Desertification in Africa
This issue is a pressing environmental concern that poses a significant threat to the livelihoods of millions of people in Africa who depend on the land for subsistence.
Examples of this include moving dunes, extensive large gully systems, and salt-crusted, nearly impervious soils in previously irrigated areas.
[7] The Comité d'Etudes [fr] commissioned research to investigate the prehistoric growth of the Sahara Desert, which was caused by natural occurrences at the time.
[9] Desertification became an increasingly severe issue in Africa over the twentieth century, causing widespread environmental deterioration and jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions of people who rely on the land for food.
[10] In response, governments, non-governmental groups, and international organizations have devised a variety of solutions, including reforestation, soil conservation, and sustainable land management methods.
The world's greatest deserts were generated by natural processes that interacted over time, such as water evaporation, rising winds, warm airfall, and low humidity.
To put Africa's contributions into context, the Sahara has been quickly expanding since the 1920s, spanning 10% more territory than it did previously, according to a study conducted by National Science Foundation (NSF) funded scientists at the University of Maryland (UMD).
[19] Desertification in Africa is exacerbated by human factors such as deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable farming methods such as monoculture and excessive use of chemical fertilizers.
All of these causes have contributed to the degradation of fertile soil, posing a serious threat to the livelihoods of millions of Africans who rely on the land for subsistence.
[3] The Sahel region, which includes Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea, has been plagued by frequent droughts, overgrazing, and deforestation, resulting in soil deterioration and desertification.
[25] In this location, the little quantity of rainfall mixed with the less productive and highly sandy soil (explained in detail below) is generating chronic food shortages, and a catastrophic famine can be precipitated when the region is afflicted by drought.
Desertification has also affected North Africa, which includes Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, as a result of climate change, overgrazing, and unsustainable agricultural practices.
Food and water shortages, population displacement, and biodiversity loss are all repercussions of desertification in these places, underscoring the critical need for sustainable land use practices and environmental conservation initiatives throughout Africa.
[34] Substantial data is pointing to the negative effects of climate change and desertification not just on crop yields, but also on agricultural productivity and income losses in dry lands.
It is also expected to lower crop and livestock output, change the makeup of plant species, and reduce biological diversity throughout dry lands.
Long-term monitoring in North Africa (1978-2014) revealed the disappearance of significant perennial plant species owing to drought and desertification, such as Stipa tenacissima and Artemisia herba alba.
[25] Nevertheless, because of its proximity to the cultivation limit, the wide variations in annual rainfall, and the occurrence of dry spells, it is challenging to maintain a consistent yield.
Desertification reduces crop yields, causes food shortages, and increases poverty in impacted populations by destroying fertile land and water supplies.
People displaced as a result of desertification can lead to increased competition for scarce resources and conflicts, worsening economic issues.
Its lofty goal is to create an 8,000-kilometer natural wonder over Africa's whole width in order to enhance the quantity of fertile land bordering the Sahara desert.
The premise is that, planting more trees will help to prevent desertification, create jobs, improve food security, and return displaced Africans home.
