Coastal Erosion in West Africa: Integral Innovation Highlighted in World Bank Publication

Science and engineering firm Integral Consulting, as lead of a six-company consortium, is featured in a new World Bank publication on innovative, sustainable solutions to coastal issues faced by West African nations.

Titled “Addressing the Sustainability of Ports and Lagoon Systems in West Africa,” the publication highlights the short-listed proposals from last year’s “Call for Innovation” issued by the West Africa Coastal Area (WACA) Management Program.  Among the proposals is Integral’s highly innovative, multipurpose technology concept for an integrated solution to coastal erosion and sediment management, which includes marine renewable energy.

A key component involves extracting energy from waves using wave energy converters to reduce erosion at the coast, while simultaneously providing much needed desalinated drinking water and electricity.  Natural biopolymers would be used to retain sediment in beach and dune systems, and coastal aquifer management would be investigated as a means to reduce saline intrusion, reduce coastal erosion, and improve water quality. Two other components are retrofitting dams to improve sediment supply and characterizing existing sediment stocks for use in a variety of natural and nature-based solutions, such as mangrove restoration and beach nourishment.

Integral is actively developing funding for its proposal.  “We welcome the opportunity to discuss our proposal with international funding organizations and with local and national governments in West Africa,” said Integral Managing Principal Craig Jones, Ph.D.  “We believe our novel ideas will provide resilient coastal systems to address critical issues on coastal erosion and sediment stability.”

The Integral-led consortium placed as a top 5 finalist in the competition hosted by the World Bank’s WACA program. Other members of the consortium are Resolute Marine Energy (U.S.), Samarcel (U.S.), SAFEC (Senegal), Dr. Oula Amrouni (Tunisia), and Medusa Explorations (Netherlands).

For more information, contact Dr. Jones at cjones@integral-corp.com or Patrick Friend, Ph.D., P.G., C.C.P. at pfriend@integral-corp.com.

Integral’s proposed solutions take a systems approach to mitigating erosion at the coast and in the vicinity of ports by ensuring continuity of sediment supply and retention of sediment in the coastal zone.