Global Warming and its Impact on Kenya’s Coastal Structures

Authors

  • Seroni Anyona
  • Bernard K. Rop

Keywords:

Landslide, land use, mitigation measures, volcanic rocks, geo-hazards

Abstract

As the controversy over the pros and cons of the coastal zones worldwide, due to global warming, there is need particularly in Kenya to have the Coastal Development Authority (CDA) to initiate plans of managing and prescribing a safer distance from the current coastal development areas. The Kenya coastal structures, once a beauty of natural attraction, have potential of being ruined as a result of global warming due to environmental destruction. The gradual increase of sea level will definitely submerge the coastal structures. There is consensus among scientists that global warming will cause these levels to rise because of thermal expansion of seawater and melting of ice. This premise requires setting the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules to protect future potential disastrous damages to structures along the coastal development region. There is always a conflict between developers and environmentalists. Thus, we need to advocate for sustainable development where both parties agree, so that as we develop, we conserve and preserve nature as much as possible. Environmentalists are for the sustainable development. Sustainable development is bolstered by Nature-friendly advance of mankind with aesthetic, holistic and creative manifestation of spiritual and material faculties and potential of every person. Global warming (observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans over the last two centuries, which has been noticed by meteorologists and other scientists, has amazingly clear indicators in a world today that man has been trying to respond to these phenomenon) of the Earth is a looming disaster on coastal structures and greenhouse effect that must be addressed by all and sundry in this time and age. The release of greenhouse gases (water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone) delay the escape of infra-red radiation from Earth to space, thus causing
general climatic warming known as greenhouse effect. The current “developmental (industrial) human activities” are increasingly producing carbon dioxide and simultaneously increasing global temperature due to fossil fuel combustion and the global deforestations.

Author Biographies

Seroni Anyona

Department of Mining, Materials & Petroleum Engineering,Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya.

Bernard K. Rop

Department of Mining, Materials & Petroleum Engineering,Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya.

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Published

04-04-2022