Mr. sanneh, Thanks for the information. It is very dis-heartening to see how much of our beaches have been washed away during the past few years particularly in areas between the former muslim cemetry to Mile 2 central prisons. Considering the collosal sum of money invoved (UA 15.12 million) and the long timeframe for implementation (30 months), the project must be a very big one indeed. Can you please shed more light on the implementation. You mentioned that "Government opted for Option 1 for reasons of costs and technical feasibility among other factors". This option, I presume, is "beach restoration with sand from "external" source;". If indeed this is the case, are we talking of importing sand, say from the Sahara desert or some similar place or what? Your clarification would be much appreciated. Have a very good day, Gassa. >From: Sidi Sanneh <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Addressing Gambia's Coastal Erosion Problems >Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 23:07:56 -0500 > >Ms.Diop, > >I am assuming that the serious nature of the erosion of Gambia's coastline >is recognised by all and thus I need not get into the extent of the havoc >already caused by it. For those who did not take the problem seriously were >rudely awakened on the night of 8th February, 2001 when, in the area >between the Old Muslim Cemetery and "Tonasi" or Alice Carr, the high tide >crossed the Banjul-SerreKunda Highway. If mitigating measures are not taken >now, the highway faces the threat of being engulfed by the ocean, resulting >in the isolation of Banjul from the rest of the country. I personally >inspected the site the same morning of the incident. > >The sediment deposition phenomenon at Barra Ferry Terminal is another >concern of Government and the Department o >f Works. Siltation at the Barra >Ferry access piers has increased, restricted ferry operation to period of >high tide conditions. We have two problems facing us here (a) restricted >ferry operation and (b) the number of Banjul-Barra ferries is now down to >one. The first problem can and will be addressed by the proposed Coastal >Protection Project. The second, I understand, is being addressed through >the purchase of an additional ferry. > >In response to the specific questions posed by Ms. Diop, I shall be as >brief as possible; a highly risky proposition given the technical >complexity of the study: > >1. The Coastal Protection Study commenced in January 2000 was successfully >completed in April 2001. A Dutch consulting firm by the name of HASKONIN >conducted the study. > >2. The model that was developed during the studies, divided the areas for >implementing erosion protection measures into four zones. Z >one 1 (Banjul >Point to Sand Spit)or old Madi's flats to around Mile 4-5 area. Zone 2(Sand >spit to Cape Point);Zone 3 (Cape Point to Bakau) and Zone 4 (Bakau to >Kololi). The protective measures proposed in the erosion zones are >classified into "soft" (reshaping and restoring the coastline through suppy >of sand) and "hard" (rock groynes, revetments and repair of old timber >groynes). The "soft" measures are common in all four zones whereas the the >hard measures exclude Zone 4. > >3. Government was presented with four Options including beach restoration >with sand from "external" source; restoration with sand from spit involving >the removal of the sand spit after Wadner Beach and beyond Oyster creek, >and building by nature. > >4. The sedimentation problem at Barra Ferry Terminal will be addressed >through a single Option recommended by the consultant i.e. hopper dredging > >5. >Government opted for Option 1 for reasons of costs and technical >feasibility among other factors. > >An Action Plan already exists and ready for implementation once funds are >made available by the AfBD and Opec Fund in September, 2001. The estimated >cost of the Project is UA 15.12 million (1UA=GMD17.99=US$1.30)with AfDB >putting up UA10 million, Opec Fund UA 4.46 million and Govt. UA 1.66 >million. > >The estimated starting date and duration is January 2002 to June 2004 (30 >months). I can assure you Ms. Diop that Government appreciates the urgency >of the problem. Infact, under normal circumstances, this project would >have been scheduled for funding in the middle of next year but because of >the incident I cited above, the funding was accelerated so that remedial >measures could be taken immediately to protect the economic infrastructure >and the livelihood of almost a quarter of the Gambian population who > >depend, directly or indirectly, on tourism. > >Sidi Sanneh > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >You may also send subscription requests to >[log in to unmask] >if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your >full name and e-mail address. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------