VOA科学技术2024--Nigeria's 'Happy City' Is Helpless Against Rising Sea

The coastal¹ Nigerian community of Ayetoro was founded in 1947. Often called a "Happy City," it was meant to be a Christian² utopia, or perfect place.

But now its remaining people can do little against the rising sea.

Sunken buildings are an increasingly common image along West Africa's at-risk coast on the Atlantic Ocean. Pieces of wood stick out from the waves. Broken structures line the shore. Waves break against old electrical poles.

For years, low-lying nations have warned the world about the threat of rising seas. And Nigeria, Africa's most populous³ country, struggles to find an answer.

Thompson Akingboye is a church leader in Ayetoro. He said prayers against the rising sea are "on the lips of everybody" at Sunday services. But they know the solution will require far more. Even the church has been moved away from the sea, two times. "The present location is now also threatened, with the sea just 30 meters away," Akingboye said.

Thousands of people have left. Among those who remain, Stephen Tunlese can only look at what is left of his clothing shop from a distance. Tunlese said he lost $5,500 to the sea. Now, with water everywhere, he repairs canoes. "I will stay in Ayetoro because this is my father's land ...," he said.

In the past 30 years, Ayetoro has lost more than 10 square kilometers to the sea. Researchers studying satellite imagery of Nigeria's coast say several things are responsible for Ayetoro's disappearance⁴.

Olusegun Dada is a marine⁵ geologist⁶ at the Federal University of Technology in Akure. He said one of the reasons for the losses is underwater oil operations. As oil is removed, the ground can sink, he said. But he and his colleagues note other reasons, including the deforestation of mangroves that help protect the earth. Erosion from ocean waves is another problem.

"When we started coming to this community, then we used to have fresh water," Dada said. Today, the freshwater ecosystem⁸ is becoming a salty, marine one.

The change is costly⁹ in Nigeria.

The World Bank in a 2020 report estimated the cost of coastal degradation¹⁰ in three nearby Nigerian states, Lagos, Delta¹¹ and Cross River, at $9.7 billion, or more than two percent of the country's gross domestic product. It looked at erosion, flooding, mangrove⁷ loss and pollution, and noted¹² the high rate of urbanization in the country.

Nigeria only pays attention to coastal communities, from time to time, when the yearly flooding happens. But the people of Ayetoro cannot turn away.

"Ayetoro was like a paradise, a city where everyone lived joyfully¹³, happily," said Arowolo Mofeoluwa, a retired¹⁴ civil servant. She estimated that two-thirds of the area had been slowly swept under the waves .

"This is the third house we are living in, and there are some living in the fourth house now, and we do not have enough space for ourselves again. Four or five people living in a small room, you can just imagine how painful it is," Mofeoluwa said.

"If you look where the sea is now, that is the end of the former Ayetoro."

For Oluwambe Ojagbohunmi, the community's traditional leader and head of the local church, the pain is not only in the loss of land. He says the community is "losing in our socio-cultural and religious identity."

Early this year, the Ondo state government said it would find "lasting¹⁵ solutions" to the threat to Ayetoro - a promise, people say, has been made before.

It might be too late for efforts to be effective, Dada, the marine geologist, said. For years, he has hoped for an environmental study to be carried out to better understand what is causing the community's disappearance. But nothing has been done.

The Niger Delta Development Commission, a government body meant in part to deal with environmental and other issues caused by oil exploration, did not answer questions from The Associated Press about efforts to protect the community's coastline.

The commission's website lists a coastline protection project in Ayetoro. The project was awarded some twenty years ago and the website describes it as "ongoing¹⁶." But local people say the project never started.

Words in This Story

location - n. place

marine - adj. relating to the sea

geologist - n. a person who studies rocks, soils... to learn about Earth and its life

sweep - v. to move quickly and forcefully

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

4 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 geologist   

n.地质学家

参考例句：

• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley.在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。
• He was a geologist,rated by his cronies as the best in the business.他是一位地质学家，被他的老朋友们看做是这门行当中最好的一位。

7 mangrove   

n.(植物)红树，红树林

参考例句：

• It is the world's largest tidal mangrove forest.它是世界上最大的红树林沼泽地。
• Many consider this the most beautiful mangrove forest in all Thailand.许多人认为这里是全泰国最美丽的红树林了。

8 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

11 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。

14 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

15 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

16 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。