Climate Change and Land Markets in Coastal Cities of Angola

The coastal areas of Angola where urban populations are growing most rapidly experience lower rainfall than inland areas and are subject to sudden storms and high annual variation. In urban coastal areas poorer communities of formerly war displaced have purchased and settled on land that is often at risk from flooding and erosion because these are the only affordable locations near to economic opportunities. There has been serious flooding in Angolan cities in recent years. There is a lack of urban land-use and disaster planning capacity to deal with these issues, though institutions have been created in the last five years. Limited information is available on the vulnerability of these coastal cities, on rainfall variability and trends, on river flows and on areas at risk (now and in the future). Similarly limited demographic and socio-economic information is available.