Desertification of the

African SahelFact or Fiction?

First: A definition.

Causes:• Destruction of indigenous plant life• Overgrazing• Overutilization• Climate change

• Transformation of a habitable land to a desert • Loss of biodiversity

Life of Poverty• Long lines for water• Lack of sustained food stocks• Livestock underfed• Shelter damaged by

sandstorms• Poor home quality

Hardships• Failing crops• Starving livestock• Lack of water• Encroachment of sand dunes• Forced relocation

Many must relocate to survive.

“The People”• Mostly nomadic herders.• Some millet and peanut farmers• Diverse and rapidly growing population

From 1970 to 1980300,000 people And 5 million livestockDied

Causes• Overutilization of land

– Livestock Overpopulation

– Increased farming• Land clearing• Increased soil

erosion/degradation

• Improper irrigation– Destruction of

natural plants for firewood/homes

– Increase in population

Causes Continued• Trend of reduced rainfall

– Reducing indigenous plant presence

– Disappearance of water sources

• Lack of preventive efforts– The people– The government

Controversy• Climate change trend

– Reduced rainfall each year– Rising ocean temperatures

• Wind erosion– Dust storms– Nitrogen cycle

“It has become clear from atmospheric modeling and observational analyses begun in the 1980s

that many aspects of Sahel rainfall variability are, in fact, controlled by sea surface temperatures

(SSTs) ” Dr. Isaac M. Held

Combating the Problem• Restoration of plant life

– Replanting of indigenous plants

– Conservation– protection

• Dune control– Fences– Grasses– Other

• Water utilization– More efficient irrigation– Storage

• Reduced erosion– Stopping waste– Regulation

• Livestock• Farming• Irrigation• Land clearing

Organizations• USDESA-DSD – National panel for funding of restoration• Sahel Opera Project – Album promoting change• International Fund for Agricultural Development – Funding program for

restoration• AOSIS • Land and Development Solutions International – Land Development• Eden Foundation – Self Sufficiency through knowledge• UNEP – Surveyors for restoration

UNEP Survey

Which Will it Be?

Or

This

?

This?