Study: Heritage sites in Africa threatened by climate change

CAIRO – 15 February 2022: “The heritage of outstanding and universal value located along the African coast is at risk from climate change,” said a global team of climate and heritage risk experts.

Nicholas Simpson of the University of Cape Town's African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI), a major contributor, provided the first comprehensive assessment of the exposure of African culture and natural heritage sites to extreme sea levels and erosion accompanying accelerating sea-level rise, according to the website heritage daily. 

The team invested a year identifying and mapping the physical boundaries of 284 African Coastal Heritage sites, then modeling each site's vulnerability in future vulnerability scenarios. They found that 56 sites (20 percent) are at risk from an extreme sea-level event, including the famous monuments of Tipaza (Algeria) and the archaeological site area of North Sinai (Egypt).

"By 2050, the number of exposed sites is expected to more than triple, to nearly 200 high-emission sites," said the team. At least 151 natural and 40 cultural sites will experience a 100-year event from 2050 onwards, regardless of the warming scenario. 

“The coastal heritage sites of several countries are expected to experience the 100-year coastal event by the end of the century, regardless of the scenario,” the authors explained. Those countries are namely Cameroon, Congo, Djibouti, Libya, Mozambique and Mauritania.

Under the worst-case scenario, this also applies to Côte d'Ivoire, Cabo Verde, Sudan and Tanzania.

“This is very concerning because none of these countries currently demonstrate appropriate management or adaptive capacity to anticipate or create heritage protection measures commensurate with the severity of these risks,” concluded the team.