ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUES IN AFRICA
SS7G2
The student will discuss environmental issues across the
continent of Africa.
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SS7G2
THE STUDENT WILL DISCUSS
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ACROSS THE
CONTINENT OF AFRICA.
a. Explain how water pollution and the
unequal distribution of water impacts
irrigation, trade, industry, and drinking
water
This is Gladys
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Problem: Water Pollution
•Only 47% of Sub-Saharan Africans have access
to safe drinking water
•Water pollution: lack of clean water which
impacts irrigation, trade, industry, and
drinking water
•Location: Sub-Saharan Africa
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Problem: Water Pollution
Causes:
•Niger River: oil,
industrial waste
•Other locations: snails,
worms, insect larvae,
parasites (natural
environmental
pollution)
Effect:
•causes waterborne
diseases, restricts
trade, affects the
economic growth
and development
of countries, death
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Problem: Water Pollution
Solution:
•Many international organizations (WHO,
UN) are working to help the situation
•Drilling wells, providing filters, education
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Unequal Distribution of Water
•Unequal Distribution of Water: some
regions of Africa have an overabundance
of water, while others have very little
water
This affects countries’ economic growth and
development, restricts trade, and impacts agriculture
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Environmental Issues in Africa
Review Questions
1. What water problems do African nations face?
lack of water; pollution from farms, factories, &
human wastes
2. What environmental issue is going on in the
Niger River delta?
Pollution from oil industries
3. In sub-Saharan Africa, less than 50% of the population has
access to safe drinking water because of environmental pollution.
How has this shortage of safe drinking water affected the
development of sub-Saharan Africa?
Slowed the economic growth
SS7G2
THE STUDENT WILL DISCUSS
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ACROSS THE
CONTINENT OF AFRICA.
b. Explain the relationship between poor
soil and deforestation in
Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Problem: Deforestation
cutting down of trees, destruction
of the rain forest
Location: Sahel region, tropical rain forest
Cause: Fuel -Most Africans use wood for
heating and cooking
Agriculture- Trees are cut down to clear land for
farming
Lumber - Trees are used for lumber in new
construction
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Problem: Deforestation
Effect:
•people are facing
starvation and
poverty
Solutions:
•Sustainable
farming
practices,
planting trees
CAUSE and EFFECT
• slash-and-burn
clearing of land for
subsistence or
commercial cash crop
farming
• trees used as
firewood for heating /
cooking and building
materials for homes
• trees / plants are
exported as timber
and ingredients in
medicines
• poor soil develops
overtime due to soil
erosion and depletion
of nutrients (less
fertility)
Deforestation
• this leads to less
agricultural
production (fewer
crops grown)
• which leads to more
starvation and death
(famine)
Problem: Poor Soil
infertile soil, most of Africa’s soil
is less fertile than the soil found
on other continents
Location: All throughout Africa
Cause: thousands of years of hunting,
grazing, and subsistence agriculture
Problem: Poor Soil
Effect:
Solution:
•farmers move
•use of natural
frequently, use
slash-and-burn
agriculture,
contributes to
deforestation
fertilizers,
crop rotation,
irrigation
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women build terraces in Gitarama,
Rwanda, to prevent soil erosion.
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Environmental Issues in Africa
Review Questions
1.
What environmental issue correctly fills in the
blank?
Reasons for ________________
-More agricultural land
-population growth and the need for more space for housing
-logging/harvesting trees for profit
What effect does poor soil and deforestation
have on land in Africa?
Land is useless for farming and agriculture
2.
SS7G2
THE STUDENT WILL DISCUSS
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ACROSS THE
CONTINENT OF AFRICA.
c. Explain the impact of desertification on
the environment of Africa from the Sahel to
the rainforest.
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Problem: Desertification
the gradual transformation of
habitable land into desert.
Over farming dries out the soil
leaving it dry and powdery. Winds
from the Sahara blow the top soil
away leaving the land barren.
Location: Sahel region, around the Kalahari
Desert, East Africa, Ethiopia
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Problem: Desertification
Cause: over farming, over
grazing, droughts
Problem: Desertification
Effect:
Solution:
•people are
•sustainable
facing starvation
farming
practices,
irrigation
CAUSE and EFFECT
• Drought over long
periods of time
• once arable land is
turning into deserts
• more difficult to produce
• People cutting down
crops and raise animals
trees and shrubs for
• less food and materials for
firewood or building
people to survive
materials
Desertification
• starvation and death
(famine)
• herds of animals
overgrazing the
• people forced to rely on
international aid and relief
grasses and shrubs
• poor farming
methods and misuse
of the land
• people are forced to move
to another region
Environmental Issues in Africa
Review Questions
1. Where is desertification happening in southern
Africa?
2. What is the occupation of most people who live in the
Sahel?
3. What is the effect of desertification in the Sahel
region?
4. What is the cause of desertification in the Sahel
region?
5. What environmental issue is being described?
• Causes: over-farming, overgrazing, drought
• Effects: famine, death, starvation