human-environmental+interaction+in+Africa

**Human-Environmental Interaction in Africa**

Desertification of Sahel Oil pollution in Nigerian Delta Aswan Dam

Desertification of Sahel





Desertification is a spread of deserts into moist areas. It is one of the major global concerns since it can cause flooding and even famine. Desertification is a natural process, yet human activities speed up the process. The factors that contribute to desertification are overgrazing of vegetation by livestock and farming.



The desertification in Sahel is most likely due to little precipitation and incorrect irrigation in arid areas, which make it hard for the plants to survive. Farming and overgrazing are also reasons why desertification occurs. The farmers use slashing and burning technique in order to clear the land for the crops. This leaves the Sahel exposed to erosion. After desertification occurs, the soil becomes less usable and vegetation is damaged.






 * __Soluti__on **

At this point, 1/3 of the earth is either dry areas or semiarid areas. The areas that are affected by desertification are semiarid areas where there's grassland with shrubs that grow once in awhile. These areas become dry due to the deserts surrounding them. In order to prevent desertification from spreading even more, people tried to restore green belt. There is a natural green belt between the Sahel and Sahara. Green belt is designated areas around major, large cities or metropolis. This area contains varied vegetation, which prevents desertification. Therefore in order prevent any further desertification of land; people should preserve more green belts. However, another question is that wouldn't it be useless in the end when people keep exploiting fossil fuel? And don't they need an alternative energy that could replace it? The answer is yes. If there's too much use of fossil fuels, the amount of carbon dioxide released will increase which affects global warming. It is important that people find the alternative energy. This problem can be solved with atomic energy. Atomic energy has the least amount of carbon dioxide released compared to other energies. Atomic energy will be the best replacement for fossil fuel. It is the answer to all of these problems.



Sources:

"Desertification - a Threat to the Sahel." //Eden Foundation//. Aug. 1994. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .

"Desertification in the Sahel." //OceanWorld//. Robert R. Stewart, 5 Jan. 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .

Oil pollution in Nigerian Delta

Hundreds of millions of gallons of oil end up in the sea every year. It can be spread by big spills, routine maintenance, and down the drain. These oil spills cause damage instantly, polluting the water, but the greater damage is caused through a long-term process. These long-term effects may be contamination of sea animals and damage to the environment around it. Sea animals varying from birds and fishes to sea otters are being affected since the oil cannot dissolve in water. The biggest s﻿pill ever recorded was during the 1991 Persian Gulf war when about 240 million gallons of oil were spilled around the coast of Saudi Arabia.



Between 1976 and 1996, 1.89 million barrels of petroleum were spilled into the nigerian delta. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s actions near the delta also affects the chances of having a major oil spill there. These oil spill are caused due to failures in pipelines and tankers and oil production operations. Therefore, there are a lot of consequences due to these terrible oil spills especially environmental damages. The oil spills cause a great damage to the eco-system. These damages range from contamination of sea life to forest damages. Multinational oil companies such as Shell are located there causing a lot of movement of oil around that region.

Solution:

A possible solution may be to diminish the movement of major oil companies such as Shell around the Nigerian Delta. This would prevent any further chances of a major oil spill that would pollute the water around that region even more.Another major solution may be to completely stop Shell's actions around the Nigerian Delta. The nigerian government allowed Shell to take a big role in the oil economy of the country. 80% of government revenues come directly from oil over half of which is from Shell. As shown, the economy of the country greatly depends on the oil companies. There are also many consequences to the ethnic groups around the delta such as the Ogoni, due to the oil company's action. The Ogoni suffer from poverty, hunger, and diseases due to the oil spills and plumes. They also face the effects of environmental molestation by Shell everyday. By completely stopping Shell's movement around the delta, the ethnic groups around the delta would suffer way less. On the other hand, if the government stops Shell from any more actions, they would have to find a way to make use of the oil with their own oil companies.

Sources:

June, Early. "Oil Spills and Disasters — Infoplease.com." //Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free Online Reference, Research & Homework Help. — Infoplease.com//. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. < [|__http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001451.html__]>.

News, Caroline Duffield BBC. "BBC News - Nigeria: 'World OilPollution Capital'" //BB - Homepage//. Web. 01 May 2011. <[|__http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10313107__]>.

"Boycott Shell/Free Nigeria: The Main Issues." // Essential Action //. Web. 02 May 2011. <http://www.essentialaction.org/shell/issues.html>.

<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">The Aswan Dam

<span style="font-family: 바탕; font-size: 110%;">Dams are barriers that retain water or underground streams. They are used to prevent flooding, generate electricity, and also to store water. Dams are often beneficial, however they can cause some damages. Dams can disturb the natural cycle and remove the sediment from the river. No sediment means there are no nutrients in the river downstream of the dam, which makes it difficult for animals and plants to survive.



<span style="font-family: 바탕; font-size: 110%;">The Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970. It is beneficial to many people, yet it created many problems. Over 90,000 Nubians had to move from their homes to other places. They were relocated 370 miles (600 km) from their homes and had to adapt to a new society. They had to find new jobs and new places to live. The temples at Abu Simbel, one of the ancient Egypt’s treasures, also had to be moved because of the Aswan dam construction. The river no longer deposits silt, a sediment that enriches the soil, and so the farmers have to purchase expensive fertilizers that are full of chemicals. Rate of malaria also increase because there are more mosquitoes, which thrive on the still waters of Lake Nasser and irrigation <span style="font-family: 바탕; font-size: 110%;">canals.

<span style="font-family: 바탕; font-size: 110%;">The lands located downstream from the dam were fertilized every year during the flood season when the water renewed the lands with nutrients. The river no longer deposits silt, a sediment that enriches the soil, and so the farmers have to purchase expensive fertilizers that are full of chemicals.

<span style="font-family: 바탕; font-size: 110%;">In global perspective, the crops that are produced in the areas near the Aswan dam are mostly artificially fertilized which means that they could contain harmful chemicals. The crops then could be exported to many countries in the world and the people who consume those crops might suffer from diseases.






 * <span style="font-family: 바탕; font-size: 12pt;">__Soluti__on **

<span style="font-family: 바탕; font-size: 110%;"> Even though the Aswan dam caused many unnecessary problems, it is still beneficial and people cannot ignore its benefits. Since the Aswan dam is already constructed, it is impossible to destroy it and go back to the past. Therefore, we must find solution using the Aswan dam to its full benefits while harming the environment the least as possible.

The government should first find the way of getting the Aswan dam to its full benefits. Since the very first reason for building the dam was to provide steady water to the farmers, the government should effectively work on it. They have to make sure that the farmers are actually getting the benefits from the dam.

provide nutrients no chemical find some solution to provide natural nutrients

<span style="font-family: 바탕; font-size: 110%;">A possible solution for some of the problems caused by dams is to create a system in which a steady flow of water is allowed to trickle out from the dam. The government can make artificial stream to make the water flow. This steady flow would allow silt to flow out to the river beneath, enriching the land around the banks, and also would prevent mosquitoes from breeding and thus decrease the rate of malaria.

Sources:

"Alpha." //Qwiki//. Web. 01 May 2011. <http://www.qwiki.com>.

"Weeping for Water - Part Two." //World Prout Assembly//. Web. 01 May 2011. <http://www.worldproutassembly.org/archives/2006/04/weeping_for_wat_1.html>.

"ABSOLUTE AGE." Web. 01 May 2011. <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/geology/leveson/core/topics/time/froshlec9.html>.

Rosenberg, Matt. "Aswan Dam - Overview of the Aswan High Dam." Geography Home Page - Geography at About.com. 02 Mar. 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. <http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/nile.htm>.

"Environmental Impact of the Aswan High Dam." //MBarron//. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. <http://www.mbarron.net/Nile/envir_nf.html>.

"Aswan Dam." //ASWAN DAM//. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. <http://www.aswandam.net/>.

El-Sayed, Sayed, and Gert L. Van Dijken. "The Southeastern Mediterranean Ecosystem Revisited: Thirty Years after the Construction of the Aswan High Dam." //Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University//. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. <http://ocean.tamu.edu/Quarterdeck/QD3.1/Elsayed/elsayed.html>.