Keywords

Ghana; sea-level rise; biodiversity; coastal; ecosystem; erosion

Abstarct

Available evidence points to an eventual rise of sea level for coastal areas as a result of global warming. Sea-level rise would introduce or aggravate existing threats to the continued survival of the biodiversity of low-lying coastal areas. In Ghana and the coastal states of West Africa, vulnerable habitats include the strand zone, lagoons, wetlands, and intertidal sandy and rocky areas. Physical and biological parameters of several of these habitats would change substantially as a result of submersion and increased salinity regimes. This would adversely affect, for example, the habitats of water birds, nesting beaches of sea turtles, and the brackish-water dependent fauna and flora of the estuaries and lagoons. Species extirpation leading to local loss of genetic diversity is envisaged to affect fauna like ghost crabs (Ocypoda spp.) and the fiddler crab (Uca tangeri). Plants in this category include five species of true mangroves (Rhizophora racemosa, R. harrisonii, R. mangle, Avicennia germinans and Laguncularia racemosa) and their associates (Conocarpus erectus, Acrostichum aureum and the uncommon creeper, Phylloxerus vermicularis). Strategies that would mitigate or protect biodiversity of the coastal zone from the anticipated effects of rising sea level are advanced. The potential role of coastal infrastructures in biodiversity conservation is addressed.