Local Environmental Crises And Global Sea-Level Rise
The Case Of Coastal Zones In Senegal

By 2100 Global climate change might, it is thought, lead to a global rise of 15–95 cm in the sea-level, 'as a result of thermal expansion of the oceans and melting of glaciers and ice-sheets' (IPCC 1995: 5). This scenario is particularly threatening because of the importance of coastal zones which have attracted human settlements throughout human history, as they provide access to marine natural resources, trade opportunities, beaches and scenic views. The attraction of these regions has resulted in more than half of the world's population living within 60 km of the coastline (Clayton and O'Riordan 1995: 154). Much scientific effort has been invested in assessing the vulnerability of coastal populations to a future rise in sea-level (IPCC 1998a), in addition to other potential negative effects of climate change, such as more extreme rainfall or storm events.2 In the long run, these efforts aim at providing coastal zone management plans on a worldwide scale (IPCC 1998a: 68). Conventional wisdom holds that it is more promising to join forces globally to assess and combat global environmental changes than to do so exclusively at a national level. This is especially true for developing countries, some of which may be severely affected by sea-level rise, while research and technologies to adapt to these changes are not readily available (Leatherman and Nicholls 1995). Research on climate change and sea-level rise has thus been coordinated at a global level to generate problem definitions, risk assessments, and management strategies that will be applicable all over the world, especially in those developing countries most in need of coordinated action.