Desertification in Africa

What is Desertification?

• Desertification is the process by which fertile land becomes desert.
• This process is having a major impact on Africa but what has caused Desertification to become so big on this continent?

Causes of Desertification

• There are two major factors that cause desertification in Africa but the biggest is overgrazing.
• Overgrazing is when you graze so heavily that the vegetation is damaged and the ground becomes liable to erosion.
• With no vegetation in the soil, the soil becomes really dry which later turns into a desert.
• The second major factor that causes desertification is deforestation.
• Deforestation is the removal of trees and in these areas the trees hold the soil together.
• With no trees, the soil becomes loose and is eroded by wind and water. This leads to deserts forming.
• With no signs of slowing the rates of overgrazing and deforestation, half of Africa could possibly become desert by 2050.

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Effects of Desertification

• Due to desertification, Africa will face many problems.
• Africa will face lack of food, poverty, and animal extinctions.
• Lack of Food: Where fertile land once was, there is now unusable land. Farming becomes impossible so food is not created. This leads to death, hunger, and poverty.
• Poverty: Most of the people in Africa are farmers. With desertification making farming impossible, many Africans have lost their income. They can't pay their bills and go into poverty.
• Animal Extinctions: Due to desertification, habitats of animals are lost. Food and water are gone so animals die. At the rate desertification is increasing in Africa, many animals will become extinct.

Where will these effect be seen in Africa?

• The effects of desertification will be seen in the Sahel.
• Due to the continual dryness, minimal rainfall, and overgrazing caused by over population, desertification will occur and expand the Sahara desert into the Sahel.
• The Sahara Desert is expanding into the Sahel at an alarming rate of 48 meters per second.
• The way things are looking, the Sahel could become desert but maybe there is a solution.

This map shows the level of risk to desertification of places in Africa. As you can see, it is really in the Sahel

Solutions

• There are many solutions to this environmental issue but only one has the back up of many scientists.

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