BRIEFING NOTES ON THE CIRCE COASTAL CASE STUDIES:THE GULF OF ORAN Summary must become the basis Oran and the Gulf of for sustainable devel- Arzew constitute a opment. coherent system with a The Gulfs of Oran and complex morphological Arzew, in Algeria, com- Key research issues re- structure. Due to their prise rich marine lated to climate change proximity to the Straits of ecosystems, a fertile include accelerated Gibralter, they constitute coastal zone, nature re- coastal zone degrada- a buffer zone (Atlantic serves for a wide range tion and marine sys- currents and physical of species, and ancient tem modification, and and biological oceano- sites of historical and the availability and graphic dynamics deter- cultural significance. quality of water re- mine the spatio-tempo- sources. ral distribution of tem- The petrochemical in- perature and salinity). dustry is the backbone Appropriate adapta- The Gulf of Oran extends of the economy but is a tion measures and pol- from Ghazaouet in the major source of marine icy responses might in- west (32°06’ N, 1°52’ W) and atmospheric pollu- clude: adjustment of to Oued El Macta in the tion in the area. The development plans east (35°47’ N, 0°06’ W) fishing industry is im- (tourism, fishing); inte- over a distance of portant but remains grated management of approximately 180 km. underdeveloped. water resources; emer- According to a more gency plans; health pre- restrictive definition, the The marine ecosystem paredness; and the pro- area extends from Falcon is rich in species, but tection of designated Cape in the west (35°46’ very sensitive to envi- coastal areas. N, 0°47’ W) to the Cap de ronmental disturbance l’Aiguille (or Ferrat Cape) (pollution, overex- in the east (35°53’ N, ploitation, climate 1. Physical 0°28’ W) over a distance change, and the intro- and socio-economic of approximately 50 km duction of non-indige- characteristics (nearly 9000 km2). Oran nous species). is the primary city in the Integrated manage- Geography and history region and the second ment of the coastal Located in the western city of the country. It is zone presents an enor- part of the Algerian coast located at the far end of mous challenge which (Figure 1), the Bay of the bay, bordering the 1 Mediterranean in the Great Sebkha covers from several empires, it north, dominated by the approximately 56,000 ha is the Roman Empire in Mountains of Aïdour and to the south of Oran. The particular, which domi- Murdjadjo in the west Habibas Islands consti- nates this area. Roman and hemmed in, in the tute an outstanding sites include Portus south by the “Great marine nature reserve Magnus in the area of Sebkha”, a large salty located offshore from the Béthioua (ex Saint-Leu) depression. The coast- small cities of Madegh currently occupied by line is a fertile strip of and Bouzadjar to the the petrochemical com- land interrupted by low west of Oran. plex of Arzew, Aïn Franin mountains and enclosed Formerly an important and Kristel to the east of to the south by a higher prehistoric site, Oran Oran, and remains of range of mountains run- was founded in 903 AD ancient thermal baths. ning parallel to the coast. by Andalusian sailors. A There are also many The region’s natural large number of archaeo- important Spanish ecosystems have high logical sites of prehis- archaeological remains, diversity and include toric origin have been such as Santa Cruz on some protected areas: found, and many other Murdjadjo Mount. The the wetlands of Macta sites in the sub-marine east coast has been (approximately 45,000 ha environment remain to marked by successive located west of Oran) is a be uncovered. Although invasions and settle- natural reserve for sever- the Algerian littoral zone ments (Roman, Arabic, al species of animals, the contains ancient sites Spanish, Turkish and Figure 1: Map showing the case-study location: the Bay of Oran, Algeria 2 later French), which have Characteristic of the carbons industry is the progressively trans- Algerian climate is the backbone of the econo- formed the littoral zone extreme irregularity of my. At the beginning of through infrastructural rainfall, which in some the Nineties, the country developments, cities and years leaves the agricul- initiated a process of harbour settlements. tural industry suffering transition from a cen- Algeria has a population from water scarcity and a tralised economy to a of 33 million inhabitants. substantially reduced market-oriented econo- The growth rate harvest. Mean tempera- my. Algeria’s economic decreased from 2.8% in tures range from 10°C in growth has continued to the 1990s to 1.8% in January to 25°C in be underpinned by on- recent years. The propor- August. The main tem- going growth in oil and tion of the population perature extremes are gas exports, (revenues that is urban increased heat waves (e.g., 2003) from hydrocarbons rep- from 52.4% in 1990 to and cold snaps with resent 97% of export 62.9% in 2004. The main snowfall. December and earnings from goods and conurbations in the January are the key rainy non-factor services). study area, apart from months, with Westerlies GDP grew 3 % in 2000- Oran (with over one mil- the common wind 02, nearly 6 % in 2003-04, lion inhabitants), are regime. Spring is a very and 5.1 % in 2004-05. Arzew and its petro- temperate season with This comfortable finan- chemical complex, Gdyel mean temperatures of cial situation led the and its coastal villages, 18°C in March and 23°C country to launch the Kristel and Aïn Franin, in May. However, it is the Plan for Support to the new suburbs of Oran season of the ‘sirocco’, a Growth and several fo- (e.g., Bir El Djir and hot dry Saharan wind. cused initiatives such as Canastel), Mer El Kébir, Maximum temperatures the National Programme Aïn El Turk, El are reached during sum- for Agricultural Develop- Ançor/Bousfer, Beni-Saf mer (August), when ex- ment (PNDA). and Ghazaouet. treme values can exceed Per capita GDP rose from 40°C. Sea breezes are of- $1,783 in 2002 to $3,100 Climate: ten observed. Autumn is in 2005 (with purchasing The area has a the beginning of the power parity estimated at Mediterranean climate rainy season with some $7,189 in 2005), and with semi-arid charac- violent thunderstorms. $3,698 in 2006. The teristics. The rainfall Government continues regime is mainly gov- Economy: to play a dominant role in erned by mid-latitude Algeria is the second managing the economy, disturbances and largest country in the though its role is dimin- Mediterranean cyclones. African continent after ishing and many sectors Oran receives 370 mm of Sudan and tenth largest have been privatised over rainfall per year. in the world. The hydro- recent years: telecommu- 3 nications, maritime and types of enterprise, 2. Justification air transport, agriculture, trawlers, sardine boats tourism, mining and en- and small-scale activities. Due to its geographical ergy. Agricultural devel- The trawler flotilla has its position, the Algerian opment faces multiple hub in the harbours of marine ecosystem is limitations, in particular Ghazaouet, Beni-Saf, highly diversified. a shortage of agricultural Oran and Arzew. However, it is very sensi- land, insufficient output, Industrial activity is con- tive to environmental and strong dependence centrated in Arzew and disturbance (pollution, on weather conditions. Béthioua (to the east of overexploitation of With 1,250 km of Arzew) where the petro- marine species, habitat Mediterranean coastline, chemical mega complex deterioration, climate Algeria has a high poten- is located. It is the largest change, and the intro- tial for establishing a provider of employment duction of non-indige- commercial fishing in- in the region, and its ex- nous species). Integrated dustry, a resource which ports constitute a major management of the has long been underesti- part of the nation’s finan- coastal zone presents a mated and unexploited. cial resources. However, permanent challenge The tourism industry is it is also a major source which must resolve con- being restructured. of marine and atmos- flicts, preserve the envi- Fishing is the main eco- pheric pollution. The in- ronment, and form the nomic activity of the dustrial zone of Hassi basis for sustainable cities and villages of the Ameur concentrates a development. western coast of Algeria; large number of small to The physical features of from east to west they medium-sized compa- marine circulation which are: Arzew, Kristel, Oran, nies, is located relatively characterise the region Mers-El-Kébir, Bousfer, close to the coast, and exert a permanent dy- Bouzadjar, Beni-Saf, and specializes in the treat- namical force on the Ghazaouet. Harbours ment of skins. A zinc Western Mediterranean along the western coast- electrolysis company in Sea (Mer d'Alboran) line are blessed with cold Ghazaouet is a major which influences the marine currents coming source of pollution (in west Algerian coast east- from the Atlantic which particular certain types ward throughout the contain plankton of high of metals) and a cement year. Circulation of water quality. The fishing stock production factory in in the Bay of Arzew is in- is largely comprised of Beni-Saf is a source of at- fluenced by the flow of small pelagic-like sar- mospheric pollution. In the Atlantic water char- dine, saurel, and anchovy addition, a detergents acterized by the instabil- which accounts for 70% factory in the region of ity of the Algerian cur- of production. The fish- Aïn Témouchent is a rent. This instability ini- ing flotilla of the western probable source of pollu- tiates between 0° and 1°E coast consists of three tion to the local river.