Some Adaptations to Sea Level Rise in the Coastal City of Limbe , Cameroon

Abundant scientific evidence at our disposal clearly demonstrates that the world’s climates have been changing particularly since the advent of the Industrial Revolution. One of these evidences has been the rise in sea level. While inland cities might be confronted with other evidences and impacts of climate change, adapting to sea level rise remains a daunting task for most coastal cities especially those of developing countries. This paper therefore examines the extent of sea level rise in the Cameroonian coastal city of Limbe and the various indigenous adaptation strategies which are being put in place to combat this sea level rise. Using secondary data relating to sea level rise in tropical coastal areas and primary data relating to the various adaptation options to sea level rise, the study establishes that sea level rise will continue to be a problem to this location if adequate and lasting measures are not put in place. While the city has recorded successes especially in real estate development adaptations, other infrastructural facilities which largely support the tourism sector especially along the city’s coast line have remained unsustainable. In the wake of the growing sea level rise, perhaps, it is incumbent on the city’s authorities to have a holistic approach in the development and management of its coastal infrastructures in order to combat the sea level rise problem which has become a cruel reality in this active tectonic and mobile region of Cameroon.


Introduction
The recognition of the global warming process and the resulting sea level rise is a well established phenomenon in many coastal areas today.In the wake of the unpleasant effects of sea level rise, it is necessary for man to put in place certain adaptation strategies which can help to mitigate sea level rise.Even though the coast of Limbe (Figure 1) consists dominantly of basaltic rocks, the impact of wave action is significant on the rocky promontories that project into the Atlantic Ocean.The Limbe Coastal Lowlands are small and these are the areas that carry a large chunk of the population which is likely to be more vulnerable in the event of sea level rise.A classical type area of a transient coastline is the Limbe Down Beach Coastal zone.Ever since the Red Cross building was washed into the sea during the 2001 flood and landslide episode in Limbe, it was clear that the reclamation and infilling which we erroneously regarded as coastal stabilisation adaptations were futile.The protective masonry walls which were built with stones and cement without concrete pillars proved ineffective because once the waves broke through an area, they gnawed into the weak in-filled materials through selective abrasion leading to a systematic collapse of portions of the coastline.As if this experience is not enough, new budgets are voted for the same poor coastal rehabilitation process.
Occasional and exceptional high tides push along the bays and estuaries far inland particularly into Motowo or Crab Quarter wetlands.At the same time, there has been a systematic colonisation of these and other proximal coastal wetlands.So the expanding settlements which have been encroaching into the Motowo coastal wetlands are increasingly at risk with the increasing tendency of sea level rise.Several seaside settlements along the West Coast area of Limbe stand at risk of coastal inundation because of their exposure to the open ocean where no  We should undertakin process.
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Policy
While Recently, within the coastal region of Limbe, some islanders from the remote Bota Island which has now been very seriously eaten up by wave action arising from the rising sea level have now been resettled on the mainland by the state because of the frightening threats of the rising sea level in what has been christened the Bota Land New Layout.In deed, the rise in the sea level of oceanic waters is much more intense than we have believed it to be in recent history.

Coastal Buffers
Good coastal buffer zones should be created through government policy.Such buffer zones could pass for resting coastal grounds and campsites and recreational grounds which could be evacuated whenever danger from sea level rise is evident.Coastal parks could serve as natural buffers to sea level rise as well as modify the harsh urban climates.With the greenery of such coastal buffers, it helps to add to the aesthetic value of the coastline, and above all, it muffles the effects of the harsh and monotonous urban environment.There is also a need for reclamation.But where these reclamations are made, there should be a proper reclamation process which must be sustainable.Perhaps in recognition of the fact that we cannot fight nature successfully, the coastal municipal authorities must enforce legislation which favour proper reclamation along the coastal wetlands without which they should pass for coastal parks as there is no need for us to experience the same scenario of coastal destruction whenever there are slight weather coastal anomalies.The haphazard reclamation which seems to be a widespread practice only goes to aggravate man's pain and infrastructural destruction during recurrent flood events and probable sea level rise.

Resettlement
In Cameroon, man is attached to his land of birth.But given the realities of the impacts of the magnitude of sea level rise today, it is, perhaps, time for us to part with the doctrinal philosophy that we must live and die in the land of our birth as our seaside settlement locations progressively come under threat from the rising sea water.We are obliged to quit our cherished home; otherwise we should stand up and fight against the rising sea level through the practice of proper reclamation.The alternative, however, is to stay and become nature's environmental refugees when sea level rise and flood magnitudes destitute us from our coastal environments.

Conclusion
In the midst of growing environmental problems which have been predicated on sea level rise, the need for efficient mitigation measures for the purpose of coastal stabilisation will remain a major preoccupation of the municipal authorities of coastal cities.While we recognise the fact that these proactive measures are not given much premium in many developing countries, it is, however, the best way forward against the threatening impasse of sea level rise.