Environments (Introduction)

Investigate the location and significance of this coastal environment: - Angeleena

Skeleton Coast is apart of Africa’s southwestern coastline. It stretches from Namibia’s Cape
Cross to the Kunene River and is 40 km wide and 500 km long. The name comes from the seal
and whale bones that scattered along the shore from the whaling industry. Skeleton Coast is
significant as it is an incredibly beautiful coastal environment, it contains many mines for
extracting minerals such as diamonds, uranium, gold, zinc, copper and lead and it is home to
countless amounts of species of wildlife like Cape fur seals, Hartmann’s mountain zebra,
gemsbok, desert-adapted elephant, brown hyena, giraffe and cheetah.

Environmental Changes

Investigate changes to this coastal environment caused by people: - Angeleena

In the Skeleton Coast, rubbish from tourists has resulted in the area being mildly polluted.
However compared to other coastal environments, the Skeleton Coast isn’t as polluted. There
are not many macroplastics on the coast but the most common types found are disposable
containers which include PET bottles, and styrofoam debris.

Some tourists also smoke and don’t correctly dispose of their cigarette butts, severely damaging
the environment in the process as the toxin-filled cigarette butts are able to enter waterways
which is particularly detrimental to a coastal environment.

Examine the environmental effects of people’s actions (e.g. loss of habitat, residential and
commercial development, declining biodiversity and climate change): - Amanda

● National parks are a vital tool for conserving Skeleton’s Coast essential biodiversity
➝ Tourism
■ toss trash into the Skeleton Coast National Park with no regard for the
environment
■ Smoking in areas around and tossing cigarette butts, severely damaging
the environment
➝ Urban development - Land clearing for urban development
■ Loss of habitat for animals
■ Mining
➝ Global Warming
■ Southern Africa country’s environment and tourism minister warns that
parts of Namini’s exotic Skeleton Coast could be submerged by the end
of the century and its rich marine life badly hit by global warming.
■ Highly dependent on its natural resources (fish, minerals, agricultural,
wildlife). - Humans should respect these natural resources and not
purposely attempt to anger or annoy the animals. The variable rainfall,
 frequent droughts and reliance on subsistence agriculture combine to
make Skeleton Coast highly vulnerable to climate change
➝ The remains of about 500 shipwrecks are scattered along the coast
■ This endangers animals as they may unknowingly swallow remains of
shipwrecks - pose a life threat to them

National parks are a vital tool for conserving Skeleton’s Coast essential biodiversity. Tourism is
a major issue in the conservation of the coast. Tourists, especially international tourists who are
unable to understand the native language toss rubbish into the wilderness and have little regard
for the environment. Furthermore, the intense demand for urban development and land clearing
places a great strain on the national park that acquires 16,845 km^2. Furthermore, the increase
in mining further implicates the Skeleton Coast. However, the main issue arises is global
warming. Southern Africa country’s environment and tourism minister warns that parts of
Namini’s exotic Skeleton Coast could be submerged by the end of the century and its rich
marine life badly hit by global warming. Since Skeleton Coast is highly dependent on its natural
resources, for example fish, minerals, agricultural and wildlife, humans should respect these
natural resources and refrain from attempting to anger or annoy wildlife animals. The variable
rainfall, frequent droughts and reliance on subsistence agriculture combine to make Skeleton
Coast highly vulnerable to climate change.