1. Environmental Issues In Africa
SS7G2 The student will discuss environmental issues across the continent of Africa.

2. 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

3. 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

10. Problem: Water Pollution
Causes:
Effect:
Niger River: oil, industrial waste
Other locations: snails, worms, insect larvae, parasites (natural environmental pollution)
causes waterborne diseases, restricts trade, affects the economic growth and development of countries, death

11. Problem: Water Pollution
Solution:
Many international organizations (WHO, UN) are working to help the situation
Drilling wells, providing filters, education

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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.

19. 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

22. Problem: Deforestation
Effect:
Solutions:
people are facing starvation and poverty
Sustainable farming practices, planting trees

23. CAUSE and EFFECT Deforestation
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)
this leads to less agricultural production (fewer crops grown)
which leads to more starvation and death (famine)
Deforestation

28. 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

29. Problem: Poor Soil
Effect:
Solution:
farmers move frequently, use slash-and-burn agriculture, contributes to deforestation
use of natural fertilizers, crop rotation, irrigation

30. women build terraces in Gitarama, Rwanda, to prevent soil erosion.

34. Environmental Issues in Africa Review Questions
What environmental issue correctly fills in the blank?
What effect does poor soil and deforestation have on land in Africa?
Land is useless for farming and agriculture
Reasons for ________________
-More agricultural land
-population growth and the need for more space for housing
-logging/harvesting trees for profit

35. 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.

39. 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.

40. Location: Sahel region, around the Kalahari Desert, East Africa, Ethiopia

41. Problem: Desertification
Cause: over farming, over grazing, droughts

42. Problem: Desertification
Effect:
Solution:
people are facing starvation
sustainable farming practices, irrigation

43. CAUSE and EFFECT Desertification Drought over long periods of time
People cutting down trees and shrubs for firewood or building materials
herds of animals overgrazing the grasses and shrubs
poor farming methods and misuse of the land
once arable land is turning into deserts
more difficult to produce crops and raise animals
less food and materials for people to survive
starvation and death (famine)
people forced to rely on international aid and relief
people are forced to move to another region
Desertification

47. 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