Assessing Coastal Vulnerability: A Case Study of Anyamam and Akplabanya in the Ada West District of Ghana

Abstract

Akplabanya and Anyamam are the two largest coastal populations in the Ada West District in Ghana. The coastal areas remain vulnerable to coastal hazards, particularly flooding and coastal erosion. However, there is limited understanding of how biophysical and socioeconomic conditions interact to make these communities vulnerable and which of them is most at risk. This study provides further understanding of dimensions of vulnerability across the two communities and their levels of vulnerability to coastal erosion and coastal flooding. The study used a descriptive research approach, combining quantitative results with qualitative evidence for more comprehensive analysis. The overall objective of the project was to assess the vulnerability of the coastal communities of Akplabanya and Anyamam by integrating current coastal erosion trends, future coastal flooding dynamics due to projected Sea Level Rise, and social perspectives on the dynamics of vulnerability. The study assessed current coastal erosion trends using the linear regression (LRR) approach, which showed median erosion rates of approximately -1.85 m/yr ±0.23 for Akplabanya and -2.07 m/yr ±0.23 for Anyamam. The study also assessed the extent of coastal flood hazard based on IPCC SLR projections under RCP 5-8.5. Akplabanya and Anyamam., For Akplabanya, the projected inundation areas were 2210.90sqm (0.17%), 2524.53sqm (0.19%), and 41823.31sqm (3.1%), for the periods 2021 – 2040, 2041 – 2060 and 2081 – 2100, respectively. In contrast, Anyamam showed much larger projected inundation area of 6472.01sqm (0.6%), 162756.93sqm (16%) and 331,063.84 m2 (32.54%)for the same periods. Socio-economic data was obtained from 97 face-to-face questionnaires with residents and two Focus Group Discussions to understand local vulnerability relating to exposure, sensitivity, potential impact, adaptive capacity and composite vulnerability indexes. Anyamam exhibited higher average vulnerability (0.794) compared to Akplabanya (0.191), reflecting the overall assessment across the examined vulnerability dimensions. The results show that the two communities experience different levels of vulnerability to coastal erosion and coastal flooding due to variations in exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity levels. In particular, Anyamam shows relatively higher vulnerability to both hazards due to the relatively higher levels of exposure and sensitivity. The study locations will benefit from adaptive capacity-improving activities and initiation of coastal stability projects.