Ayetoro: Nigeria’s vanishing coast
The coastal community of Ayetoro, in Nigeria’s southwestern Ondo State, has become one of the country’s most visible examples of the vulnerability of communities living along the Atlantic Ocean to coastal erosion and rising waters. Since the early 2000s, coastal erosion in Ayetoro has progressively intensified, with the Atlantic Ocean gradually encroaching on the settlement, swallowing homes, schools, and other infrastructure, and forcing some residents to relocate several times. The ocean that the community has lived alongside for generations has become a constant threat, leaving families to rebuild further inland only to see the water reach them again. For many in Ayetoro, the question is no longer whether the sea will reach their home, but when.
