North African economy relies heavily on the coasts, beaches, and associated recreational services that create more value in several sectors, but are mostly threatened each year by erosion as is the case of Morocco.
A Worldbank study conducted in May 2021, focusing on the costs of losing land and destroying buildings, shows that these costs are already enormous for the Maghreb state.
It appears that the estimated annual asset destruction cost from coastal erosion ranges at 2,8% of GDP in Tunisia, 0,7% in Libya, 0,4% in Morocco and 0,2% in Algeria, which affect the economic flows of those countries.
Coastal erosion may affect the population living near coasts
The Maghreb is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean coast has been populated for decades and most of the largest cities are located along it, while the North Atlantic has the largest cities in Morocco. The population concentration is even higher globally or regionally, ranging from 65% in Morocco to 84% in Tunisia and may be affected by coastal erosion.
In Morocco, around two-thirds of the population are living near coasts and more than 90% of industries have their operations in the coastal zone coastal tourism, majorly dependent on beaches as an important contributor to the national economy in order to attract national and international tourists. In addition, there’s also the fishing industry that contributes around 2,3% to national GDP and to the employment sector, according to the study.
Beaches are shrinking
The study showed that North African countries are especially at risk to coastal erosion as they “lie within the transitional zone between subtropical temperate and continental climates that are exposed to forecasted climate change effects.”
The Atlantic coast of Morocco witnessed an average sandy beach shoreline of 12 cm per year and the Mediterranean coast of 14 cm. It has been found elsewhere that Moroccan coastlines are migrating onshore and beaches are shrinking.
The study reveals that 54% of Morocco’s coastline is subject to erosion, 6,6% of the coastline is urbanized but the historical erosion rates are lower with around 0.9 meters per year compared to Tunisia losing 2.4 meter a year followed by Algeria with 2.1 meter a year.
Major economic loss
Prices of urban lands and properties near coasts exceed those in rural areas. Moroccan coastal lands appear to be the most expensive compared to other Maghreb countries, 1 m2 costs USD 650 while the prices vary between USD 350 in Algeria and USD 480 in Libya.
The same assessment mentioned that the direct economic costs of coastal erosion in Morocco is estimated at USD 8 million when it comes to Buildings lost per year and USD 425 million of land lost, a total of USD 434 million.
A collaboration to identify coastal erosion hotspots
In collaboration with the UK’s National Oceanographic Center, the report presents granular datasets available in Morocco and Tunisia aiming to accurately identify coastal erosion hotspots.
The British center uses higher-resolution satellite imagery and improved workflows than previous global studies of the world’s coastlines to increase accuracy and enable a more precise assessment of coastlines. and its current state.
It analyzes specific local erosion dynamics in Morocco and Tunisia in a more efficient way that appropriately accounts for phenomena such as wave breaking as they approach the coast to avoid misclassification problems.
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