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Ocean& CoastalManagement,Vol.37, No. 1, pp.

63-83, 1997
© 1998Elsevier Science Limited. All fights reserved
Printed in Northern Ireland
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ELSEVIER

Vulnerability of coastal resources to climate changes in


Mozambique: a call for integrated coastal zone management

D a v i d C h e m a n e , a* Helena M o t t a b & M u s s a A c h i m o c
aINAHINA, National Institute of Hydrography and Navigation, Av. Karl-Marx 153, C. Postal
2089, Maputo, Mozambique
bMICOA, Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs, Av. Acordos de Lusaka
2115, C. Postal 2020, Maputo, Mozambique
CDepartment of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, Eduardo Mondlane University, C. Postal 257,
Maputo, Mozambique

ABSTRACT

The Earth is affected by the emission of different gases which are largely
generated by human activities. The "blanket" these gases form around the
planet is likely to affect the climate balance. The resulting warmth could
cause partial melting of the polar ice-caps, as well as the thermal expansion
of the sea water, with the consequence of harmful degrees of sea-level rise. I f
global warming becomes a reality, with the consequential sea-level rise
Africa's numerous islands and all its low-lying coastal areas, which include
large areas of Mozambique, would be severely affected. This paper describes
how the projected sea-level rise would affect a particular area in Mozam-
bique, which is just one of the many vulnerable areas. The article also focuses
on the broader framework for integrated coastal zone management in
Mozambique and its enormous challenges, that aims to accommodate not
only the current problems the coastal zone is facing, but also those resulting
from the projected accelerated sea level rise. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.
All rights reserved.

1. I N T R O D U C T I O N

The coast of Mozambique is not only one of the most valuable natural assets
of the country but also its most vulnerable front. Coastal resources in the form
of fisheries, agriculture, tourism and forest have the potential to contribute
significantly to the national income as well as of providing social and eco-
nomic benefits to the population that lives in this area.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: david@inahina.uem.mz


63
64 D. Chemane et al.

Mozambique is situated on the eastern coast of Southern Africa (Fig. 1),


between 10o27' S and 26o52 ' S latitude and 30°12 ' E and 40o51 ' E longitude.
Although one of the poorest countries in the world, Mozambique possesses
rich land, marine and mineral resources. Almost 70% of the country is covered
by savanna and secondary forests. Approximately 45% of the territory has
potential for agriculture. Nine major river systems cross the country. Mozam-
bique's coastline, which stretches for 2700 km, is the third longest in Africa. There
are extensive wetland systems along the coast, and coral offshore reefs in the
north of the country as well as in the south. The coastal zone is also characterized
by large estuaries, beautiful beaches and important banks for fisheries.
The current population of Mozambique is estimated at more than 16.5 mil-
lion, and expected to grow at an annual rate of 3%. About 40% of the
population now live in coastal districts, which represents less than 23 % of the
total area, resulting in higher population density than elsewhere.
Most of the cities of Mozambique are also located on the coast. Sewage is
not treated but discharged directly into the sea. Industrial and agricultural
residues are also polluting the sea through river effluent. The ports do not
have any device for oil spill and tank cleaning. Moreover, the Mozambique
Channel is the route of large oil tankers and there is no control for tank
cleaning nor a contingency plan for oil spills.

2. E N V I R O N M E N T A L PROBLEMS AND PRIORITIES IN THE


COASTAL AREAS

2.1. Coastal physical features

The coastal zone from Ponta do Ouro in the south to latitude 16° S, immedi-
ately north of Angoche, is composed of unconsolidated Quaternary to Recent
sediments, mostly sand dunes and sandy plains, but interspersed with heavier
textured soils (alluviums) at the larger river mouths. In the northern part,
around latitude 16° S, including Macambo, Nacala and Memba bay areas,
Tertiary basalt occurs. From Angoche northwards, heavily faulted Cretaceous
to Tertiary sediments line the coast.
The morphology of the coastal area is characterized into low lands, rising
landwards above 200 m between 15 and 140 km from the shore. The coastline
is characterized by a strip of beaches, recent dunes and inland lagoons in the
south; by mangroves, swampy depressions and series of low beach ridges in
the centre and mangroves, small dunes alternating with cliffs in the north. 1
The existing alluvial valleys have fertile clay soils and a steppe-like vegeta-
tion. There are predominantly extensive plains and inland dunes with poor
Integrated coastal zone management 65

MOClMIIO& DJ.
-Ik RAIA

~'k/ LIC~IHQA " O ~ ......


/¢ I -" ~ r&==.

+
+- 4- ~ TEl
"Y'" Jr ;~

,~
~¢X~

AY • ./-..
.....
""

j,,, NAMPULA
(.9
1~j "'''~ "'oak t'.

MOCAMIIIQUE

• .~ PE|AN[

o~:- ~
"*~
" °j ~, , ¢.lxot
. . . . . . . . .

• AVVA SURVEYED
8EtRA
~ t z COASTLINE

Q 4, 0 t
IAZARUTO
.lr

• .-I

~v
O
~t

-- IN,A uaANir ~'

lu
~* +
• [ :
MAPUTO 0 ~..~00 KU

~,,1. ~.[ t)=.


,_
A.r

Fig. 1. Map of Mozambique showing the surveyed coastline•


66 D. Chemane et al.

sandy soils and savanna vegetation. Three hydrogeological provinces can be


identified as follows:
(1) a series of dunes developed along the whole coast south of Save river,
on which the porous eolian sands form a regional phreatic aquifer with
fresh ground water. The permeability decreases from the coast land-
wards, as a consequence of an increase in clay content.
(2) the alluvial valleys developed along the main rivers may contain
productive stratified good-quality aquifer.
(3) In the volcanic terrains, primary and secondary fractures are the most
important water-bearing features in the rocks.
The climate in the region north of the Zambezi river is under the influence
of the equatorial low-pressure zone with a NE monsoon in the warm season.
The climate south of Zambezi river is influenced by subtropical anti-cyclonic
zone. To the North of Sofala along the Zambezi river lay a transitional zone
with high rainfall figures.
The rainfall is mainly restricted to the warm season from November to April.
According to the classification of K'dppen, the northern (Cabo Delgado, Niassa,
Nampula and Zambezia) coastal region have a tropical rain savanna climate
(BWw), whereas the upland areas of the interior have a humid climate (CW).
In the lowlands, temperature increases northward and inland. The average
annual temperatures is 23°C along the southern coast, and 26°C along the
northern coast.

2.2. Marine ecosystems

A warm current meanders in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mozambique.
The surface temperature of the sea varies between 25 and 29°C and its fauna
and flora are typical of the warm water. Coral reefs exist along the Mozambique
coast specially in Bazaruto, Nacala and Pemba, the Mozambique Island and
Nacala areas, and others are located further south. Mozambique protects
some coral reefs by law, for example in the Inhaca Island; however, in the
north, where the majority occur, no legislation has been made to protect them.
Various species of turtles breed along the coast and on islands in the
Mozambique Channel and they are also protected by law; however its en-
forcement is defective.
The territorial offshore waters extend for about 100000 sq. km, with the
potential for commercial fisheries estimated at about 391000 t.2s representing
the most important resource, and distributed as follows:
• crustaceans (shallow- and deep-water shrimp, lobster and crabs) accounting
for about 41 000 t,
Integrated coastal zone management 67

• demersal and pelagic fishes accounting for about 325 000 t,


• mollusc and seaweeds, accounting for about 5500 t.

Some of the resources in this ecological zone are exploited at their maximum
capacity as is the case of shallow-water shrimp.
In Mozambique, the total mangrove coverage has been estimated at
500 000 ha, as a result of the many rivers that drain into the coast. The most
recent study to determine the rate of deforestation of the mangrove vegetation
in Mozambique shows that the average rate of mangrove depletion in the last
18 years is about 4%. However, it has reached levels of up to 15.2% in
Maputo Province and 4.9% in Sofala Province, while in Gaza and Cabo
Delgado Provinces is nil. 3
The spill of more than 16 000 t of heavy fuel-oil from the Katina P tanker in
1992 off the coast of Mozambique put many marine ecosystems and the
mangrove forests in serious danger. The resulting impacts are still being
monitored.
There are no systematic studies about the sources, and levels of pollutants
in marine waters. What is known however is that the main sources are
land-based, especially from coastal cities, agriculture, mining and port activ-
ities. What should be noted here is that most cities in Mozambique are located
on the coast and they do not have any kind of sewage and effluent treatment
before discharge into the sea.
Improper land husbandry and subsequent soil erosion are degrading some
estuaries by causing excessive deposition of silt, which smother plants and
reduces their accessibility to fish and other marine animals. In addition,
sewage and industrial-waste dumping have played a major role in the degra-
dation of estuaries, e.g. the Espirito Santo estuary (Maputo). Measures aimed
at protecting some estuaries (e.g. 15 000 ha of Zambezi delta, 20 000 ha in the
Pomene reserve and 70 000 ha of Espirito Santo estuary) have been introduc-
ed and will be extended to the remaining.
Because of the relatively easy accessibility using artisanal fishing methods,
estuaries are very important in providing livelihood for local communities for
their subsistence and commerce. On the other hand, there is little exploitation
of meso-pelagic resources, because of the lack of proper fishing equipment and
capital. 4

2.3. Coastal mineral resources

The delta of the Zambezi River accumulates large amounts of heavy-minerals


deposits composed mainly of ilmenite, rutile and zircon; similar deposits are
found around other major Mozambican rivers, such as Limpopo, Save,
68 D. Chemane et al.

Ligonha, Lurio and Rovuma. Along the Mozambican coast, accumulations of


heavy minerals are also found either on the beach or below sand dunes. The
most promising deposits are those located between Quelimane and Quionga
that are being currently exploited.

2.4. Coastal erosion

Coastline changes have been observed over the years and may also result from
local human action, which tends to interfere with natural sedimentation
processes or other processes which occur at the interface between the ocean
and land. Examples of such activities include removal of coastal natural
vegetation such as mangroves, dune vegetation, destruction of offshore bar-
riers, e.g. coral reefs, tourism, extracting economic minerals from dark sands,
or sand mining for constructions.
No detailed work in sediment dynamics and shoreline changes is yet
available.

3. VULNERABILITY OF COASTAL RESOURCES TO


CLIMATE CHANGES

3.1. Reasons for a vulnerability analysis

Mozambique signed the Framework Convention on Climate Change in 12


June 1992 and ratified it in 25 August 1995. The objective of this Convention is
to regulate levels of greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere, so as to
avoid the occurrence of climate change at levels that would harm economic
development, or would impede food production activities. 5
The planet is affected by the emission of different gases (carbon dioxide,
clorofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide) which are largely generated by
human activities. The resulting warmth could cause melting of the polar
ice-caps, as well as the thermal expansion of the sea water, with the conse-
quence of harmful degrees of sea-level rise.
If global warming becomes a reality, with the consequential sea-level rise
Africa's numerous islands and all its low-lying coastal areas, including large
areas of Mozambique would be severely affected.
Sea-level rise is expected to accompany the global warming due to the
so-called green house gases and hence may be viewed as an indicator of the
expected consequential global changes. The rates of future sea-level rise are
comparable to those of the early holocene. The important difference however
is that during the early holocene the complete coastal system was mobile,
Integrated coastal zone management 69

being freely able to retreat landward, in response to the rising sea. At present,
however, coastal constructions (dykes, walls, groynes, etc.) at the mainland
block landward migration of coastal systems.
Sea level today is generally inferred from sea-level data of sufficient length.
Mozambique sea-level records are full of gaps and consequently inadequate
for sea-level trend estimates. However, records from neighbouring regions,
like South Africa, show trends comparable to the global estimates. Therefore,
predictions of future sea-level rise around southern Africa may be adopted
from globally modelled studies. 6 It is generally recognized that sea-level rise
will further exacerbate already existing problems in coastal areas rather than
create new ones. In many parts of the world, human activities in the coastal
areas have increased natural subsidence causing a faster sea-level rise than the
projected acceleration due to global warming. Therefore, coastal states must
seek solutions for their current problems which accommodate the potential
impacts of future sea-level rise.
In Mozambique about 40% of the population live and work in coastal
districts. 7 Domestic and international tourism is now the fastest growing
industry, employing thousands of people.
The increasing pressure on coastal resources and any changes in sea-level
are likely to have far reaching socio-economic and environmental conse-
quences. Thus, the current environmental legislation must incorporate
measures to avoid endangering future populations and environments in the
event of sea-level rise. For this purpose it is necessary to identify, classify and
map vulnerable areas. Clearly, this is not an easy task because of the lack of
physical, demographic and economic data. In particular, thematic and appro-
priate topographic maps are not available.
Given the available resources and time frame for the proposed vulnerability
assessment the AVVA (Aerial Videotape Assisted Vulnerability Analysis) s
method was applied as it is rapid and the physical data obtained are satisfac-
tory for a first-order vulnerability analysis, i.e. high risk areas can be identified
and mapped. The most vulnerable area, the city of Beira was selected for
a more detailed study.

3.2. The coastal area versus sea-level rise

From the point of view of the impacts to sea-level rise the coast of Mozam-
bique can be subdivided into three regions as follows:
• Region of bays: less vulnerable.
• Region of rivers: high risk (inundation & erosion).
• Region of lagoons: moderate (erosion).
70 D. Chemane et al.

The region of bays is about 670 km long and lies between the mouth of river
Rovuma to Mozambique island. The coast consists mainly of sedimentary
bedrocks (calcarenites, limestones, sandstones) and coral reefs and therefore is
stable.
The region of rivers lies between Mozambique island and the Bazaruto
island and is about 900 km long. This region is characterized by rivers which
drain into the sea through estuarine systems and deltas, where some major
and secondary harbours are located. The coastline in this region is very
unstable due to deposition of materials brought by rivers and erosion of the
river edges by strong currents towards the mouth. The rivers meander into the
sea through unstable bars and change their course with time, eroding or
depositing material to modify the coastline shape. There are villages where the
coastline has retreated or advanced as much as up to 1 m per year in the last
40 years, e.g. Chinde (Zambezi delta). Erosion has been identified as a serious
problem in some regions, including particularly the city of Beira where many
property and infrastructures (e.g. roads) have been already lost.
The region of lagoons extends from Bazaruto island to Ponta de Ouro and
is characterized by densely vegetated dunes. Some major towns, including the
capital, and many beautiful holiday resorts are located there. In many coastal
cities roads built along the shore are restricting the ability of the shore to shift
and adjust under the action of strong winds and waves, giving rise to an
unbalanced displacement and distribution of sand. Both erosion and ac-
cretion occur mainly as a consequence of the existing man-made structures.
In the south, the coastal zone as a whole is characterized by cemented
interior dunes of pleistocene age and lagoonal/marsh zone enclosed by subre-
cent to recent exterior dunes; recent large and small dunes are restricted to
a narrow N - S belt from Ponta de Ouro through the eastern coast of Inhaca
and Portuguese Islands up to the north.
Preservation of these dunes was attained during high sea-level stand and
the consequent infiltration and precipitation of carbonates from marine
waters resulting in the formation of beach rock that forms the ridges at several
places in the south (e.g. Inhaca island). Erosion is moderate and is mostly
restricted to the main headlands due to the wave action and longshore
currents.

3.3. Description of the high risk area

Beira is a low lying harbour town of strategic importance for Mozambique


and for the hinterland. It is the nearest natural port for Malawi, Zambia and
Zimbabwe and other landlocked countries in southern Africa. The design of
the port was upgraded in the 1980s in order to receive larger vessels up to
Integrated coastal zone management 71

around 60000 t and can handle millions of tons of cargo per year, from
containers, bulk and crude oil.
Around the harbour, a city has developed to become the second largest city
of Mozambique and is home for more than 200 000 people according to 1980
census. The current population is thought to be far in excess of this figure.
Most of the town is below high water level and several channels have been
built to prevent flooding and reduce the effect of fast rising water during floods
on the fragile ridge protection.
Beira is located at centre-east of Mozambique at the mouth of Pungu6 river,
which discharges huge amount of sediments into the forelying bay. It is a flat
physiographic unit consisting of old beach ridges, cuspate spit, marshes,
wetland and storm ridge (Fig. 2).
The bay has semi-diurnal tides with a daily inequality of 0.4 m. The mean
spring and mean neap tidal range amounts to 5.7 and 1.7 m, respectively. The
currents are very strong reaching up to 5 knots in the dredged channel.
Heavy rainfall occurs from December to March and the average annual
rainfall amounts to 1200-1500 mm. The dominant wind direction is from
southeast. From October to February there is a chance for southerly and
easterly winds.

3.4. Geomorphology

Beira has mostly been built on the old beach ridges and the old spit, with vast
areas that appear to be pounded by the ridges, marshes and wetland. Storm
ridges occur locally, e.g. at Praia Nova. Evidence of these physiographic
features, with the exception of storm deposits, were not distinctive in the field,
because of urban development. However, the cuspate spit is still readily
discernible on aerial photographs of 1959. Small fragments of single ridges
appear randomly surrounded by marshes. The marshes, with a network of
older small tidal streams draining the surface, and sometimes dashed by
vegetation are tentatively interpreted as a filled bay which was then vegetated
by mangroves. Today this area is separated from the modern bay by a narrow
beach ridge and is often flooded during spring tides.
The old sand spit is extended into the old filled bay from Ponta Gea
headland, known as Grande Hotel. The cuspate shape of the spit may be
partly due to the overwash by wave action and appears also to be related to
the outgoing tidal currents from the filled bay. The abandonment of the old
beach and the building up of a new beach may have resulted from a slight
lowering of sea level. Indeed, between 7000 and 4000 years BP the sea level
was about 2.4 m above the present level. 9 Dismembered ridges rising out from
the modern coastal marshes suggest subsidence of the land, that is partly
72 D. Chemane et al.

BEACH RIDGES

DUNE

--QLD SAND SPIT

- / ~OLD FILLED BAY

STORM RIDGE

BEIRA
1958-1960
1/50 O0 0
LEGEND

I~ BLUE-Stream network
1 BROWNISH ORANGE-Beach ridges
GREEN-Flooded area
r~l NON COLOR-MorIh-F wet lend

Fig. 2. Geomorphology of Beira.


Integrated coastal zone management 73

tectonic driven by the Chire-Urema-Pungu6 graben and partly by sediment


loading plus seasonal floods.
The combined effect of wave and storm has probably contributed to the
building up of the storm deposit at Praia Nova. This ridge is transected by
a large tidal channel that connects the backridge muddy swamp with the bay.
There are clues that storm interfered in the building up of the storm ridge at
Praia Nova. It consists of non-cohesive shelly sand followed by gravelly sand
(quartz pebbles, shell debris and mud pebbles); this grades upwards into
medium to fine quartz sand, displaying planar lamination marked by grain
size variation. The fining upward trend reflects the transition from storm
conditions to the normal wave climate where, however, there is a prevalence of
the storm conditions.
The old filled bay is inferred from an exposed vertical section further north
towards Ponta Gea where the outcrops show an alternation between fine or
muddy sand and organic-rich dark mud. These alternation appears quite
rhythmic and resembles the processes that are still occurring in the modern
bay. These processes are better understood by looking at the daily sediment
accumulation in the intertidal fiat close to Praia Nova. There are pulses of
sand that is deposited during flood tide and capped by soft organic rich mud
that is deposited during slack water stage and its following ebb tide. The
whole section is a kind of a tidal couplet of flood/ebb tidal cycles.
In the eastern side the coast is subject to the direct attack by waves which
cause accretion of the beach, building up of a sand plain that later becomes the
emergent modern beach ridge that lies out of the intertidal level. The excess of
sand from the beach ridge is blown inland. Where the coast is fenced by
barriers, either natural or artificial, the wind promotes further vertical ac-
cretion and has resulted in the eolian formation of dunes. These geomorphic
features are common along the eastern side of Beira and all along the coast on
either side of the town up to Chinde and down to the Save river mouth.

3.5. Sea-level rise scenarios and related coastal erosion

The beach from Macuti Lighthouse to Ponta Gea headland shows features of
an eroding beach with a southward littoral drift. The drifting trend was
inferred from bedform patterns in the runnels and on the top of the sand ridges
and from the vertical accretion of sediments close to the groynes. Erosion is
severe at Ponta Gea headland area, known as Grande Hotel (Fig. 3).
Increased coastal erosion as a result of future sea-level rise is modelled using
the Brunn rule (see Table 1, Fig. 4): 1°
SL
R
(h + B)
74 D. Chemane et al.

Fig. 3. Detailed view of the Grande Hotel area in the Ponta Gea headland. Increased erosion
has caused many infrastructures to collapse.

TABLE 1
Beach erosion predicted by the Brunn rule

Profile Scenarios of sea level rise

0.2m 0.5m lm

Erosion (in m)

P1 179 440 880


P2 166 415 830
P3 166 415 830
P4 178 446 892
P5 167 417 834
P6 183 457 914
P7 166 415 830
P8 167 418 836
P9 172 430 860

For S, scenarios of 0.2, 0.5 and 1 m increase in sea-level are assumed, the likely
response to global warming by 2025, 2080 and 2100, respectively. 11 The berm
height B is taken from the beach profiles (Fig. 5) and is between 1 and 4 m. The
maximum depth of closure h is taken as 18 and the distance to this depth, the
active profile width, is taken from the hydrographic chart (about 20 km).
Integrated coastal zone management 75

Fig. 4. Indiscriminate cutting of mangrove in intertidal flats is a common practice. The mud
pebbles and balls left behind on the surface are indicative of strong erosion.

3.6. Discussion of impacts to sea-level rise

In Beira, and several kilometres on either side along the coastal strip, the
prominent ridges appear to be not connected to each other. These ridges are
separated by low relief plains that extend backridge, with some of them
transected by several inlets. Taking into consideration this geomorphological
features the impacts of sea level rise for the different future scenarios men-
tioned above are discussed as follows.
Scenario 1: sea-level rise in 0.2 m by the year 2025. The coastal impacts in
response to this amount of sea-level rise will not differ from those observed
during the field survey, which coincided with the maximal predicted tidal
range of 7 m. The sea water spills over the sea wall onto the road and flow
through the fissures of the wall protecting the port pavement and this will be
more frequent in the future. The sea water will inundate the low relief marshes
which will openly connect to the sea following erosion of the existing beach
ridge beyond the sea wall. Waterlogging problems already exist and they are
expected to increase as well as the associated engineering problems, following
the gradual elevation of water tables.
Scenario 2: sea-level rise in 0.5 m by the year 2080. In addition to the above,
the remaining coastal ridges will be overwashed by waves and the low relief
76 ,9, Chemane et al,

~,~_ ~ \ o

qz~
0

j,. I ¢}

I-
oc
0
o_

rr
u.J
Integrated coastal zone management 77

plains inundated by sea water. Part of the town, including the port and
probably the airport, will be inundated at high tides during spring. Many
parts of the city already faces problems related to domestic waste disposal.
The waste is not removed but buried in the vicinity of the houses. So
environmental problems are expected to increase along with related health
problems.

Scenario 3: sea-level rise in 1 m by the year 2100. The same as for scenario
2 but more extensive. As a consequence, a kind of relief induced barrier islands
could be formed. It is estimated that 40% or around 42.5 km z of the total area
of the city will be permanently inundated. The navigation channel is likely to
be affected following the changes in water circulation and sediment distribu-
tion, with the groyne system submersed and no longer effective in preventing
the drifting of sediments into the navigation lane. While losing land by itself
could be accomodated by allowing for landward migration, the cost of losing
the existing infrastructure such as the airport and the port is simply huge and
the country's already fragile economy cannot afford it. If mitigation measures
are not taken timely and the port activities are suspended the economy of the
region will probably collapse as the port is the main driving force. More than
200000 people will be directly affected. In addition, not only the country's
economy but also of some neighbouring countries will be affected too. They
currently use the port for the export and import of commodities and crude.
The remaining options imply higher transportation costs which will inevitably
trigger a rise in prices, thus affecting even more people.

4. ICZM IN M O Z A M B I Q U E

4.1. Present status of institutional and legal framework in coastal areas

As already stated, Mozambique's coastal strip is characterized by multiple


and conflicting human activities, such as rural and urban settlements, agricul-
ture, forest exploitation and fisheries. Tourism and transportation activities
are also playing a growing significant role.
On the other hand, the coastal areas are made of complex ecosystems of
great value as habitats of tremendous variety in biodiversity. The fragileness
and the ecological importance of some of these areas, together with their
economic value, have led the authorities to seek legal protection of some of
these areas. However, this effort has often been undermined by lack of
enforcement and their resulting unplanned occupation. Population pressure
lead to disorganized land use and the exploitation of natural resources far
above their carrying capacity. Consequently, negative processes such as soil
78 D. Chemane et al.

erosion, mangrove depletion and loss of biodiversity occur in an accelerated


fashion.
Presently, a number of institutions have sectoral competencies for coastal
management. But their mandates are either unclear, full of gaps, conflicting
and overlapping functions. These are, among others, the Ministry for the
Coordination of Environment Affairs (coastal/marine environment), the Min-
istry of Transports and Communications (coastal shipping), the Ministry of
Agriculture and Fisheries (fisheries, coastal parks and coastal agriculture), the
Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (industrial effluent and
tourism), the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (coastal construction),
the Cities and Local municipalities (multiple powers and responsibilities), etc.

4.2. The government initiatives: ICZM programme

In June 1994, the Government approved the National Environmental Man-


agement Programme (NEMP), which is the master plan for the environment
in Mozambique. It contains a national environment policy, environment
umbrella legislation, and environmental strategy. The NEMP is also a pro-
gramme of sectoral plans, containing projections for the medium and long
term, aiming to lead the country to sustainable socio-economic development.
The Ministry for the Coordination of Environment Affairs (MICOA) has
taken the lead for environmental management in Mozambique.12
The NEMP defines three priority areas of action: urban, rural and coastal
areas. As far as coastal areas are concerned, the NEMP establishes the
integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) as the correct approach. Specifi-
cally, the programme states that the coastal management will be based on
coordination between the relevant stakeholder (institutions and communities)
and on a programme which should be designed and accepted by them. The
main issues for this programme are (1) fisheries, (2) coastal and marine
ecosystems management, (3) coastal and marine protection, (4) marine parks
and (5) tourism. The Programme also defines, for each of these issues, the
strategy and the activities for short, medium and long terms. For instance, as
far as coastal and marine protection is concerned, one short-term activity is
the assessment of critical habitats and the development of protection measures
and contigency plans.
The department responsible for coastal area within MICOA is composed of
a team of professionals from different disciplines, the CZM Unit, and is
responsible for all the activities related to coastal area management, including
studies, planning, programme management and coordination. 13 This unit is
presently coordinating an interinstitutional technical committee gathering the
different institutions dealing with coastal zone (e.g. the maritime authority, the
Integrated coastal zone management 79

local administration, research institutions, tourism, the fishery Department,


etc).

4.2.1. Planning For I C Z M


Some general measures have already been adopted by the Mozambican
government to solve or mitigate the country's environmental problems,
among which coastal zone problems have a significant weight.
The creation of the Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs,
was the first major step undertaken in the direction of an integrated manage-
ment strategy for natural resources. In fact, the coordination role that this
institution plays stresses the adoption of the principle of a collective, par-
ticipatory and harmonized management process rather than a sectoral, iso-
lated and uncoordinated one. With the same objective, a multisectoral body
- the National Council for Sustainable Development - - will be created when
-

the Parliament enacts the Environmental Law with the aim to guarantee that
all the activities related to the management of natural resources are under-
taken in a correct and coordinated way by all the stakeholder, starting from
the planning and decision-making level. Institutional arrangements have not
yet been set up for coastal area management, but studies for that purpose have
already been initiated. The Environmental Law is the umbrella law for all
environment-related aspects in the country.
On the legal side, the major step is the expected ratification of the Environ-
mental Law by the Parliament, which constitutes the first attempt to intro-
duce a new concept of the environment and a new vision and strategy for its
management, both for the institutions' activities and for the public awareness
in general. Due to the broad and general nature of this law, specific regula-
tions must be produced to address specific issues and needs. While formula-
ting national environmental legislation the country has adopted and ratified,
in the last few years, important international environmental conventions, such
as the Biological Diversity, Climate Change conventions, the Basel and the
Bamako Conventions and the Convention on Desertification.
In order to guarantee coherent, uniform and harmonized practices, the
process of legislation production is also being undertaken by a multisectoral
group coordinated by MICOA.
The main constraints in relation to the issue of coastal zone management
have been pointed out, some priority measures are herein proposed, both to
solve institutional organization problems as well as the gaps in the legal
framework.

4.2.2. Programme of activities


4.2.2.1. Coastal Zone Management Centre of Xai-Xai. Within the scope of its
work, the CZM Unit should lead the coordination of activities in coastal
80 D. Chemane et al.

areas. Activities like training local decision makers (governors, local adminis-
trators, stakeholder and others) are among the tasks to be implemented for the
improvement in the utilization of coastal resources.
Research and monitoring capacities will also be installed. The current
knowledge about the situation of the coastal resources and their potential and
development is rather sectoral (Forestry Department dealing with mangroves
and reserves, Fisheries Research Institute with commercial fisheries, etc.).
In order to build the capacity for the activities of Training, Research and
Monitoring of the coast, a Coastal Zone Management Centre in Xai-Xai is
considered of paramount importance. Among others, the Centre will entail
activities like research, survey and data collection, technical assistance to local
governments, promotion and implementation of popular awareness cam-
paigns, carry out short-term training courses on natural resource manage-
ment, conduct environmental impact assessment of development activities
within the region, promote and implement experimental and demonstrative
activities in the field of coastal natural resource management and sustainable
development, etc. 14
At this stage, funding from DANIDA (Danish International Development
Agency) is already in place for an experimental phase of two years, starting in
January 1997. Offices and a guest house are being built, equipment for
research and information will be purchased and a minimum staff (manager,
house keeping staff) will be recruited. Funding has also been made available
for training and research. A feasibility study shall be completed at the end of
the two-year period, which will lead to the construction of a larger infrastruc-
ture. Funds from the European Union, U N E P and SIDA/SAREC (Swedish
International Development Agency) have been pledged and shall be available
at short term, and are intended to support development and good practices
pilot-projects, demonstration projects, research and training. The present
work was funded by the US Country Studies Programme.

4.2.2.2. Research. There is a need to study, at the micro-level, the complex


interfaces existing between the population aspects, the environmental aspects
and the development aspects in each region. This means that there is a need to
know, on the one hand, the ecological structure of a region and the existing
resources, and on the other, its carrying capacity and resulting consequences
of human activities.
Having all this in mind, research activities in the coastal area must be
developed, starting with the definition of priority areas of investigation. This
investigation will constitute the base for future action plans that MICOA
must promote.
Coastal research activities will be coordinated, in the short term, from the
Coastal Zone Management Centre in Xai-Xai. In the medium and long terms,
Integrated coastal zone management 81

the centre will project and install two more research units in the coast of
Mozambique (one in the Central region, and other in the North).

4.2.2.3. Coastal area planning in Mozambique. As referred to above, an


inter-sectoral working group was created and is led by MICOA. This group is
now in the process of collecting data to build up a coastal profile which will
lead to the process of coastal area planning.
Land-use planning came as the first step for the ICZM. In the land-use
planning, three different components should be taken into consideration,
namely (1) the geographic scope; (2) the current situation of coastal natural
resources and their potential use, including by the local communities; and (3)
the institutional framework and legislation for coastal management.
The process will include the zoning of coastal zone, based on ecological
sensitivity (wetland, sand dunes, pressurized ecosystems, vulnerability to cli-
mate changes, etc.) and the definition of priorities.
The planning shall address issues of social and economic development (e.g.
tourism, port and harbour industry, etc.), measures to protect threatened
areas and rehabilitation of those already degraded (erosion, deforestation, etc.)
At this point, and following a recommendation of the workshop on ICZM
in Mozambique, the first activity is in progress: with financial support of
N O R A D (Norad Agency for Development Cooperation) and IUCN, a macro-
diagnosis of the coast is being produced and is due by November 1997. The
output of this macrodiagnosis, apart from the comprehensive collection of the
existing data and the production of a data bank, will be to identify the
following: (1) existing gaps in the data sets and information; (2) priority areas
of action; and (3) scope of the coastal zone. After November, a second phase
will be initiated which shall lead to the actual zoning and planning for the
priority areas, whereby action plans and specific projects for each area will be
defined.

4.2.2.4. Pilot projects. A number of pilot projects should be prepared and


carried out, with the following objectives:

• To enhance the capacity of MICOA on environment management, with the


participation of local communities.
• To provide demonstration projects for the sustainable use of coastal re-
sources.
• To train and educate staff of M | C O A and line Ministries for coastal zone
management issues.
• To tackle situations in areas of conflicts and of advanced degradation
needing immediate actions.
82 D. Chemane et al.

Among the projects already being implemented, there are at least three
projects on coastal resources management by local communities, involving
funds from donors and local communities (one in the north, and two in the
south) worth together about 1.5 million dollars.
Other projects refer to the improvement of management practices on
coastal-urban areas (e.g. Mozambique island). Also, others were designed and
await in the pipeline for funding and they mainly address specific issues in
different parts of the coast, e.g. management of mangroves, rehabilitation of
coastal areas affected by erosion, as is the case of Beira and Nacala cities.

5. CONCLUSIONS

While it is recognized that the country will be severely affected as a whole by


an increased sea-level rise, adaptive or mitigation measures must take into
account specific factors related to each impacted region. Thus, a need was felt
to conduct case studies targeting in particular regions that have attracted
human settlements where, in most cases, there is an underlying economic and
social factor. In less developed areas it can be assumed that nature will effect
an adjustment to the rising of sea level. However, exception must be made for
regions adjacent to impacted regions as they may as well be affected, e.g. by
activities upland within a hydrographic basin or by coastal drift. This applies
for current as well as for future problems.
It is understood that rather than exploiting the coastal resources they must
be managed for sustainable development. The natural framework is the ICZM
being developed to help solving present problems as well as accommodating
those induced by climate change. For new development areas the precaution-
ary approach will be preferred. Regulatory measures and a set of guidelines
shall be developed that allows in particular a free migration of coastal
ecosystems. Adaptive measures are sought to mitigate the impacts of climate
change in developed coastal areas. But resources are limited and often other
priorities are on the way such as malnutritions, diseases, etc. However, it must
be appreciated that while problems like those faced by Beira may not appear
urgent at present, but once they are urgent every solution is just too late.

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Integrated coastal zone management 83

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