- Title: IVORY COAST: West Africans rue rising seas as climate talks stall
- Date: 15th June 2010
- Summary: GRAND LAHOU, NEAR ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (JUNE 11, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LAGUNE (2 SHOTS) VARIOUS OF RUINS OF LAHOU BEACH VILLAGE RUINS OF BUILDING ON SEA MORE OF RUINS OF VILLAGE (SOUNDBITE ) (French) JACK BAUEUR , FISHERMAN SAYING: "It's hard to to leave your land, where you were born, and go to a new place and to start your life again, that's where the real problem is. It's hard to leave your life behind because here, the communities leave off from fishing and when you then go to a place there s no sea, it becomes a problem." SEA ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (JUNE 11, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RUINS OF BARON HOTEL VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN SWIMMING POOL ( SOUNDBITE) (French) VINCENT ABOYA, HOTEL PROMOTER SAYING: "We used to have a beach that was 100 meters, and when people were standing on the balcony, you would see the beach and il was beautiful. They would come to take a dip in the sea which is good for for your health. But now, at least part of the beach has been wiped out , and we cannot rebuild it because we don t know. You need a lot of money to reconstruct but the minute you finish the reconstruction, the water will submerge again. " GRAND LAHOU , NEAR ABIDJAN (JUNE 11) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WOMAN COOKING (SOUNDBITE ) (French) MARIE EBESSE, MARKET TRADER SAYING: "The sea is sweeping us away, it s not as if it's incoming, it's here. So we are crying out for help. It's as if someone who is in the water, and drowning, waiting to be rescued and crying out fo help. People need to come to our rescue. But the water is here, but we don t know what we are going to do and who will come to our rescue. " VARIOUS MORE OF BUILDINGS NEAR SEA (4 SHOTS) WIDE OF LAHOU VILLAGE
- Embargoed: 30th June 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Weather
- Reuters ID: LVA8KG4YIQIESZ631J93KN5XHEHP
- Story Text: When the ocean swallowed up their homes, it also divided the people of this sleepy Ivorian fishing village -- half of them moved inland, the other half stayed to brace the waves.
Picking through the decaying, algae-caked shell of a concrete house that was ruined years ago by the advancing Atlantic, fisherman Jack Baueur said he had no regrets.
"It's hard to to leave your land, where you were born, and go to a new place and to start your life again, that's where the real problem is. It's hard to leave your life behind because here, the communities leave off from fishing and when you then go to a place there s no sea , it becomes a problem," he said.
Climate negotiators from around the world were winding up talks in Bonn, Germany, on Friday (June 11), to try to thrash out a new U.N. treaty on global warming and CO2 emissions, after failing to reach a binding deal in Copenhagen last year.
But it may be 2011 before any a replacement for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol emerges, despite pleas from poorer nations worst effected by climate change -- such as the small island states which see rising sea levels as an existential threat.
Coastal West Africans powerless to influence the horse trading in Bonn want urgent help to adapt to higher seas.
"We used to have a beach that was 100 meters, and when people were standing on the balcony, you would see the beach and il was beautiful. They would come to take a dip in the sea which is good for for your health. But now, at least part of the beach has been wiped out , and we cannot rebuild it because we don t know. You need a lot of money to reconstruct but the minute you finish the reconstruction, the water will submerge again," said Vincent Aboya, a hotel promoter.
The U.N.'s climate change panel predicts global warming will raise the sea by 18 to 59 cm (7 and 24 inches) this century, submerging low lying parts of coastal Africa, especially the densely populated major cities of West Africa, although the rate is disputed between scientists.
Africa has 320 coastal cities and 56 million people living in coastal zones less than 10 metres above sea level.
"The sea is sweeping us away, it s not as if it's incoming, it's here. So we are crying out for help. It's as if someone who is in the water, and drowning, waiting to be rescued and crying out fo help. People need to come to our rescue. But the water is here, but we don t know what we are going to do and who will come to our rescue," said Grand Lahou market trader Marie Ebesse, who has already had to move four times.
But experts say the retreat of West Africa's coast is exacerbated by poor land management on the coast and badly planned buildings -- some think these are the lead cause.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is faced by West Africa's mega-city of Lagos in Nigeria, where some 15 million people live on islands, along beaches and on the edge of lagoons.
The Lagos government has tried to reinforce sand banks that separate the mouth of the main lagoon from the Atlantic. They have also built new canals, dredged existing ones and fixed drains to ease flooding.
But analysts say poor urban planning in West Africa has left a huge amount of coastal property vulnerable -- sea walls meant to prevent erosion worsen it, as the waves crash on them, sucking the sand from all around them.
For many, there may be no choice but to move. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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