CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Background of the Study

Faced with the imminent danger from pollution in general and marine pollution in particular threatening man and his environment, the United Nation resorted to the creation of technical organs such as International Maritime Organization (IMO), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nation Development Programs (UNDP) whose tasks include amongst others environmental care (sea, land and atmosphere). The task of environmental care has been carried out by the UN and her technical organs through technical assistance programs, technical co-operation and the adoption of the Law of the Sea Convention and Instruments dealing with environmental care and prevention of same from pollution. In the like manner, the shipping industry which in the present context encompasses all organs of the private sector engaged in shipping, has contributed substantially to the fight against pollution.            

Marine pollution is the introduction of harmful substances from humans into the marine environment which causes harm on aquatic life, hazard to human health, hindrance to marine activities including fishing and impairment of quality for use of seawater Dan Wilhelmsson (2013). A pollutant can be any substance whose nature, location, or quantity produces undesired change in the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of air, water, or land. Pollution is not a new phenomenon. In fact, it has been a problem since the appearance of our earliest ancestors. From messages in bottles to exotic tropical seeds washing up on temperate shores, the dispersal of floating debris at sea has long fascinated people. The marine environment is affected by a number of human induced stressors and the degradation can be seen not only in coastal areas but has spread to very remote areas in the deep seas and polar areas. Coastal areas are being urbanized throughout the world. There has been a global migration of people from inland areas to the coastal areas, a phenomenon very obvious in East Asia as the seas are being dredged thus affecting the ecosystem.

The essence of this research is to investigate the impact of oil on the marine ecosystem. Crude oil and refined fuel spills from tanker ship accidents have damage vulnerable ecosystem particularly in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, and many other places. However, oil spills at sea are generally much more damaging than those on land, since they can spread for hundreds of nautical miles in a thin oil slick which can cover beaches with a thin coating of oil. These can kill Seabirds, Mammals, Shellfish, and other organisms they coat depending on the quantity of oil spill at sea. For instance, in the 1990s there were 358 spills of 7 tons and over, resulting in 1,134,000 tons of oil lost, 73% of this amount was spilt in just 10 incidents. In the 2000s there were 181 spills of 7 tons and above, resulting in 196,000 tons of oil lost, 75% of this amount was spilt in just 10 incidents. Meanwhile in the nine-year period 2010-2018 there have been 59 spills of 7 tones and above, resulting in 163,000  tons of oil lost, 92% of this amount was spilt in just 10 incidents. One incident is responsible for about 70% of the quantity of oil spilt this decade. With this huge quantity of oil spilt into oceans, one can imagine the disastrous consequences on the marine ecosystem (The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOF), 2018).

Cameroon is a country located at the heart of Africa. It is a Central African Country which extends from Lake Chad to the Atlantic Coast. The country shares its border with about five different African countries. To the South Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Congo, to the east Central African Republic, to the North with Chad and Nigeria to the west. The Republic of Cameroon, located along the Atlantic coast of the African continent, deep in the Gulf of Guinea, has a coastline measuring some 475km and transports about 90 percent of her foreign trade by sea. At the same time, the port of Douala/Bonaberi which is her main sea port serves as a gateway for landlocked neighboring countries of Chad and the Central African Republic. The country has witnessed the last two decades a rapid growth in the volume of her foreign trade and in the size of her sea going fleet. The number of foreign vessels that call in the Cameroonian ports has also increased immensely these recent years. These developments coupled with the nation’s geographic location; oil production, oil refinery and oil transfers and transportation as well as the economic impact, amongst others, place Cameroon in the group of nations actually faced with the danger emanating from marine pollution.

The consequences of a major spill in the Cameroonian waters can only be roughly estimated if one were to imagine the short and long term effects on marine life particularly the fisheries, the effect on the coastal population that depends wholly or partially on such food resources for livelihood, and the general impact of such an incident on the national economy.  Preventing such a disaster from surfacing or combating it when it does occur should be one of the nation’s high profile projects especially now that the chances of having marine pollution in Cameroon have greatly increased with the ongoing production and refinery of oils.

By and large, with the understanding that shipping is global and the fact that marine pollution knows no frontiers, it is prudent and necessarily so that the Republic of Cameroon joins the rest of the maritime world in the global struggle against pollution, the “new epidemic.”

1.2 Delimitation of Study Area

1.2.1 Spatial delimitation

Pollution is a global problem in the shipping industry which knows no boundaries. Since a research paper of this kind cannot cover all aspects related to the impacts of pollution in the marine environment at all time and space, therefore its scope has to be pointed out. This study is limited to the impact of oil pollution on the marine environment on the Cameroon coast. The coast of Cameroon stretches some 400 km in the tropical Eastern Atlantic from Nigeria in the North to Equatorial Guinea in the South. The northern part of the coast around Idenau, Debundscha, Batoke, Bota, and Down Beach, is characterized by a small population size and very few industries. The central part of the coast (Douala) has an estuarine system of the Wouri River and the most anthropogenic ally disturbed coastal zone of Cameroon. It has the largest coastal population size and about 60 % of the country’s industries. The southern parts of the coast (Kribi) has the smallest coastal population size and also very few industries. The Cameroon coast has been purposely chosen as an area of case study because it presents a perfect choice in studying how oil, marine debris, and sewage pollute the Cameroon coast and its impact on the marine environment.

1.2.2 Time Delimitation

Time is a very strategic factor when carrying out a research work. In the attainment of the objectives of this work, we will properly allocate time so as to meet the deadline set by the school hierarchy, the research and study has been well planned for five months and hopefully, there would be no delays that would hinder the outcome of this study, the research starts from   February and ends in June 

1.2.3 Theme

This research work focuses on an assessment on the impact of oil pollution on the Marine Environment along the coast of Cameroon. This problem has let to lot of waste disposal like debris, garbage and even loss of lives of aquatic organisms along the coast of Cameroon     .

1.3 Statement of the problem 

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the marine environment due to human activities, and it is a form of pollution which has raise environmental concern. The term is usually given to marine oil spill, where oil is realized into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills however occur on land. The marine environment is affected by a number of human induce stressors and the degradation can be seen not only in the coastal areas but has spread to very remote areas in the deep sea as well as in polar areas. Marine pollution is a problem that cannot be overlooked because of its serious repercussions it has in marine ecology. In Cameroon the Atlantic coast is facing a huge problem as a result of pollution from different sources. The number of foreign vessels that call in the Cameroonian ports has increased immensely these recent years. These developments coupled with the nation’s geographic location; oil production, oil refinery and oil transfers and transportation as well as the economic impact, amongst others, place Cameroon in the group of nations actually faced with the danger emanating from marine pollution. Other sources of pollution along the coast line of Cameroon are offshore marine debris, sewage, noise and solid waste from coastal urban towns. New topics like marine litter too is not absent from the coastline of Cameroon. In fact it is one of the most serious pollution problems that have to be managed by the country. This is of course true as marine pollution in general has many consequences not only on human health but also on habitat, it disrupt ecosystem functioning and causes loss of biodiversity with respect to aquatic life.

1.4 Research Question

Main research question

    What effects does oil pollution have on the marine environment?

Specific research questions

• How does marine remains affect the marine environment?
• Does sewage have an effect on the marine environment?
• What measures can be used to accommodate for these problems

1.5 Research Objectives

The research objectives are divided into a main objective and specific objectives.

1.5.1    Main objective

• To investigate the impact of oil pollution on the marine environment

1.5.2    Specific Objective

• To investigate the effects of marine debris on the marine environment.
• To investigate the effects of sewage on the marine environment.
• To suggest measures that can be used to cater for this problem