1. Carleton University African Economic Development 2017
Introduction: Geographical Context for African Economic Development

2. Agenda: Introductory and Administrative Matters
Africa’s Development Challenge
III. Brief Geographical Overview (AR)
IV. Brief Historical Overview (SL)
Sources: LRS Chapter 1. and
Bloom and Sachs, “Geography, Demography and Economic Growth in Africa, pp

3. III. Brief Geographical Overview
Presentation based mainly on maps;
Geographical Influences on African Development:
Agriculture
Health
Transportaion

4. Brief Geographical and Historical Overview
Perspectives of Africa: Pre-Independence (The “Mercator Projection”)

5. Peters (equal area) Projection of the World

9. Satellite view of Africa

10. Natural Vegetation in Africa

11. Map 1.2: African Biome Areas (UNEP, 2008, p.10)

12. Population

13. Africa: Human Footprint Map
Combines information on
Population
Land Use;
Travel Routes
Lights
Green :Least intense
Orange: Most Intense

14. An Indicator of Africa’s Mineral Endowment: Major Discoveries, 2006-2015

15. Unproven but Technically Recoverable Conventional Oil Resources Billions of Barrels of Oil
Source: United States Geological Survey, 2016, p. 7.

16. Major Rivers

17. https://www. internationalrivers

19. IV. African Geography and Agriculture
Africa between the Tropics:
Extreme heat due to distance from moderating oceans;
Year-long rainfall between + 5 and – 5% latitude; Minimal seasonal rainfall outside band;
Lower rainfall and high temperatures lead to a worse “soil-water balance” (precipitation minus evapotranspiration) leading to higher aridity and constant risk of drought.
Worsened by rainfall variability
Result: 29 countries experienced 1 year of drought between 1983 and 1995; (with 50.9% of population)
14 experienced 3 or more years of drought.
Ethiopia: major drought last year; devastating drought in

22. Map 1.2: African Biome Areas (UNEP, 2008, p.10)

23. Further constraints on African tropical agriculture:
Poor soil qualities especially in rain forest areas;
Limited potential for irrigation;
Disease environment for both plants and livestock, esp. cattle, is difficult (tse-tse fly; rinderpest or cow sleeping sickness);
Rain forest zones: poor soil, high temperatures, extreme rains leaching soils: limited potentials
Limited plant yields in very hot temperatures (esp. with hot nights)
due to low “net photosynthesis” (Plants consume as much energy at night, counter-weighing the gains via photosynthesis from sunlight during the day)

24. Mountainous regions: difficulties due to terrain;
Micro-ecological zones make R&D into improved crop varieties expensive difficult relative to large homogenous areas.;
Limited range of crops: many temperate-zone crops don’t grow in tropical conditions
But tropical plants are fine: sweet potato, yams, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, bananas, mangos, papaya….

25. V. Geography, Transportation and African Development
1.Continental barriers to transportation:
Deserts; mountainous areas; tropical forests, swamp areas,
vast distances
2. Populations generally distant from the coast and ocean transport.
3. Isolated inland populations and land-locked countries. Reducing potential for division of labour in some areas.
4. Relatively few inland rivers to facilitate transport (Congo River only) (note Mississippi, St. Laurence, Rhine, Seine, Danube, Moselle, Volga etc.)
Result: High transportation costs overall, with implications for economic integration within and among countries.

28. VI. Geography, Health and African Development
Geographic and Climatic factors promote numerous sicknesses and infectious diseases: Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and “Neglected tropical Diseases” and for a while EBOLA High temperatures affects health via presence of parasites, “disease vectors,” Impact on people’s lives (sickness and life expectancy) , productivity and economic development.

32. Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
Affect the poorest 500 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa, equal to one-half of the malaria disease burden
Hookworm occurs in almost half of SSA's poorest people, including 40–50 million school-aged children and 7 million pregnant women in.
Schistosomiasis (192 million cases), 93% of the world's cases
Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) (46–51 million cases)
Onchocerciasis or River Blindness (37 million cases).
African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and visceral leishmaniasis, affect almost 100,000
Trachoma leading often to blindness (30 million cases).
Little or no data for amebiasis and toxoplasmosis; bacterial infections, e.g., typhoid fever and non-typhoidal salmonellosis, tick-borne bacterial zoonoses, and non-tuberculosis mycobaterial infections; and arboviral infections.
Overall burden of Africa's NTDs may be s underestimated.
Source: Neglected Tropical Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa: Review of Their Prevalence, Distribution, and Disease Burden,

33. Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

34. Neglected Tropical Diseases: Summary
Control of NTDs would greatly reduce both malaria morbidity and mortality, as well as HIV/AIDS transmission.
NTDs are controllable and possibly eradicable by safe and effective drugs already in existence
With public-private partnerships, the integrated control of NTDs can be implemented at marginal costs - approximately 50 cents per person per year.
Source: Global Network of Neglected Tropical Diseases