Causes+of+Soil+Degradation

The causes of soil degradation in the Sahel region of Africa can be separated into Natural and Human causes.

In the late 20th century when the Sahel became very dry, this caused a famine around Africa, it attached attention from around the world. Through studies it is clear that climate change influences the region of Sahel.
 * Causes of Soil Degradation**

// “Rainfall variability is a major driver of vulnerability in the Sahel. However, blaming the ‘environmental crisis’ on low and irregular annual rainfall alone would amount to a sheer oversimplification and misunderstanding of the Sahelian dynamics. Climate is nothing but one element in a complex combination of processes that has made agriculture and livestock farming highly unproductive. Over the last half century, the combined effects of population growth, land degradation (deforestation, continuous cropping and overgrazing), reduced and erratic rainfall, lack of coherent environmental policies and misplaced development priorities, have contributed to transform a large proportion of the Sahel into barren land, resulting in the deterioration of the soil and water resources.” // From United Nations Environmental Programme, World Agroforestry Center. Climate Change and Variability in the Sahel Region: Impacts and Adaptation Strategies in the Agricultural Sector.

1. Population increase 2. Poverty 3. Over grazing 4. Colonial Influence 5. Migration
 * Human Influences: **

The population in the Sahel is increasing quite rapidly, every 20 years the whole population doubles. The main problem with this is that the growth rate of the population is at 3% per year, this means that it is higher than the growth rate of food production which is at 2% per year. In the Sahel thepopulation is about 260,000,000 people. This led to a need to expand the agriculture for export and also for local use.
 * Population Increase**

All over the Sahel the income per capita varies. Generally Countries and their average income per capita: $500 a year in Burkina Faso $1,000 a year in Mali $2,000 a year in Nigeria When we compare the income per capita in other countries it shows that poverty affects them quite a lot. In countries such as Germany, France and the UK, their income per capita on average is about $35,000 a year. All of the incomes per capita are averages taken in 2007. The Sahel area includes three of the poorest countries in the world.
 * Poverty**

Soil erosion happens mainly when there is a lot of: - Over-grazing - poor farming methods being used - the use of trees and vegetation for firewood
 * Over-Grazing**

These factors do not just cause soil erosion, they also cause further degrading of the land. If the land continues to degrade this means the amount of resources will also decrease. No crops will be able to grow around this area if it keeps degrading.

This leads to: - fewer plants to hold the soil - soil surface exposed to wind - loose top soil blows away - an increase in the amount of poor quality land used to grow crops - increase in soil degradation in the dry years



// “Area devoted to crops in the Sahel since 1960. The need to grow more crops, both for export and for local use, has led to expansion of agriculture into areas poorly suited for crops, leading to land degradation in dry years.” // From United Nations Environmental Programme, World Agroforestry Center. Climate Change and Variability in the Sahel Region: Impacts and Adaptation Strategies in the Agricultural Sector.

In the colonial times the Sahel was divided up into countries by the European nations. The countries were then divided up by political processes, these processes ignored the needs of the local people and how they needed to use their land. The boundaries that were then set meant that nomads were not allowed to take their herds over to the other countries when the seasons changed from wet to dry. The nomads with their herds were then forced to live in villages, because they were unable to move around to wet and dry areas this meant that in the dry seasons and years the nomads herds overgrazed the area around the villages that they lived because there was nowhere else for them to graze.
 * Colonial Influence **

Migration in the Sahel region happened mainly due to the political instability in the countries and the war. The conflicts that happened in Niger, Mali, Darfur and Eritea caused a lot of people to migrate from rural areas to nearby countries and live on refugee camps.
 * Migration**


 * - CHLOE**