The Land/Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone of West and Central Africa (Estuaries of the World)

Although the main focus of this book is on the estuaries, its scope goes well beyond this particular coastal feature. Indeed, the estuary can only be considered as part of the life cycle of the entire river and the marine area it feeds into: an area particularly subject to human and natural pressures. The main estuaries and deltas of West and Central Africa region provide a variety of goods and services to its coastal population. The most important of them are related to critical fish habitat, wood and charcoal from mangroves, as well as space for agriculture, aquaculture, urban development, tourism and transport. Particular emphasis has been made in this book on mangroves that play a significant role in terms of flood control, groundwater replenishment, coastline stabilization and protection against storms. They also retain sediments and nutrients, purify water, and provide critical carbon storage. Such hydrological and ecological functions explain the focus on serving mangrove ecosystems and the nearby communities, which draw significant income from fishing, rice production, tourism, salt extraction and other activities such as harvesting honey and medicinal plants, hence the need for preserving mangrove ecosystems to ensure sustainability of the estuaries and deltas of West and Central Africa region. The book has a foreword by Mr. Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP who is stating that credible and up-to-date information is essential for the public at large but more specifically for scientists, researchers, managers, decision-makers all working together in order to safeguard, protect and sustainably manage estuaries, deltas and lagoons, and the coastal and ocean waters of Western and Central Africa Front Matter....Pages i-xxii The Western and Central Africa Land–Sea Interface: A Vulnerable, Threatened, and Important Coastal Zone Within a Changing Environment....Pages 1-8 West African Coastal Area: Challenges and Outlook....Pages 9-21 Morphological and Hydrodynamic Changes in the Lower Estuary of the Senegal River: Effects on the Environment of the Breach of the ‘Langue De Barbarie’ Sand Spit in 2003....Pages 23-40 Management of a Tropical River: Impacts on the Resilience of the Senegal River Estuary....Pages 41-48 Combined Uses of Supervised Classification and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index Techniques to Monitor Land Degradation in the Saloum Saline Estuary System....Pages 49-63 Studies and Transactions on Pollution Assessment of the Lagos Lagoon System, Nigeria....Pages 65-76 Estuarine and Ocean Circulation Dynamics in the Niger Delta, Nigeria: Implications for Oil Spill and Pollution Management....Pages 77-86 Morphological Characteristics of the Bonny and Cross River (Calabar) Estuaries in Nigeria: Implications for Navigation and Environmental Hazards....Pages 87-96 Status of Large Marine Flagship Faunal Diversity Within Cameroon Estuaries of Central African Coast....Pages 97-107 Morphology Analysis of Niger Delta Shoreline and Estuaries for Ecotourism Potential in Nigeria....Pages 109-122 Importance of Mangrove Litter Production in the Protection of Atlantic Coastal Forest of Cameroon and Ghana....Pages 123-137 Carbon Budget as a Tool for Assessing Mangrove Forests Degradation in the Western, Coastal Wetlands Complex (Ramsar Site 1017) of Southern Benin, West Africa....Pages 139-149 Mangrove Conditions as Indicator for Potential Payment for Ecosystem Services in Some Estuaries of Western Region of Ghana, West Africa....Pages 151-166 Plantation Agriculture as a Driver of Deforestation and Degradation of Central African Coastal Estuarine Forest Landscape of South-Western Cameroon....Pages 167-175 Assessment of Mangrove Carbon Stocks in Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of Congo (RoC) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Including their Potential for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)....Pages 177-189 Governing Through Networks: Working Toward a Sustainable Management of West Africa’s Coastal Mangrove Ecosystems....Pages 191-206 The Importance of Scientific Knowledge as Support to Protection, Conservation and Management of West and Central African Estuaries....Pages 207-208 Back Matter....Pages 209-210