Tourism in Kribi takes a nose dive

Pierre Zambo is a hotel manager in Kribi in South Region. He decried, "In the past my hotel would have more than 100 tourists each week. But today if I manage to get 50 people registered into my hotel weekly, then it's good business."

Located in the gulf of Guinea, Kribi is a town with an estimated population of about 50,000 whose livelihoods depend on farming, fishing and tourism.

However, rising sea levels and increased tides have eroded most of the once-sandy beach along Kribi. Now beaches are reduced to narrow muddy paths. And local hotels, bars and restaurants are feeling the impact of this erosion directly in their pockets as tourists reduce in numbers.

"Tourists come and are less interested in our beaches and prefer spending time in the forest attractions," Zambo tells IPS. Emmanuel Founga, a botanist, owns a hotel on Kribi's coast.

"The Kribi coastline has eroded from about 50 to 100 metres since 1990. It is evident from the trees that are uprooted by waves today but were found inland some years ago," Founga tells IPS. He says the local population is losing an important source of livelihood as the number of tourists reduce, local restaurants and bars are beginning to close down.

"High degradation of the coast has a direct impact on tourism in this region; sea level rise has caused not only erosion but has polluted the coast and much waste from the Atlantic Ocean is swept by the sea to these beaches. The waves in turn cause erosion of the banks, leaving the beaches muddy and filthy," Founga explains.

"Climate change is having a devastating impact in Cameroon and the coast of Kribi is a perfect example of the problem of rising sea levels and the enormous impact on safety and livelihood of the population," Tomothé Kagombet, from the Kyoto Protocol at the Ministry of Environment Nature Protection and Sustainable Development, told IPS.

Climate change is not only a coastal problem but has had widespread impact on this Central African nation. Across the country there are reports of limited and erratic rainfall, pests and plant diseases, erosion, high temperatures, droughts and floods.

Cameroon's economy relies heavily on climate-sensitive sectors, mainly agriculture, energy and forestry - with 70 percent of the population depending directly on agriculture.

While Cameroon's Ministry of Tourism is currently channeling funds from a United Nations World Tourism Organisation project called ST-EP or Sustainable Tourism - Eliminating Poverty to climate change projects along the coast, it is not enough.

Through ST-EP, various projects are being implemented in Kribi beach and its forests as well as other coastal areas such as Douala and Limbe to help people adapt to the changing climate and develop their sites for tourism.

"Due to the problem of a degrading coast, we are encouraging locals to also develop other tourist attractions such as the forest with Baka pigmies and their rich culture, which recently received huge attention. We have given funding for them to restore and manage beaches from Kribi to Limbe and other sites," Muhamadu Kombi, director of tourist sites in the Ministry of Tourism, told IPS.