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Although the main focus of The Land/Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone of West and Central Africa is on the estuaries, its scope goes well beyond this particular coastal feature. Indeed, the estuary can only be considered as part of the life cycle of the entire river and the marine area it feeds into: an area particularly subject to human and natural pressures. The main estuaries and deltas of West and Central Africa region provide a variety of goods and services to its coastal population. The most important of them are related to critical fish habitat, wood and charcoal from mangroves, as well as space for agriculture, aquaculture, urban development, tourism and transport. Particular emphasis has been made in this book on mangroves that play a significant role in terms of flood control, groundwater replenishment, coastline stabilization and protection against storms. They also retain sediments and nutrients, purify water, and provide critical carbon storage. Such hydrological and ecological functions explain the focus on serving mangrove ecosystems and the nearby communities, which draw significant income from fishing, rice production, tourism, salt extraction and other activities such as harvesting honey and medicinal plants, hence the need for preserving mangrove ecosystems to ensure sustainability of the estuaries and deltas of West and Central Africa region.
The Land/Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone of West and Central Africa has a foreword by Mr. Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP who is stating that credible and up-to-date information is essential for the public at large but more specifically for scientists, researchers, managers, decision-makers all working together in order to safeguard, protect and sustainably manage estuaries, deltas and lagoons, and the coastal and ocean waters of Western and Central Africa.
1. The Western and Central Africa land-sea interface: A vulnerable, threatened and important coastal zone within a changing environment Diop et al.
2. West African coastal area: Challenges and outlook Goussard et al.
3. Morphological and hydrodynamic changes in the lower estuary of the Senegal River: Effects on the environment of the breach of the "Langue de Barbarie sand spit in 2003 Niang et al.
4. Management of a tropical river: impacts on the resilience of the Senegal river estuary Kane et al.
5. Combined uses of supervised classification and normalized difference vegetation index techniques to monitor land degradation in the saloum saline estuary Dieng et al.
6. Studies and transactions on pollution assessment of the lagos lagoon system, Nigeria Alo et al.
7. Estuarine and ocean circulation dynamics in the Niger delta, Nigeria: implications for oil spill and pollution management Awosika et al.
8. Morphological characteristics of the bonny and cross river (Calabar) estuaries in Nigeria: implications for navigation and environmental hazards Folorunsho et al.
9. Status of large marine flagship faunal diversity within Cameroon estuaries of Central African coast Ayissi et al.
10. Morphology analysis of Niger delta shoreline & estuaries for ecotourism potential in Nigeria Adeaga
11. Importance of mangrove litter production in the protection of Atlantic coastal forest of Cameroon and Ghana Ondo Ntyam et al.
12. Carbon budget in mangrove forests of varying degradation regimes in the western coastal wetlands complex (ramsar site 1017) of Southern Benin, West Africa Ajonina et al.
13. Rapid assessment of mangrove conditions for potential payment for ecosystem services in some estuaries of western region of Ghana, West Africa Ajonina et al.
14. Plantation agriculture as a driver of deforestation and degradation of Central African coastal estuarine forest landscape of South Western Cameroon Ajonina (Patience) et al.
15. Assessment of mangrove carbon stocks in Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of Congo (RoC) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) including their potential for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) Ajonina et al.
16. Governing Through Networks: Working towards a sustainable management of West Africa's coastal mangrove ecosystems Duval-Diop et al.
17. The importance of scientific knowledge as support to protection, conservation and management of West and Central African estuaries Diop et al.
Salif Diop is a former Senior Water Officer in UNEP's Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA). He is a water specialist with extensive experience in various aspects of coastal oceanography, freshwater assessment, aquatic and marine issues, sustainable management, and development. He holds from University Louis Pasteur/Strasbourg/France, a 3rd cycle doctorate he defended in 1978 and a state doctorate he defended in 1986. He is a member of various expert and working groups, including numerous scientific and research institutions. As such, he spent his first sabbatical year as Senior Fulbright Fellow in the USA at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences in 1986/87 - University of Miami/USA, Division of Biological and Living Resources. He has more than 40 referred publications with 5 books as main author and co-author and has been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize Certificate - IPCC 2007.
