| dc.description.abstract | The coastal region of East Africa and the
Western Indian Ocean encompasses the coastlines
of four mainland countries extending from
Somalia in the Horn of Africa through Kenya and
Tanzania to Mozambique in the south, as well as
five island nations, including the Seychelles,' the
Comoros, the Mauritius, Reunion and Madagascar
(Fig. 1). Together, these countries have 12,000
kilornctr cs of coastline and a rapidty growing
population of about 55 million (UNEP, 1988,
1989; Granlund, 1994). The coastline of East
Africa is an area of great physical beauty, rich in
living resources. Palm-fringed beaches of white
coral sand lead down to tranquil lagoons, enclosed
by spectacular coral reefs with their wealth of
eolourful fish, shells and coral. The coastline has
vast Mangrove forests, high cliffs, wide stretches
of sand dunes and numerous offshore and oceanic
islands (UNEP, 1989).
Along the shorelines of East Africa and the Island
states of the Western Indian Ocean, however:
coastal change is a common problem damaging or
threatening tourism and communication
infrastructure. Coastal change as it occurs in the'
region, is usually caused by natural changes in the
prevailing condition of sedimentation along the
shore, or as a result of human interference with
coastal sedimentation systems. The usual causes
of coastal change in the region include coastal
erosion, sediment accretion and coastal
reclamation. The latter is commonly carried out in
the Island States where land is at a premium. This
usually involves filling of wetlands and other,
lowlands to create new land area for construction.
In the Seychelles, for example, this .method was
used to reclaim large areas where the airport and
Port Victoria are built (Odada, 1993).
In many countries of the region, the rate of coastal erosion, or in the case of Malindi in
Kenya, of sediment accretion and the resulting
environmental degradation and economic loss in on such a scale alarming. | en |
