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In just a few decades rising sea levels and erosion are set to alter Africa’s shoreline, wiping out important heritage sites, some of which are not yet known to science, a new study shows.
Accelerated sea rise is threatening everything from the ancient Roman city of Tipasa in Algeria to the mouth of the Orange River, and many other cultural and natural heritage sites in between.
This is according to a study that, for the first time, has provided a comprehensive assessment of the threat that climate change, particularly rising sea levels, poses to Africa’s coastal heritage sites.
Sea levels have been rising at a faster rate over the past three decades compared with the 20th century, a process that is expected to gather pace through the 21st century. With changing weather patterns, this is expected to intensify coastal flooding and coastal erosion, exacerbating damage to coastal zone assets, the study reports.
For a year, a global team of researchers — including the University of Cape Town’s Dr Nicholas Simpson of the African Climate and Development Initiative — mapped 284 African coastal heritage sites, both natural and cultural. They then exposed each site to future global warming scenarios.
What they…
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