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Desertification in Africa is a form of land degradation that involves the conversion of productive land into desert or arid areas. This issue is a pressing environmental concern that poses a significant threat to the livelihoods of millions of people in Africa who depend on the land for subsistence .
Desertification often causes rural lands to become unable to support the same sized populations that previously lived there. This results in mass migrations out of rural areas and into urban areas particularly in Africa creating unemployment and slums .
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 ...
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.
Ghana's drylands in the northern Sudanese and Guinea savannah regions are especially at risk from erosion; in these areas, land deterioration is known as "desertification." The risk of desertification is present on about 35% of Ghana's land. An estimated $1.4 billion, or 6% of Ghana's GDP, is lost to land degradation each year in the country. [3]
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.
Traditional desert farming systems have long been established in North Africa, irrigation being the key to success in an area where water stress is a limiting factor to growth. Techniques that can be used include drip irrigation , the use of organic residues or animal manures as fertilisers and other traditional agricultural management practices.
The causes of both drought and desertification are multifaceted and intricate, stemming primarily from the intricate interplay between climatic factors and human activities in the environment. These causes encompass: Climatic Variability: Climatic variations serve as a significant catalyst for numerous environmental degradation issues ...