The Availability of Fuel Wood in Africa
Throughout Africa there is various regional variations of fuel wood availability. In the chart shown for this essay, it breaks up Africa into 4 different areas of fuel wood amounts. Mostly on the northern area of Africa there is few natural fuel wood resources. And also near the southern areas of Africa there is Fuel wood scarcity because of other little deserts.
In the northern region of Africa there is the Sahara desert. This is why there are very few natural fuel wood resources located there. It is mostly arid land with few oases. Also in the northern region by the Mediterranean Ocean there is satisfactory resources since it is located near the ocean, which means there is enough water to support tree growth. Right below the Sahara desert there is a big area of fuel wood scarcity. This area is a dry region. There is very little rainfall, which results in the scarcity of wood for fuel. Some parts of Africa, which has very, little fuel wood is led up because of too much deforestation. Many people already used up all these fuel wood resources through out these years and now there is not enough for people to use.
The gathering of a lot of fuel wood had contributed greatly to deforestation, desertification and other soil erosions. One area that has been decertified is the Sahara desert. Over many years of deforestation and taking of fuel wood, this once a rain forest has become an arid land for heat. When people gather the wood or cut down the tress this leads to soil erosion. The roots from the trees help soil stay in place when there are floods and heavy rain falls. Also trees can help decrease wind speed and not cause sandstorms. In many cases through out Africa, which has low fuel, wood resources there are a lot of sandstorms. The greatly reduce these problems, people should start planting more trees to take the place of all the trees that have been cut down. Trees help us in many ways. With more trees air qualities can be much better. Also by using other resources for fuel can be a good idea to lessen the amount of trees used and cut down.
For developing countries, they should develop another use for fuel other than fuel wood.
Roland, J. R. J. (1993). Dry land farming in Africa. The Macmillan press Ltd. London .pp.292-294.
Couttenier, Mathieu, and Raphael Soubeyran. "Drought and Civil War in Sub-Saharan Africa." Paris School of Economics, July 2011. Accessed June 9, 2014.
One of the main reasons Europeans colonized Africa was for their useful resources. There are countless assets in the African landscape that are wanted by other nations. The European countries had access to some of the world's most needed resources such as cotton, oils, coal, gold, and diamonds because they controlled Africa. This is shown on a chart of African colonies and their exports. " Selected African Colonies and Their Exports" (269).
There is more poverty in Africa than anywhere else. This is where most people think that poverty happens. Africa is also the stereotypical poverty situation. About 40% of Africa is poverty stricken. This is the worst case of poverty that has been seen in the whole world.
Deforestation began with man’s ability to manipulate his environment. Wood has always been a primary source for shelter and has been affected by human expansion. As the worlds population grew, so to did the need for wood to make housing. As cities grew so did the demand for space to accommodate the growing population. Throughout history and even today, man has manipulated the environment affecting it’s resources.
Africa: Central Africa has the world’s second largest rainforest. In the southeast, in the large island of Madagascar, the land was once intensively forested, but sorrowfully much of it has vanished. The island of Madagascar is home to many unique plants and animals not found anywhere
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Nigeria has one of the world’s highest deforestation rates of primary forests. Deforestation is the process of cutting down and removing all or most of the trees in a forested area. Nigeria is a country located in the western part of Africa; it is a country that has diversity in forests and wildlife, including several species of both plants and animals. What are the causes of deforestation? Trees are being cut down and used for different purposes, but cutting the trees is resulting to different negative factors affecting our society and also affecting the atmosphere. It can also erode soils, contribute to desertification and the pollution of waterways, and decrease
The world should be pulling their resources together because the way the drought is affecting the Eastern Africa’s people is killing them. Reasonable one can not live in conditions where there is minimal food and water. People need to get their basic needs to survive and Eastern Africa is far from the ideal place to do so due to drought. The Eastern Africa people have limited crops which are mostly failing due to lack of water, little cattle herds due to the hot conditions and poor ground to feed on ,while the rest of the world has the resources to provide large-scale relief (Stewart, 2011). This is a big issue because on a global scale we are letting Eastern Africa’s people suffer when there is no need of it. The drought in Eastern Africa is causing many conflicts and death due to lack of food and water.
...at development. Roads are not well developed in some parts of Africa which increase the transportation cost. Public investors are also not taking interest due to high cost of paved roads in Africa. The accident rate is also increasing as driving license is not compulsory for motorcycles. Health care facilities are also very less in Africa, which leads to deaths due to accidents and diseases. Less health workers, poverty, transportation problems all lead to less health care facilities which result in increase of death rates in Africa.
Famine in Africa Famine has struck parts of Africa several times during the 20th century, and to this day is still going strong. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, the average African consumes 2300 kcal/day, less than the global average of 2700 kcal/day. Recent figures estimate that 316 million Africans, or approximately 35 percent of the continent's total population, are undernourished. Although hunger in Africa is hardly new, it now occurs in a world that has more than enough food to feed all its citizens. Moreover, while Africa's population is growing rapidly, it still has ample fertile land for growing food.
The African continent is rich with natural and intellectual resources. Northern Africa has rich oil deposits that, once discovered, have made billions of dollars. Sub-Sahara Africa is rich with deposits of precious minerals such as gold and diamonds. Throughout much of history Africa has been thought of as a rich land. But the Africa we know today as being plagued by famine, poverty and war came about at a much later date.
Many people count on the production of deforestation to bring in a consistent income and livelihood. There is a heavy reliance on the production of deforestation. “Trees can be very valuable. In North America, they are used for landscaping, building material, maple syrup production, and pulp wood for paper products. In the more tropical regions, the wood products may be cut down for fuel, cleared for farmland, or exported, such as teak or mahogany” (Salata, 2015). In fact, according to Combes, Motel, Minea, & Villieu, in countries that are underdeveloped this is a reliable and significant source for government revenue (n.d.). Without this profit generated from cutting the down trees, these countries may not be able to obtain sustainability, due to the lack of financial funds. Thus, by not being able to proceed with infrastructure to areas such as these, most communities will not be able to maintain effective living
To overcome this problem person has to get awareness regarding what deforestation is and what are the effects of it if we continue to practice it on the same scale. Actually, trees are the only source to filter the harmful gasses which are present in the atmosphere and can balance the harmful effects of those
centuries. Today with an increasing population the amount of wood available has declined seriously in recent decades. People have been harvesting wood to cultivate land, burn, and for the use of raw materials for industry (Urquhart 2014). The estimated amount of deforestation taking place is twenty million hectares per year (Urquhart 2014). Climate change and global warming are just a few of the problems associated with the degradation of our forests.
One of the most evident problems associated to the environment is the issue of the logging of trees, mainly in undisturbed places such as the Amazon basin. Trees are considered the lungs of the Earth. They recycle all the polluting carbon in the air and return oxygen back into our atmosphere, creating a stable cycle of carbon in our atmosphere. However, the impeccable rates which trees are being cut down in our forests have grown to ever increasing and alarming rates. Trees that are made way for farming are burnt up releasing deadly amounts of carbon and thus leading to the problem of global warming. As its names suggest the world is slowly warming up and without any notice the environment which God has gave us will be slowly eradicated. The daily lives which humans carry on about every day are also a factor influencing on our environment and global warming. By driving cars that have a thirst for petrol we are releasing carbon dioxide and furthermore impacting on the world?s climate. In Australia environmental impact has always been evident. Land clearing especially in places such as Queensland has caused land to lay dry and lifeless where all forms of life is destroyed. By clearing land we are not only affecting our climate but are also destroying animal habitat and the usage of the land. Senseless actions by commuters in Australia, emitting tons and tons of lethal gases vulnerable to the atmosphere are starting to take its toll on our climate. We are seeing a harsher climate and at the same time less rain. If we want to preserve our world we must take a stance on this issue and take action for what is right, not carrying on the actions that will lead to a desolate, destroyed Earth.