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The town of Walvis Bay is strongly characterised by its coastal area made up of the Lagoon and the Bay enclosed by the Pelican Point Peninsula sand spit which protects the town's important harbour and highly productive fish processing industry.

Therefore a major emphasis of the Walvis Bay Local Agenda 21 Project was to develop the technical understanding and practical means by which the Coastal Area might be safeguarded and managed as a long-term asset. COWI A/S, a Danish engineering and planning company and its partner DHI Water and Environment provided the necessary technical assistance.

There was concern that the Ramsar wetland site, notably the Walvis Bay Lagoon, might be affected by siltation, which could compromise its status as a significant shorebird and seabird habitat. The Pelican Point Peninsula is potentially subject to breaching.
In addition marine pollution stemming from industrial effluents and shipping and port activities could adversely affect water quality in the Lagoon and Bay area.

In order to understand the existing situation in the Coastal Area, sophisticated scientific equipment was installed in 2001 to collect various data. The study included bathymetric and topographic surveys, measurements of meteorological and marine parameters, and collection and analysis of water and sediment quality samples. The coastal area seabed was mapped with the assistance of Namibian land surveyors.

The data collected were used to develop a computer model that illustrated the existing conditions in the bay. The model was used to assess the natural and human causes of the apparent silting up of the Walvis Bay Lagoon, which threatens its abundant bird life, as well as the consequences of a possible breaching of Pelican Point, and the impact of the sources that pollute the Bay’s water.

Final results of this study were presented to and discussed with stakeholders and the community in March 2003.

This modelling process provided the technical background which was necessary to develop an action plan. The Coastal Area Strategy and Action Plan was designed to ensure that the major issues – siltation, pollution and breaching – were addressed properly by collectively allocating responsibilities and resources to all the interested parties.

The Coastal Area Study produced a thorough and coherent picture of the Coastal Area based on existing data, an intensive monitoring campaign, assessments of ecological conditions and the hydrodynamic modelling of both existing conditions and of nine potential scenarios by which the Coastal Area might be managed.

The main conclusions of the study were:

The Lagoon is presently not threatened by siltation.
A breach of Pelican Point Peninsula will naturally recover.
A reduction of pollution from the fish processing industry will give cleaner water and beaches.
Oil spill pollution as a result of organic load discharge into the bay by fishing factories, should be contained and removed.
The impact of future Port developments must be addressed in an
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

It was also found that the nutrient rich Benguela current is mainly responsible for depositing large amounts of organic material in the coastal area. This leads to a low level of oxygen in the water and the well known sulphur eruptions.

The strategy for the management of the Coastal Area highlighted a number of achievable goals:

To maintain the health, productivity and diversity of the various habitats making up the Coastal Area ecosystem.
To prevent, control and minimise the impact of polluting activities on the Coastal Area.
To safeguard the Coastal Area shoreline within the jurisdiction of Municipality of Walvis Bay.

The goals are to be achieved by the carrying out by stakeholders of a specific and well-fitted set of activities set out in the Action Plan. Examples of actions are:

Reduction of organic waste discharges from the fishing industries.
Dust and soil pollution reduction in the Namport area.
Combating oil spills in the harbour before endangering beaches and Lagoon.
Reducing wind blown sand transport into the Lagoon using fences along the Salt Works Road.

A long-term monitoring programme is an integral part of the Coastal Area Action Plan. It is intended to monitor both the natural changes in the Coastal Area, e.g. siltation of the Lagoon, and the improvements to the environment as a result of the implementation of the Plan.

Equipment, installed during the Intensive Monitoring Campaign, will be used to continue monitoring of conditions in the Coastal Area. The activities are being carried out by key stakeholders in the Coastal Area, with external assistance and facilitation as required.

In future it will be the responsibility of the Municipality of Walvis Bay to report annually on the implementation of the Environmental Action Plan for the Coastal Area. Key stakeholders who will contribute to the implementation of the actions are Namibian Ports Authority, the fish processing industries, Walvis Bay Salt Refiners, and the Coastal Environmental Trust of Namibia.

A Coastal Area Action Plan Steering Committee will evaluate monitoring data annually and propose revisions to the long-term monitoring plan.

Click here to download the Coastal Area Summary Report

Click here to download the Coastal Area Strategy & Action Plan