for the region. Specifically, the report shall synthesize existing information and fill gaps with fresh information and contemporary data. It shall highlight progress made in the GCLME in developing and implementing appropriate policy responses at national, regional and International levels. The Consultant shall work closely with National Experts in each of the participating countries with emphasis on Resource management (Catches and MSY for fisheries; distribution and abundance of resource species; catch per unit effort per fishery sector; commercial fishing rights supporting development) and Resource Quality (Estuarine health Index; Pollutant loading for Land-based sources and activities; Heavy metals in sediment and biological tissues; Oil pollution incidents; Population changes; etc. The report shall employ the already adopted ecosystem-wide environmental indicators for coastal waters (physico-chemical parameters; water quality; coastal wetland loss; eutrophic conditions; sediment contaminations, benthic index and fish tissue contamination) and the priority pollutants for near shore waters. In essence, the report shall, among others, review the

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economics and social values; pressures on coastal and marine systems; population and development; estuaries and beaches; invasive alien species and algal blooms; water quality and emissions to sea; climate change; state of resources and their protection and management.

Qualifications Advanced degree, preferably a Ph.D, in environmental science/management, Oceanography, marine chemistry or related fields; At least 10 years experience in environmental monitoring & management with focus on interface between terrestrial and marine environment, excellent analytical skills, training and capacity building experience. Excellent and proven writing skills., Sound track record of peer reviewed publications in the field environmental monitoring with focus on the quality of coastal waters and accumulation of critical substances in living organisms Capacity to take initiative and work independently and pro-actively.

Language: English and French with proven editorial experience.

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Background Information:

The coastal and marine environments of the GCLME have experienced various stresses as a result of the intensification of human activities on or near the coast. More than 60% of existing industries are concentrated in the coastal areas and an estimated 40% of the population lives within 200 km of the coast. Pollution from land-based sources is particularly important, and together with sea-based sources, has contributed to a deterioration of water quality in the countries of the GCLME. The TDA has identified the deterioration of water quality from land and sea-based activities as one of the four broad environmental problems in the GCLME (UNIDO/UNDP/UNEP/GEF/NOAA, 2003). Overall, pollution has been found to be moderate in this LME, but more serious in coastal hotspots associated with the larger coastal cities. Nevertheless, transboundary impacts result from the transport of pollutants along the coast, in particular petroleum products. In fact most of the countries of the GCLME are petroleum producers (Figure 1) and the guinea current area is on the route of petroleum tankers from East to Europe, this increase the risk of oil spill within the guinea current.

Sewage constitutes the main source of pollution in the GCLME (UNEP 1999) and arises from widespread and generally poor treatment facilities and release of untreated sewage into coastal waters and lagoons. Although microbiological pollution is moderate and localized around coastal cities, it remains a severe problem in terms of human health. Organic pollution from domestic, industrial and agricultural wastes has resulted in eutrophication and oxygen depletion in some coastal areas. However, overall, eutrophication is still slight in the GCLME. Yet the increasing occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABS) is of concern to the countries bordering the GCLME (Ibe and Sherman 2002). Pollution from solid waste originating from domestic and industrial sources and offshore activities is severe across the entire region. The enormous bulk of solid waste produced daily is a serious threat to the environment. Pollution from suspended solids is moderate along the coast, and arises mainly from solids loss from farms and deforested areas. Although much of the silt is trapped in dams and reservoirs, this has caused extensive siltation of coastal water bodies.

Chemical pollution in the GCLME is slight overall, although it is serious in coastal hotspots. Large quantities of residues (e.g. phosphate, mercury, zinc) from mining operations are discharged into coastal waters. Some chemical pollution also arises from the use of agro- chemicals, including POPS. Pollution by heavy metals is a critical international issue since they concentrate along the food chain, which can have severe impacts on human health. Pollution from spills of contaminants is moderate in the GCLME. Most of the countries have important refineries on the coast, only a few of which have proper effluent treatment plants. Significant point sources of marine pollution have been detected around coastal petroleum mining and processing areas, releasing large quantities of oil, grease and other hydrocarbon compounds into the coastal waters of the Niger Delta and off Angola, Cameroon, Congo and Gabon. It is estimated that about 4 million tons of waste oil are discharged annually into the GCLME from the Niger Delta sub-region (UNIDO/UNDP/UNEP/NOAA 2003). Much of the oil found on beaches originates from spills or tank washing discharged from tankers in region‘s port (Portmann et al. 1989). Because of the wind and ocean current patterns in the GCLME, any oil spill from the offshore or shore-based petroleum activities could easily become a regional problem.

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It is recognized that the coastal and marine ecosystem of the GCLME and its resources have witnessed various environmental stresses as a result of the increasing socio-economic and unsustainable developmental activities. Yet a regionally harmonized approach and standards on monitoring the quality of coastal and marine waters are missing. The GLCME project has put in place the necessary tools for meaningful capacity development on a regional basis. It is necessary to evaluate the impacts and responses to policy actions, regulatory actions, environmental or research expenditure, public opinion and consumer preferences, changes in management strategy, and provision of environmental information since the inception of project implementation.

Deliverables:

A draft ―State of the Coastal and Marine Ecosystems in the GCLME Region‘‘ ready for peer and government review and publication.

Language & Reporting:

The consultant is expected to prepare a single report covering all the deliverables. The report shall be written in the English language. An electronic version of the report shall be transmitted by the consultant by e-mail to the RCU/IGCC for clearing. After having obtained clearance by the RCU/IGCC the consultant has to submit the electronic version of the report to the contract officer. After having obtained clearance by the contracting office, the consultant shall submit the final version of the report, including key deliverables as outlined in the duties above, in electronic format and hardcopy at the end of the assignment (1 electronic version in Microsoft Word and PDF File and 3 hard copies).

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