DIAMNIADIO ISLAND, Senegal (AP) — The place where Fatou Faye's kitchen once stood is now outlined with short branches of mangroves, a small and perhaps futile attempt to prevent the sea from destroying the rest of her house. The rising sea levels pushing into the waters of Senegal's Saloum Delta threaten to carve the rest of her gray cement home from its foundation, leaving her and 30 other relatives homeless on low-lying Diamniadio Island. Faye and thousands of others on these tiny islands and villages in this part of West Africa are living on the frontline of climate change: Not only are water levels here now higher than they used to be, droughts and erratic rainfalls lead to floods that carve through the white-shell-lined alleyways, and increased salt levels are poisoning the fresh waters, land and agriculture. The loss of mangrove habitat — driven by nature and human actions — means coastal lines and fish breeding grounds are being erased. The islanders' way of life is fundamentally changing with the climate, and livelihoods based on fishing and agriculture are disappearing, leaving them with little income and fears of starvation. In 1987, strong northwest waves breached the Sangomar sandbar that protected the delta, speeding up the invasion of salt water from the Atlantic Ocean about two decades after a severe drought led to the loss of major mangrove habitat. Along with the construction of sea walls, local non-governmental organizations are working with the communities to set up sand barriers, provide water tanks to collect rain water, and grow table gardens with soil made from peanut shells and other material.
Comment on Senegal: Saloum Delta islands on frontline of climate change
By CARLEY PETESCH, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle: World
Mon, 11/09/2015 - 8:40am
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