Shifting Sand and Shifting Jurisdiction : Sea Level Change and its Implications for Maritime Sovereignty in Southern Africa

Abstract

The Eduard Bohlen is a ship that was wrecked off the coast of Namibia in 1909. Today, the wreck — unhindered by human interference — lies about half a kilometre inland, along with numerous other documented wreckages found several hundred metres inland along stretches of the Skeleton Coast. On the east coast of the subcontinent, in the Maputo Bay of Mozambique, the Portuguese colonial administration installed artillery on the Xefina Grande Island during the Second World War. The artillery was placed 600 metres from the shoreline at the time. Today, it is reported that the cannons are almost submerged beneath the sea. Along the coast adjacent to the capital city Maputo, an access road to the Costa do Sol beach was constructed in 1957 at a minimum distance of 20 metres and a maximum of 65 metres from the shoreline — with protection offered by a seawall and Eucalyptus trees. In a recent survey, it was documented in many places the shoreline lies over the road.