Coastal tourism - the climate change threat

In The Gambia, sandy beaches are being lost to rising sea levels and intense storms
© Heico Neumeyer/Flickr

Kotu Strand in The Gambia is a beach area with many tourist hotels, attracting visitors from around the world. But in recent years, erosion by the sea has washed much of the sand away, leaving narrower beaches and threatening local hotels, bars and restaurants with flooding. Saidou Mballow is the manager of Solomon’s Fish Hut, which has been serving tourists for many years. He describes what he and other business owners are doing to protect their buildings, and urges the national government and international community to take urgent action to tackle coastal erosion, sea level rise and climate change.