He said coastal tourism had become the focus of the global tourism industry, making it the fastest growing industry in the sec­tor and Ghana could not afford to lose out on this, stressing that sand winning had become endemic, stretching from Keta through Ada, La, Kokrobite to Brenu and Busua all experiencing such activities.

“We are losing our paradise, what makes a beach attractive is the nature of the beach in terms of the white sand, but we are destroying our beautiful shoreline through sand winning, haphazard settlements and other human activ­ities,” he emphasised.

Prof. Mensah who made the call at his inaugural lecture held at UCC last Wednesday said the level of sand-winning at the beaches was alarming and required the adoption of drastic measures to halt the practice.
    

Speaking on the topic: “Evolu­tion of coastal tourism in Ghana: Paradise found, paradise lost or paradise regained?”, he said there was the need for the establishment of a Beach Development Author­ity to see to the coordinated de­velopment of the country’s beach front, and also stop sand-winning to safeguard it for tourism pur­poses.

Prof. Mensah explained that, legislation alone was not enough to address the challenge at the various beaches across the nation.

The Beach Obstruction Ordi­nance which was amended in 1951, he explained, could not meet the demand of contemporary chal­lenges.

He, therefore, called for effective implementation, enforcement of laws and public awareness creation among residents in coastal com­munities.

The government, Prof. Mensah indicated, should take decisive measures in preventing further ero­sion of the nation’s beaches.

“Shoreline protectionism is imperative. I must commend gov­ernment for building sea defence walls, but we should also earmark part of our beaches for beach nourishment programme,” he indicated.

He explained that, beach nourishment programme involves the dumping of sand on certain portions of the beach to widen the shoreline so that tourism activities could take place at those places.

“There are a number of such places like Ada, Keta, La, Kokro­bite, Brenu and Busua which are thronged by domestic and interna­tional tourists alike for tourism and recreational activities,” he said.

He said, “however, the sustain­ability of coastal tourism is threat­ened by various human activities that exert adverse impacts on the delicate coastal ecosystem”.

He explained that, a greater part of the beaches were polluted and degraded as such there was the need for the adoption of measures to ensure proper management of the ecological system at the beach.

Additionally, he tasked resorts and facilities along the coast to ensure proper environmental management in order to safeguard the beaches.

On the quality of facilities oper­ating at the beaches, Prof. Mensah stated that, about 80 per cent of sprawling facilities along the beach­es do not have licences to operate.