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The causes of desertification are a combination of natural and human factors, with climate change exacerbating the problem. Despite this, there is a common misconception that desertification in Africa is solely the result of natural causes like climate change and soil erosion.
Due to the country's geographic location and unsustainable exploitation of its natural resources, desertification is becoming a major economic, social, and environmental concern in Ghana. [4] Ghana, which is located in the Sahel region of West Africa, [ 5 ] has an arid and semi-arid climate, which makes it especially vulnerable to ...
Ninety percent of Africa's population requires wood to use as fuel for heating and cooking. As a result, forested areas are decreasing daily, as for example, in the region of equatorial evergreen forests. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, Africa's desertification rate is twice that of the world's. [4] Deforestation of ...
Desertification is one of the issues of environmental concern in Nigeria, particularly the northern part of the country. According to UNEP [4] in 1993, Northern Nigeria has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world at about 3.5%, caused by land degradation, increase in agricultural intensity, over-grazing of livestock, and demand for fuel by cutting down trees.
Deforestation contributes to desertification in the southern parts of Nigeria. Deforestation poses risks to Nigeria's paper industry, which heavily relies on wood pulp obtained from natural forests or plantations. [71] Reduced wood supply can escalate production costs and quality degradation due to exposure to pests, diseases, fire, and pollution.
The American Institute of Biological Sciences published a similar paper in support of this concept in 2009. [10] In addition, with deforestation and/or destruction of grasslands, the amount of dew harvested (or condensed) by plants is greatly diminished. [11] [12] [13] All of this contributes to desertification in these regions.
Desertification is a gradual process of increased soil aridity.Desertification has been defined in the text of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) as "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities."
The direct causes of deforestation within the DRC are well understood and have been identified consistently by many sources. [2] [3] [9] The direct causes are as follows: 1) road infrastructure development, 2) slashing and burning the forests to transform forest land into agricultural land, 3) the collection of fuelwood and charcoal, and lastly 4) unregulated artisanal and small-scale logging.