Integral Consulting Wins Recognition in World Bank’s “Call for Innovation” for West Africa

Integral Consulting Inc. (Integral) has ranked as a top 5 candidate in an international competition to find innovative solutions for West Africa’s coastal erosion problems. Integral led a consortium of six companies as a finalist in a competition hosted by the World Bank’s West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program (WACA), held on November 17–18, 2020.

Integral’s proposal, titled “CoastalProtect Africa – Multi-purpose technology for an integrated solution to coastal erosion and sediment management for West Africa,” was placed in the top 5 out of 22 submissions by an international jury comprising World Bank members and environmental specialists. The jury recognized Integral’s work and said that WACA is committed to exploring the proposal further.

CoastalProtect Africa is a systems approach involving an innovative combination of green infrastructure solutions and management techniques to help solve the severe coastal erosion issues faced in West Africa, particularly in the vicinity of the ports and harbors that provide essential growth in the region. All solutions are highly scalable and build local capacity, delivering significant socioeconomic and environmental co-benefits.

The innovative solutions include:

• Extracting wave energy using wave energy converters to reduce erosion at the coast, while simultaneously providing much needed desalinated water and electricity
• Applying natural biopolymers to retain sediment in beach and dune systems
• Evaluating dams for sediment management and possible bypass scheme
• Mapping existing sediment stocks for beneficial use in beach nourishment and coastal resiliency schemes
• Examining coastal aquifer management practices as a means of reducing coastal degradation and saline intrusion.

Integral assembled a world-class consortium comprising Resolute Marine Energy (U.S.), Samarcel (U.S.), SAFEC (Senegal), Dr. Oula Amrouni (Tunisia), and Medusa Explorations (Netherlands).

Craig Jones, Ph.D., principal at Integral Consulting, said “No single remedy can sustainably resolve coastal erosion and sediment management issues in West Africa. We believe that our approach provides significant opportunities throughout the region to mitigate coastal erosion in a sustainable and cost-effective way.”

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