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JULY 10, 2019

New species of shark identified after unique
Waves of change: Nigeria's Lagos egg cases found in museum
5 HOURS AGO 0
battles Atlantic erosion
by Emmanuel Akinwotu Breakthrough research could bring stem cell
therapy to the masses
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Protein nanoparticle vaccine with

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The shore-hugging Alpha Beach road has disappeared under the waves and a… researchers
4 MINUTES AGO
Can Lagos hold back the waves?
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Sprawled around a lagoon, Nigeria's frenetic economic capital new avenues for drug discovery
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faces a threat from the Atlantic on its doorstep.
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caused by global warming but also from the impact of dredging
to provide sand for construction.
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causing the Atlantic to invade Africa's western coast by up to four

metres (13 feet) a year, badly hitting some economically vital Millions of US households may
areas. struggle to afford basic water
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Attempts have been made to defy the ocean—but critics say
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In particular, a high-end construction project called Eko Atlantic
has divided opinion.
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backing, the scheme has been billed as a Dubai for Africa—a
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Close-up map of Lagos, Nigeria, locating the Eko Atlantic construction project …

An economic downturn in recent years has stalled the mammoth

undertaking, but already millions of tonnes of sand have been
hauled from the ocean floor to create a manmade peninsula
jutting out into the Atlantic from the affluent Victoria Island.

Surrounding it is what the developers call the "Great Wall of

Lagos", a barrier of rocks and five-tonne concrete blocks
intended to run for 8.5 kilometres (more than five miles),
designed to withstand the worst storms the Atlantic can throw at
it.

While the barrier has still not reached full length, those
responsible say it has "saved" the business hub of Victoria Island
standing behind it from the ravages of the ocean.

"Today, Lagos is already seeing the benefits of the Great Wall,

once flooded roads are now passable and abandoned properties
have been reinvested," Eko Atlantic's website says.

'Washed away'

But while it is seen as a solution for some, the mammoth project

is described as a major problem for others.

Around 12 kilometres (eight miles) to the east, landowner Wasiu

Elegushi says the Eko Atlantic has caused devastating changes
to coastal currents, destroying his small middle-class
neighbourhood, Alpha Beach.

Eko Atlantic, pictured here in an aerial photograph, has been billed as a Dubai …

Since construction began in 2007, locals and researchers say

displaced currents have washed away more than 25 metres of
land from the shoreline.

"Before Eko, we had nature, palm trees and coconut trees,"

Elegushi told AFP.

"The water started to rise. Everything has been washed away."

The shore-hugging Alpha Beach road has disappeared under the

waves and apartment blocks built with prized ocean views just
10 years ago are now occupied only by squatters.

A barrier has now gone up to try to protect the area, but for many
residents it appears too late.

"The way the tides would react to the wall was clear to anyone
who understands this," said Tunji Adejumo, an ecologist at the
University of Lagos.

"It shows that the promoters had no consideration" for the rest of
the coast, he said.

Some homes have been completely burrowed in sand at Alpha Beach

Eko Atlantic did not respond to questions from AFP about the
impact of its construction.

Megacity, mega-problems

Experts say Eko Atlantic is simply the most prominent example

of the impact of large-scale land reclamation in Africa's largest
metropolis.

With more than 20 million residents—no one knows its exact size
—Lagos is also one of the world's fastest growing cities.

The city has long been vulnerable to flood surges, but

environmental safeguards are weak.

One unanticipated consequence of the city's headlong rush for

growth has been that parts of the seabed have become a
moonscape as dredgers have pillaged its sand to make
concrete.

An extensive impact study for the state government seen by AFP

shows that the once smooth ocean floor now has gigantic holes
up to eight metres deep, some of them perilously close to the
shore.

An economic downturn in recent years has stalled the mammoth undertaking, …

Experts say such craters can compromise the safety of coastline

properties, and some structures in poorer waterfront
communities are already collapsing.

Elsewhere, what were once shallow swamplands in Lekki, a

peninsula dividing the Lagos lagoon from open sea, were
reclaimed in the 1990s to become a middle-class residential
area.

Lekki is now home to hundreds of thousands of people, but the

former wetlands are progressively sinking and poor drainage is a
major source of flooding.

"Several communities (in the city) have already been swept

away. If nothing is done, Lagos will be submerged by 2050,"
Chief Ede Dafinone, president of Nigerian Conservation
Foundation has cautioned.

And in the oceanfront areas bearing the brunt, locals are already
counting the cost.

On Alpha Beach, people are gloomy.

"People have land here but don't even build on it; they're afraid,"
said Bobby Isowshe, who sells refreshments on the beach. "The
businesses don't really do well anymore."

© 2019 AFP

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