Environmental Aspects of the State of African Coastal Territories

Author:

Nina Grishina

Abstract:

To preserve the ecological balance and health of the population of the African continent, it is necessary to maintain the cleanliness of the surrounding rivers, lakes and ocean coasts. Oil production, transportation of oil and petroleum products inevitably lead to pollution of sea waters due to accidents on tankers, equipment breakdowns, and fires.

Oceanic coasts are of great importance for the development of the tourism industry, which plays a significant role in the national economies of African countries. However, many coastal areas are contaminated with industrial and household waste, oil refining waste and sewage.

As a result of the growth of cities, the increase in the number of urban residents and the development of industry, a huge number of substances that do not decompose naturally is discharged into water sources. Currently, domestic sewage in most coastal cities does not meet modern sanitary requirements, since the repair of old and the laying of new sewage treatment plants require large financial investments.

In the interests of nature and human health, a number of international instruments has been adopted prohibiting the import of hazardous and radioactive waste, as well as the dumping or incineration of hazardous waste in the oceans and inland waters on the African continent.

In some African countries, periodic clean-up activities are carried out on ocean and river coasts, but they are ad hoc and do not have a decisive impact on the state of contaminated areas.

Experts of international environmental organizations have proposed a set of measures for the conservation and rational use of water resources: construction of wastewater treatment plants; mandatory environmental assessment of all major water management projects; development of measures to eliminate possible damage; control of new industrial installations and industrial waste disposal; design and operation of landfills based on reliable hydrogeological information and environmental expertise.

However, these regulations are often violated, and solving the problem of coastal water pollution remains a distant prospect.

Keywords:

pollution, risk, the problem of nature conservation, ecological balance, cleaning work, volunteer brigade, the interests of the tourism industry

DOI:

10.31132/2412-5717-2022-60-3-110-118

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