Prof Adote Blim Blivi: "We have to recharge the beach"

The city of Aneho is not the only one in Togo to be threatened with extinction by the effects of coastal erosion. Several other localities, including Goumoukopé, Agbodrafo, Agbata, Gbodjomé, Avépozo and Apeyimé (near the border of Sanvee Condji) are concerned by this phenomenon which remains a challenge of the hour. Even in Lomé, the situation is perceptible on some beaches.


The phenomenon has been observed on the coasts for more than 30 years. But this is not inevitable. A solution can be found, according to Prof Adote Blim Blivi, Oceanographer, Expert of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Sea and Vice-President of the Oceanographic Commission.

For him, the solution lies in the reloading of the beaches. "We have to recharge the beach. That is the solution. These are conditions that exist, other countries use these approaches, it solves the problem and limit the position that remains, "he advised during the first African day of the seas and oceans organized in July 2015.

According to him, the sea no longer carries sediment towards the coasts. We must now go and get sand on the high seas to make the compensation, that is, to load the coasts and stop its advance. "There are technical means to do it," he insists.


The effort of 1988, he stressed, to stabilize the city of Aneho is leaving. The sediments have decreased, according to him. "This city (Editor's note, Aneho) is a historical, cultural and economic city in time. But today, the results show that our sedimentary fluxes have totally declined. The volume is low, everything is discharged. It has to be recharged, "said Prof Adote Blim Blivi.

And to give statistics: "The level of progression around Aneho in the lockers, we have 2 to 4 meters. You yourself have seen our findings of 2013 and 2015. In the traps, there is a recoil of 3 to 4 meters. Elsewhere, 12 to 16 meters per year. The overall result within 10 years, 15 years, if we remain in the logic of the African Union 2050, in 35 years, much of this city will leave ".

A very embarrassing prognosis for this city. It is therefore necessary to save Aneho and the other localities threatened by this coastal erosion which is only the consequence of the phenomenon of global warming.