Case study - the impact of drought in a developing country - the Sahel
The Sahel region is located directly south of the Sahara desert and stretches from the east to the west of Africa.
The Sahel is semi-Extremely dry., receiving around 200 to 800 mm of rainfall in an average year, which only falls over a few months. This region provides Africa with food and cash crops such as millet and cotton.
The Sahel has experienced a series of droughts going back to at least the 17th century. The frequency of droughts increased from the end of the 19th century. Severe droughts occurred in the 1910s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The region is now experiencing some of its driest conditions in recent history.
The recent droughts are down to physical and human factors:
- When land cannot sustain the number of animals that are feeding from it. and The cutting down of trees and forests to allow a different land use. on Land that is difficult to develop and yields little profit. can lead to The spread of desert conditions in arid regions due to human activities, drought or climate change.. With less vegetation there is less The loss of water from leaves by evaporation through the stomata. and The process in which a liquid changes state and turns into a gas. from the soil, causing less rainfall.
- Changes in surrounding ocean temperature - the temperatures of the south Atlantic and Indian Oceans increased, with a smaller temperature gap between land and ocean, and A strong seasonal wind bringing heavy rain. rains were reduced.
- Some scientists believe climate change has reduced rainfall or made it less predictable.
Social and economic impacts
- When people only grow enough food to feed themselves and their family. crops fail and livestock dies. This can lead to famine and hunger.
- Commercial farms growing cash crops such as cotton lose income and may cause unemployment.
- With less food being grown and an increase in demand, food prices increase.
- Increased soil erosion makes the land less fertile, creating a long-term issue for the farming community.
- Clean water is not available for people to drink, increasing the use of contaminated water and diseases such as cholera.
- People (usually women and children) travel further to find water, which means children miss school. In addition, the carrying of heavy loads can lead to back problems.
Environmental impacts
Seasonal rivers and water holes dry up, so organisms which live in them or rely on them for water may die.
Vegetation dies causing animals which depend on it for food or shelter to perish or migrate.
Increased soil erosion. Eroded material is washed into rivers or water holes resulting in contamination.
Attempted solutions
- Encouraging farmers to grow drought-resistant crops.
- Use of drip irrigation systems to reduce water usage.
- Placing lines of stones and rocks across the land to slow overland water flow and encourage the When material is deposited or left behind, eg when a river loses its energy and is unable to carry its load any further, or waves move sand onto a beach but lack the energy to carry it away. of sediments rich in soil nutrients. This is a cost-effective option.
- On a larger scale, the Great Green Wall is a plan to grow an 8,000 km band of trees across 11 Sahel countries. By 2030, it aims to have restored 100 million hectares of degraded land, which will help to decrease the impact of drought in the region. Ethiopia has restored 15 million hectares.