Abstract:
Climate change represents one of the main threats to the seas and oceans, increasingly affecting the coastal zones, leading to the disruption of ecosystems and economic stability. This paper reviews the climate change and human pressures on the Algerian coastal zone, namely sea level rise, coastal erosion, ocean warming as well as marine pollution, overfishing, including IUU fishing, urbanization and coastal development. it also highlights the environmental and socio-economic effects on fisheries, coastal communities, and water resources. Furthermore, the paper evaluates the legal measures adopted by Algeria to tackle the impacts of climate change at international level such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the United Nations Framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto protocol and the Paris Agreement, at the regional level like Barcelona convention on the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution and its protocols, as well as the national strategies and policies related to the preservation of the environment and the coastal zone. Finally, this paper identifies the gaps and the challenges in implementing these legal instruments and finally, provides recommendations and sustainable solutions for a better resilience against climate change along Algeria’s coastal zone.