Table of Contents
Desertification is awarded various definitions by various scholars in the world. It is majorly defined as a process through which depletion of plant life occurs at a high rate, and the top soil is gotten rid of at the desert and in other semi arid areas, in the world. This process has been occurring for more than decades in various areas, in the world. This occurrence is attributed to both natural causes together with various actions of man. Some of the actions of man that cause desertification include overexploitation of vegetation, in search for land to cultivate, and overstocking. The recurrent failure of rains in various parts of the world is one of the natural causes of desertification.
Discussion
North Africa forms part of the entire continent of Africa. North Africa is composed of several countries, which include Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt. These countries are famous for unreliable rainfalls, and they form part of the Sahara Desert that covers most areas of North Africa. Though some countries still practice agriculture within these regions, they have adopted a variety of crops which are drought resistant. In these areas, there is continued scarcity of water which renders the land unable to support the high population and hence it results in various forms of environmental degradation together with high levels of poverty in Africa. Since farmers must feed the growing population, they are forced to encroach into forests and use various forms of irrigation so as to meet the high demand for food.
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The extent to which North Africa experience desertification has been classified based on the extent to which depletion is occurring. Those rated as extreme are not being utilized in any way by both human and plant lives. The level at which desertification has impacted on various parts of Africa is also notable. This is mainly due to the high dependence of agricultural economies on agriculture (Low, 44).
Various efforts have been stepped up by people, governments, and organizations to look into the problems encountered by the arid lands and the available solutions that can be offered to curb the menace. Unesco was the first organization to allocate funds for the establishment of research institutes, conferences, and put up various research reviews, whose main task was to look into the probability of supporting the arid areas so as to make it suitable for human existence. In North Africa, the effects of desertification were slow to be recognized in the early years of 190. This is because drought in the area was known as a usual experience. Various safety measures were initiated after when the effects of desertification were felt. The United Nations called for an international conference. The main aim of the conference was to discuss and find lasting solutions to desertification in Africa. The first conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya. In this conference, world’s attention was drawn to the extent at which land depletion was taking place in the northern part of Africa. It also tried to seek solutions to combat desertification in the arid areas, in Africa and other parts of the world.
Conclusion
There are various solutions that are put forward to end desertification in Africa. First, the people should reduce the dependence on the existing resources for food as to avoid depletion. There also should be a cutback in the number of stock that an individual keeps so as to give time for the pasture to grow.
These solutions are only possible if the necessary financial support is offered to the countries in the Northern part of Africa. Continued growth of population, in Africa, also means that there will be unending strain on the natural resources. An effort to reduce the number of livestock kept is fruitless. In addition, the high dependence on agriculture by the people of Africa hinders the efforts. It has, therefore, been established that, in the northern part of Africa, efforts to restore the devastated land may not yield any substantial results.