On the beach of Guet Ndar, the Fishermen’s district of Saint-Louis-one of the densest in Senegal-, the bingebalante houses defy the ocean. Here and there, wooden boards have replaced a pulled door, a tarpaulin and sheets overwhelmed a collapsed wall, a piece of sheet metal is placed as a ceiling. «Many houses have been destroyed. These have held up, we pasteed them as we could ”, Breath Thierno Diop, the president of the neighborhood council, sneaking in the rubble.
In 2017 and then in 2018, a hundred dwellings were ravaged by waves several meters high in this city in northwestern Senegal. A mosque and a school have been swallowed up. About 3,000 victims were recorded. «Rooms, objects have been swept away. Many have lost everything. It was the first time that I saw such waves surge on the houses, it was horrible ”, Recalls this teacher, spared as he lived a few streets away.
More than seven years after the disaster, life has resumed its course in the language of barbarism, a thin strip of earth of thirty kilometers between the Senegal river and the Atlantic, which protects the city of Saint-Louis from Assaults of the ocean. On the beach, the colorful canoes come and go in an incessant ballet. In Guet Ndar, most of the inhabitants preferred to stay despite the risk of submersion. «Almost everyone lives fishing here. People are not afraid, we have a very strong, almost mythical link, at the sea ”, Indicates Thierno Diop, who grew up in the neighborhood.
In ten years, almost 800 meters of coastline have disappeared
However, the threat progresses: the coastline is decreasing 5 to 6 meters per year, according to the authorities. Erosion, marine and river floods, destruction of ecosystems … In this semi-arid area on the edge of the Sahel, the effects of climate change jeopardize the future of the 55,000 inhabitants of this territory, or 20 % of the population of Saint -Louis. Through its geography, this place steeped in history is one of the most threatened cities in Africa by the global rise in waters that affects the coasts. If nothing is done, the “African Venice”, founded by the French settlers in the 18th centurye century and classified as UNESCO’s heritage, could even disappear almost by the end of the century.
In ten years, almost 800 meters of coastline have disappeared from Guet Ndar. «Erosion is a natural phenomenon that has always existed in Saint-Louis. Climate change accelerates the process, we observe that the sea has progressed a lot and that it does not retreat as before ”, reports the geographer Dah Dieng, professor at the University of Saint-Louis.
In 2003, the opening of a breach in the language of barbarism to relieve the river after records also accelerated the degradation and salinization of the soil. If the authorities have been able to save the city of catastrophic floods, the canal has continued to grow since the currents that are engulfed. Dug four meters wide at the start, it measures more than four kilometers today … The waters threaten to scratch from the card the island of the birds of the parc of the language of barbarism, a ornithological reserve of 2,000 hectares, fragile refuge For many migrants.
Put in safety vulnerable populations urgently
And time is running out. Senegal multiplies rescue plans to try to slow down the advance of the Atlantic. In 2016, part of the protective wall built in colonial times collapsed during the tidal wave. In February 2018, during an on -site visit, President Emmanuel Macron announced a help of 15 million euros for the construction of a new dike.
The works, carried out by the Eiffage company, was funded by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the State of Senegal. This three -kilometer -long rock barrier can absorb and dispel the impact of the waves. The work, which should hold between thirty and fifty years depending on estimates, is only a provisional solution. “To protect the language of barbarism in the long term, it would also be necessary to recharge the sandy beaches over 80 meters and raise the dikes to slow down the advance of the sea, but it is very expensive”, Pointe Alphousseyni Sané, an engineer who monitors the work of the emergency and resilience project in Saint-Louis.

A hundred fishermen’s houses in the NDAR Guet district, in Saint-Louis (Senegal), were destroyed by waves in December 2018. / Nicolas Remene / Pictorium / Maxppp
For the authorities, the urgency is first to secure the most vulnerable populations. At an overall cost of 90 million euros, this titanic project, funded by the World Bank, provides for the demolition of homes located in the 20 -meter strip along the coast and the progressive relocation of 15,000 people in Diougop, one new city built inside the land.
“We don’t want to leave”
On a large sand field swept by the winds, the new climatic displaced district takes shape. Dozens of brand new adjoining houses align in tight rows. Two thousand victims have already been relocated for free, according to Alphousseyni Sané. In the small courtyard she shares with her husband and two children, Ndeye Wouly Wade tries to adapt to her new life away from the ocean, located ten kilometers away. Like many, the 25 -year -old woman had to leave her house plagued by waters in 2018.
«We saw this immense wave arriving on us, we had time to get out but everything was destroyed ”, she testifies. Leaving Guet Ndar, where she grew up, was a heartbreak. “We lived in community, everyone knew each other. Here, we are mainly between women, our husbands are at sea, but at least we are safe», Add this marsher, who must make more than thirty minutes of bus to bus to go to work at the port. «We are thinking of setting up free shuttles and new remunerative activities for families. A health center, a market and a school must also be built ”, try to reassure Alphousseyni Sané.
Refusing to leave the land of their ancestors, many residents of the neighborhood prefer “Confront” The ocean. «I was born and I grew up here. We live with the family and in perfect harmony, we do not want to leave ”, Claims Thierno Diop, in the courtyard of the house built by his great-grandparents, which has become too narrow for thirty people.
Filaos trees, an ecological solution against submersions
Sandbags in front of the houses, cemented but ineffective walls … they organize themselves to try to resist. «They want to make us live in HLM. We will not be able to dislodge ourselves by force. We have always known this phenomenon, we will adapt. We live from fishing from the 16the century, our children will lose the profession, they will not even swim any more ”, Moustapha Dieng Moustapha criticism, the secretary general of the National Autonomous Fisheries Union of Senegal.
Construction of breeze-we could allow ” to break “ The waves upstream. Several structures of this type have been installed to protect the port of Dakar and the Senegalese coasts. But these heavy infrastructures are expensive and can obstruct the circulation of fish. For the geographer Dah Dieng, other more ecological and durable techniques can be effective, such as the vegetation of affected areas. “Filaos trees, resistant species, can fix the sand and strengthen the soil», he details, admitting that he “Is a complementary measure”.
In the park of the barbarism language, the conservatives lead a “Biological struggle” To slow down the erosion that threatens the habitat of thousands of birds and the place of reproduction of sea turtles. Since 2020, around forty hectares of Filaos have been planted. «The tree does not stop erosion but delays it. The results are very positive in reforested areas, explains the curator of Park Nicolas Benty Gomis. We observe the reconstruction of the plant system and the return of fauna, like the jackal for example.»
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Two -thirds of the Senegalese coast at risk of submersion
The African coasts face an unprecedented elevation of sea level: 3 to 4.1 millimeters per year since the 1990s, According to the world meteorological organization.
Senegal is particularly affected by this phenomenon. According to the median of climate models, the rise of waters will reach 11 centimeters in 2030, compared to 2000, and up to 38 centimeters in 2080.
According to the Senegalese Ministry of the Environment, the country, which has 700 kilometers of coastline, sees its coastline fall from 0.5 to 2 meters on average per year. By 2080, 66 % of the Senegalese coast may be overwhelmed.
This coastal area welcomes more than 50 % of the population. Fishing and tourism are the two most vulnerable sectors.
(tagstranslate) Global warming