REGIONAL SLIDES
AFRICA
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Velingara, Senegal
Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Flood in Mozambique
Parrot’s Beak, Sierra Leone/Liberia
Banjul, Gambia
Tripoli, Libya
Midrand, South Africa
Lake Victoria, Uganda
Mount Kenya, Kenya
Tai National Park, Cote d’Ivoire
AFRICA
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Itampolo, Madagascar
Kisangani, D.R. of Congo
Challawa Gorge Dam, Nigeria
Lake Chad, Nigeria, Niger,
Chad, Cameroon
Lesotho Highlands Water
Project, Lesotho
Lake Nakuru, Kenya
Peanut Basin, Senegal
Revane, Senegal
Narok, Kenya
Toshka Project, Egypt
AFRICA
• Africa is a region of occurrences – from tsunamis to droughts; fires to
floods and meteor impacts to epidemics and pandemics
• Between 1975 and 2005, the population more than doubled from 335 to
751 million and is predicted to reach 1.1 billion by 2025
• Currently Africa’s growth rate is at 2.2 per cent a year
• Total forest area of Africa is 5 683 131 km2; Africa constitutes about 17
per cent of the world's forests; Nigeria has the world’s highest
deforestation rate
• 300 million Africans do not have access to safe water, about 313 million have
no access to sanitation and over 88 million people are malnourished
• In Africa, agriculture provides livelihoods for about 60 per cent of the
continent's active labour force, contributes to 17 per cent of Africa's total
gross domestic product and accounts for 40 per cent of its foreign
currency earnings
Sources: FAO, Population Reference Bureau
Meteor Impact in Velingara, Senegal
Velingara Crater appears
to be a meteor-impactgenerated structure
• 1975: Image predates the
agricultural development
• 2001: Intense agricultural
systems have appeared
near the center of the crater
Disappearing Icecap of
Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Africa’s highest mountain
with a forest belt having
rich diversity of
ecosystems
• 1976: Glaciers covered
most of the summit
• 2000: The glaciers had
receded alarmingly
Mozambique under Water
2000: Due to severe
flooding, half a million
people were made
homeless and 700 lost
their lives
22 August 1999:
Mozambique under
normal conditions
1 March 2000:
Mozambique under
water
Impact of Civil Wars on Guinea
These images show
impact of civil wars in
Liberia on neighboring
Guinea
• 1974: Image of the
Parrot’s Beak region in
Guinea
• 2002: The light green
color is the result of
deforestation in the “safe
area” where refugees set
up camp
Urban Sprawl in Banjul, Gambia
Images show urban
sprawl and its impact
• 1973: Urban growth and
expansion of cropland has
led to decline in woodland
• 1999: Abuko Nature
Reserve is an isolated
patch of green in the 1999
image
Undergoing Steady Urban
Growth - Tripoli, Libya
• 1976: Grasslands have
been converted into
agricultural fields
• 2002: Urban expansion is
especially notable (shades
of grey)
Industrializing Midrand, South Africa
Rapidly transforming city
due to population growth,
agriculture, mining, and
industry
• 1978: Surrounding area
consists largely of
agriculture
• 2002: High density urban
development
Impact of Invasive Species on
Lake Victoria, Uganda
These images show
water hyacinth infestation
and control of such
invasive species
• 1995: Image shows several
water-hyacinth-choked bays
(yellow arrows)
• 2001: A visible reduction of
Water Hyacinth on Lake
Victoria
Population Growth Around Lake
Victoria, Uganda
• The population growth
around 100 km buffer zone
of the Lake Victoria
• Population growth around
Lake Victoria, East Africa, is
the highest in Africa
World’s Fastest Growing Rural
Area – Lake Victoria, Uganda
50.00
Total Human Population Living around Lake Victoria
(millions)
47.23
41.80
40.00
30.51
30.00
22.13
20.00
16.05
11.71
10.00
8.57
0.00
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2015
Total Population
Note: Figures for 2010
and 2015 are estimates.
Population Growth:
Lake Victoria vs. Africa
246
250
218
200
159
150
115
100
84
61
50
45
9
12
16
21
26
32
36
0
1960
1970
1980
Lake Victoria
1990
2000
2010
2015
Africa Average
Note: Figures for 2010
and 2015 are estimates.
Diversity in Mt. Kenya Ecosystems
Kenya
These images show high
diversity in ecosystems
and species
• 2000: The entire forest
belt of Mount Kenya was
gazetted as National
Reserve
• 2002: The image shows
significant improvement in
the state of conservation
of forests
Tai National Park, Côte d’Ivoire –
site of world’s highest deforestation rate
These images show
deforestation rate in the
area, believed to be one of
the highest in the world
• 1988: Shows destruction
of small forest fragments
• 2002: The lighter green
strip bisecting the images
is the result of extensive
deforestation and intensive
cultivation
Disappearing Forests in
Itampolo, Madagascar
These images show the
changes in narrow
coastal plain
• 1973: Shows heavily
forested area home to
unique and rare plant and
animal species
• 2001: Burning of forest to
clear land for dry rice
cultivation, has led to
disappearance of forest
area (seen as tan)
Steady Deforestation in Kisangani
Democratic Republic of Congo
These images show slow
but steady deforestation
of dense forest cover
• 1975: The city and
surrounding areas are
clearly visible
• 2001: The cleared area
around the city has grown
and become consolidated,
spreading along rivers and
roads
Impact of Challawa Gorge Dam
Nigeria
These images show the
area before and after
construction of the dam
• 1990: Image of the area
before the completion of
the dam in 1993
• 1999: Impact of
flooding upstream from
the dam; colour of the
water in the flooded area
indicates high sediments
Shrinking Lake Chad shared by
Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon
Persistent drought has
shrunk the lake to about
a tenth of its former size
• 1972: Larger lake surface
area is visible in this image
• 2001: Impact of drought
displays a shrunken lake,
comparatively much smaller
surface area than in 1972
image
Skepticism surrounding Lesotho
Highland Water Project in South Africa
These images show the
area before and after
construction of Katse
dam
• 1989: Image of the area
before the completion of
the dam in 1995
• 2001: Katse dam created
an enormous reservoir, the
extent of which can clearly
be seen in this image
Land Cover Degradation Around
Lake Nakuru, Kenya
These images show the
land cover degradation in
the lake’s catchment
• 1973: The area that hosts
the world’s largest
concentration of flamingos
• 2000: Excision of forest in
the Eastern Mau Forest
Reserve (white lines) will
most likely lead to
disappearance of upper
catchment forest cover
Battle between Forests vs. Farmlands
Peanut Basin, Senegal
Shows growing
patchwork of savannas
(greenish patches)
• 1979: Image shows
farmland before being
abandoned
• 1999: Hundreds of
villages are scattered
throughout the region to
enjoy fallow and grazing
lands
Changing Landscape in
Ravene, Senegal
Images show impact
of drought and overgrazing on the
woody vegetation
• 1965: Ancient valleys
cutting through gravelly
plateaus, with extensive
bushland vegetation
• 1999: The badland
phenomenon spread
extensively along the
shallow valley slopes
Converted Lands of Narok, Kenya
These images show the
conversion of grasslands
into agricultural fields
• 1975: The agricultural
expansion is just beginning
• 2000: This image shows
the degree to which
farmlands have expanded
Toshka Lakes: Farming the Desert
Egypt
These images show the
desert area transformed
into vegetable plots
n
• 1984-87: Image of the
area before the desert
reclamation project began
in mid-1990s
• 2000: Four new lakes are
visible in this image, faint
blue-green areas around
the lakes are newly created
agricultural lands
Toshka Lakes: Farming the Desert
Egypt
2005:
New fields
are clearly
visible in
the image
AFRICA’S LAKES
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Lake Kivu, Congo/Rwanda
Lake Alaotra, Madagascar
Lake Al Wahda, Morocco
Lake Cahora Basa,
Mozambique
Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe
Lake Djoudj, Senegal
Lake Ichkeul, Tunisia
Lake Manantali, Mali
Lake Sibaya, South Africa
Songor Lagoon, Ghana
Lake Tonga, Algeria
AFRICA’S LAKES
• According to the WORLDLAKE database, there are 677 lakes in
Africa
• There are 15 natural lakes that cross the political boundaries of two or
more countries in Africa
• There are 60 transboundary river basins in Africa, covering over 63
per cent of the continent’s land area
• Lake Chad’s surface area has shrunk by 95 per cent over the past 35
years
• Uncontrolled damming, the withdrawal of water for irrigation, and
climate variability are the major causes of drying up of Lake Tonga in
Algeria
• Population growth around Lake Victoria, the continent’s largest
lake, is significantly higher than the rest of Africa
• Some lakes in central Africa have become known as “killer lakes,”
because of the catastrophic natural events that have occurred in
their vicinity
Sources: UNEP 2006
Lake Kivu-one of Africa’s “killer lakes”
Congo/Rwanda
These images show
dramatic changes before
and after the eruption of
Mt. Nyiragongo in 2002
• 2001: Before the January
2002 eruption
• 2003: Shows the track of
the lava flow
Severe flooding around Lake Alaotra
Madagascar
These images show
flooding over a wide area
• Flooding destroys
significant portion of crops
• Intensive rice irrigation
occurs at the western part
of the lake (yellow arrows)
Impact of Al Wahda reservoir in
Morocco
These images illustrate
the change in land cover
• 1987: The area before
the construction of dams
• 2001: The area after the
construction of 110 large
dams
Cahora Basa – Mozambique’s
largest dam on the Zambezi River
These images show
spectacular changes in the
Zambezi riverine system
• 1972: The Zambezi River
a few years before the dam
construction
• 1999: This image shows
part of the enormous dam
and the lake
Invasive water weeds in
Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe
These images show
overall reduction in water
weeds
• 1989: Weeds show up as
green strands along the
edges of the lake
• 2000: This image shows
that water weeds remains a
persistent problem
Rejuvenation of the Djoudj
Sanctuary in Senegal
These images show the
Djoudj Sanctuary before
and after the construction
of the Diama Dam
• 1979: Shows the impact
of drought on the Djoudj
Sanctuary
• 1999: Rejuvenation of the
Sanctuary wetlands due to
significant floods
Ecological changes around
Lake Ichkeul, Tunisia
These images show the
impact of damming
• 1972: Shows the three
feeder rivers supplying the
lake before they were
dammed
• 2000: Shows the location
of the dams (yellow arrows)
Agricultural expansion around
Lake Manantali, Mali
These images show the
expansion of irrigated
agriculture
• 1977: Shows the original
meandering nature of the
Bafing River
• 1999: Shows the
expanded irrigated land and
increase in lake water
quantity
Lake Sibaya – wetland of international
important in South Africa
These images show
increase in cultivation
around the lake
• 1991: Lakeshore is home
to the only known species
of a rare climbing orchid
• 2001: The yellow arrows
vividly show the increase
of cultivation of marginal
lands around the lake
Reduction in the surface area of
Songor Lagoon, Ghana
These images show a
conspicuous reduction in
the surface area
• 1990: Shows major
lagoon system associated
with Volta river estuary
• 2000: This image shows
water area dramatically
reduced, exposing bare
ground
Changes in and around Lake Tonga
Algeria
These images show the
changes brought about
by damming of the
feeder rivers
• 1988: Lake Tonga before
the damming of feeder
rivers
• 2000: Damming
increased irrigation and
drastically reduced the
volume of water entering
the lake
AFRICA
One Planet Many People:
Atlas of Our Changing Environment
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