Responsiveness of Ada Sea Defence Project to salt water intrusion associated with sea level rise
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Responsiveness of Ada Sea Defence Project to salt water intrusion associated with sea level rise Kenneth O. Mensah & John FitzGibbon
Received: 3 January 2012 / Revised: 12 September 2012 / Accepted: 17 September 2012 / Published online: 2 October 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012
Abstract The Ada peninsular in Ghana has suffered rapid coastal erosion and inundation for over half a century, accompanied by loss of property and livelihoods, economic stagnation and salt water intrusion. Government intervened to respond to these threats by implementing a sea defence project. A preliminary assessment indicates the project will deal with some urgent needs of property loss reduction and invigorate livelihood and economic opportunities. However, it will have minimal beneficial impacts on groundwater salinization, and may actually intensify salinity of surface water in the Volta River and adjoining water points by shifting salinity intrusion further upstream to affect hitherto salinity-free areas. The spatial reach of the salinity shift is uncertain. The potential for further sea level rise will aggravate and accentuate the region’s water scarcity dilemma if a coherent water management strategy is not sort sooner. The project demonstrates the limitations of employing static, narrow objectively designed sea defence project as a response to coastal erosion and inundation, because it lacks the capacity to deal with dynamism, complexity and multi-dimensional impacts associated with climate change related sea level rise. Keywords Coastal inundation . Salt water intrusion . Climate change . Sea level rise . Sea defence . Ghana
Introduction Historically, several factors lead to salinity levels in water resources, including over-exploitation of groundwater and K. O. Mensah (*) : J. FitzGibbon Rural Studies, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada e-mail: [email protected] J. FitzGibbon e-mail: [email protected]
sea level rise (SLR). Studies on the relationship between SLR and salt intrusion tend to focus on groundwater (Melloul and Collin 2006; Gornitz 2000). Therefore, there is the need to understand salt intrusion in surface water which increasing SLR is likely to intensify. For most coastal areas SLR and storm surges are important climate change concerns (Kebede et al. 2010). However, most developing countries are unprepared for their impacts, especially regarding water resources and supply systems (McGranahan et al. 2007; Nicholls et al. 2007). The result is the frequent adoption of ad hoc maladapted responses to these threats. The Ada area in the Dangme East District (DEDA) of Ghana has been highly susceptible to frequent coastal inundation with destructive effects on life, livelihoods and property. Access to potable water supply remains one of DEDA’s developmental challenges with about 57 % of residents lacking access to potable water (DEDA 2006). Among the causes of poor water supply is high salinity in coastal areas. Climate change
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