Africa Environmental Issues PDF

Chapter 8: The Geography and History of Africa The Chattahoochee River in Georgia has been the Environmental Issues in Africa subject of a legal water The people of Africa face many different types of environmental war. Alabama and Florida...

Chapter 8: The Geography and History of Africa The Chattahoochee River in Georgia has been the Environmental Issues in Africa subject of a legal water The people of Africa face many different types of environmental war. Alabama and Florida problems. Many of these problems are not common in the United States sued Georgia for using too much water in Atlanta, or other developed countries. However, these environmental issues are causing less water to flow causing a lot of damage in Africa, such as destroying farmland and re- to the other states. ducing the amount of clean water that is available for people. Some of the issues are lack of water, poor soil quality, and expanding deserts. Parts of Africa are arid, others are semiarid, some have rolling grassland, and still others are humid and subtropical. Countries with large river systems have enough water for farming and for people in villages, towns, and cities. However, all countries have the problem of increasing pollution from factories and from animal and human waste. Some countries have poor harvests, little grazing land for farm animals, and even little clean water for drinking and washing. Each year deserts claim more land. It is very important for the governments of African countries to work together to solve these issues. Water Pollution and Unequal Access to Water On average, 115 One of the most important environmental issues in Africa is water people per hour die in pollution and unequal access to water. Many countries in Africa struggle Africa from drinking to have enough water for people to survive. Water is limited in Africa. contaminated water. As the population across the continent continues to grow, the supply of available water will not be enough to meet the people’s demands. While some countries have access to enough water from their lakes or rivers, many countries have little to no access to fresh water. Many people believe that Africa could find itself dealing with water wars (conflicts fought over water) in the future. For example, the Nile River runs through Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt. All of these countries have growing populations and growing water needs. Another example is the Niger River. It supplies the dry Sahel region with water before flowing into Nigeria. As more water is used for irrigation in coun- tries upstream, less water is available to countries further downstream. Not only is access to water a problem in Africa, but the limited amount of fresh water is also becoming polluted. Many African countries do not Top: A West African gathers water have enough clean water even though they have large rivers. The United from a lake to irrigate crops. This chore Nations estimates that 40 percent of the people living in sub-Saharan is traditionally done by women. Africa do not have access to clean fresh water. 198 Section 1: The Geography of Africa Clean water is needed for basic health and sanitation. People who do not have access to clean water are at risk for many diseases. Lack of clean water to wash also increases the frequency of skin and eye infections. One place where this is a problem is Egypt. The areas along the banks of the Nile River are very densely populated. The river is used both for transportation and as a source of water for irrigation and drinking. In recent years, however, overpopulation and poor sanitation regulations have made life along the Nile River more difficult. The water is becom- ing contaminated with human waste. Another factor contributing to water pollution in Africa is fertilizers (chemical or natural substances added to soil to increase its fertility). When the Egyptians built the Aswan High Dam to control the Nile’s seasonal floods and generate hydroelectricity, a problem developed. Although farmers have access to water for irrigation all year, there are no longer floods that can deposit fertile silt. As a result, farmers have to use chemical fertilizers for their crops. When these fertilizers wash into the river, they contaminate the water supply and leave large amounts of salt in the water. Industrial wastes (unwanted or residual material from industrial op- erations) are also polluting the rivers. Some African countries have tried to improve their economies by starting factories. However, the governments are often more focused on profits than on environmental problems. As a result, many factories dump their wastes directly into rivers and streams because it is cheaper and easier than disposing of them properly. Some- times the factory workers themselves get sick from drinking water that is polluted by waste from the factory where they work. Parasites that live in water are another threat to health. People can get many diseases—including typhoid, dysentery, cholera, and hepatitis A—from drinking water with parasites. The United Nations, the World Bank, and the United Children’s Fund have programs in Africa that focus on ensuring that people have safe and clean water to drink. The African Union has had several meetings to try and solve the water crisis in many countries. The most recent meeting was in 2016. While these problems are very large, African countries are working hard with world organizations to try and solve them. Top: A water pump provides clean well water for a community in Africa. This pump was provided by US citizens through USAID. Above: African children playing near an open sewer in Kenya are vulnerable to a number of diseases. Left: This slum area in Lagos, Nigeria, is built over water that is heavily polluted by human waste. 199  Chapter 8: The Geography and History of Africa Poor Soil and Deforestation The Sahel is a transition zone between the Sahara Desert and the savanna grasslands. It has an arid to semiarid climate. Most historians believe that the Sahel once had rich farmland. However, centuries of farm- ing and grazing along with less rainfall have gradually damaged land in the Sahel. Today, these poor farming practices have led to an expanding desert. Animals have been allowed to graze too heavily in the region and have stripped all the vegetation from the soil. When there is no vegetation on the land, the fertile topsoil can blow away, leaving behind poor soil. Millions of people struggle to farm in the poor soil. Deforestation is a problem affecting the soil in the Sahel and in other regions of Africa. Deforestation is the destruction of trees and other veg- etation. People who need fuel or new farmland cut down trees that hold the topsoil in place. While these new farms are productive at first, soon the topsoil erodes away, and farmers are left with poor soil once again. Another place where deforestation is taking place is in Africa’s tropical rain forests. Many of the rain forests that once ran from Guinea to Cam- eroon are already gone. Nigeria is losing rain forest at the fastest rate in West Africa. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that Nigeria has lost at least 55 percent of its original rain forests to logging, clearing land for farming, and cutting down trees for fuel. As a result of the poor soil, many people in these areas often face starvation and poverty. Some people move to urban areas in the hope of finding better jobs, but they often only find more poverty. In recent years, the United Nations and the World Food Bank have started to help the people in the Sahel. Not only are they providing food for people who need it, they also are trying to help people develop better farming habits. Desertification Another significant problem in Africa, especially in the Sahel, is de- sertification. Desertification is when a desert expands into areas that had been farmland previously. As the farmland is overused, the soil becomes poor and powdery. Then the winds from the Sahara gradually blow the dry topsoil away, leaving barren, rocky land behind. To make the issue worse, there have been long periods of drought in the area too. As the desert expands, people are less able to grow enough food to feed themselves. People living in areas that are experiencing desertification face hunger and hardship as a result. Above: All trees have been cut for firewood in this area on the African island of Madagascar. Deforestation results when too many trees are cut in an area. Bottom: This once useful land in Ethiopia is now desert. Such desertification is due to poor land management by the people in the region. 200 Section 1: The Geography of Africa In the Sahel, the majority of desertification is the result of people, not climate. Land is being cleared for farming, and trees are being cut down for firewood. The people need farmland and firewood to survive, but they are destroying major parts of their environment in the process. East Africa is also experiencing desertification. In Ethi- opia, people have lived for generations by farming and raising animals that graze, like sheep and goats. People are finding that they have less available grazing land. To make matters worse, there have been long periods of drought in recent years. As cities grow, they have expanded into areas that were once used for farming. As a result, farm- ers must reuse the same land, which makes it less fertile. Animals overgraze their fields and eat more grass than can be grown before the next season. As the soil wears out, the desert creeps in. The Kalahari Desert in the southern part of Africa is also growing because of desertification. The people around this desert are facing the same problems that people near the Sahara are seeing. Pressure from increasing popula- tion, the need for fuels like firewood and brush, and the constant grazing of animals have worn away the soil, and the land is becoming a desert. The constant movement of the Sahara Desert can be seen in many countries that border it. Some people say there is a “Green Line,” which is the place where agriculture ends and desert begins. People are trying to fight the spreading desert. They are replanting trees, building windbreaks to keep out the sand, and pushing the desert back whenever they can. However, in many parts of Africa, people are fighting a losing battle as the desert continues to expand and claim more land each year. Living in the Sahara Desert The Sahara is the largest nonpolar desert on Earth. It covers over 3.5 million square miles and is still growing. Very few people are able to live in the Sahara. It is considered to be one of the harshest environments in the world. In the Sahara, there are a few places where water is available. One of these places is an oasis, where a spring of fresh water comes from the ground. Trees are able to grow there and people can live there and graze animals and even sometimes farm. Oases are rare, however. Above: At the edge of the Kalahari Desert, bushmen gather straw to repair the roof of their house. Left: This oasis in the Sahara Desert provides a water source in an otherwise dry zone. 201