Fishermen in West Point.
Photographer: Peter Yeung/Bloomberg
Can Liberia's Capital Keep the Sea Out Without Hurting the Coastal Economy?
Monrovia wants to defend itself against rising waters while protecting the fishing-based livelihoods of many residents.
Musa Bamba moved to West Point, a bustling slum on a peninsula jutting out from Liberia’s capital Monrovia, two decades ago. The 48-year-old scrap metal trader bought a plot of land and built a 10-room house, back from the water’s edge, for his family in 2005.
But Bamba says over the years the sea has “eaten away” at West Point’s low-lying land, which is directly exposed to the brute force of the Atlantic Ocean all along its western flank. Now only a single room of that home remains. The rest has collapsed after being battered by waves.