What is the long term result of drought and desertification in Sub-Saharan Africa?

What is the long term result of drought and desertification in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Long term impact of these desertic conditions will lead to the soil and landscape being blow away by wind and running water also since most of this region is agro-based it desertification in rural areas leads to poverty. Sample can be seen in Uganda as a result of overgrazing land became dry and unstable.

What causes desertification in Sub-Saharan Africa?

In areas of low precipitation, like Sub-Saharan Africa, long droughts that turn arid land to unproductive, barren soil are a frequent cause of desertification. Soil nutrients deplete and become unproductive in areas where growers overuse and overharvest formerly arable land.

What are the consequences of drought and desertification in Africa?

Drought and desertification are at the core of serious challenges and threats facing sustainable development in Africa. These problems have far reaching adverse impacts on human health, food security, economic activity, physical infrastructure, natural resources and the environment, and national and global security.

What are the effect of drought and desertification?

degradation of the vegetal covering, through to its total disappearance; dispersion of solid particles in the atmosphere – sand storms, air pollution – with a negative impact on man’s health and productive activities; reduction of farming and breeding production: malnutrition and hunger; migrations of people and wars.

What are the causes and effects of droughts?

The soil starts drying out and plants die. When this pattern continues for several weeks, months or years, the flow of streams and rivers decreases and water levels in lakes, reservoirs and wells fall. Eventually, the unusual dry weather causes water supply issues, and the dry period becomes a drought.

What is the reason for causes of drought?

When rainfall is less than normal for a period of weeks to years, streamflows decline, water levels in lakes and reservoirs fall, and the depth to water in wells increases. If dry weather persists and water-supply problems develop, the dry period can become a drought. Learn more: USGS Drought website.

How do droughts affect humans?

Drought can also affect people’s health and safety. Examples of drought impacts on society include anxiety or depression about economic losses, conflicts when there is not enough water, reduced incomes, fewer recreational activities, higher incidents of heat stroke, and even loss of human life.

Why are droughts so dangerous?

During drought, there is an increased risk for wildfires and dust storms. Particulate matter suspended in the air from these events can irritate the bronchial passages and lungs. This can make chronic respiratory illnesses worse and increase the risk for respiratory infections like bronchitis and pneumonia.

What are the problems of drought?

In terms of environmental problems, drought can result in insect infestations and plant diseases, increased erosion, habitat and landscape degradation, a decrease in air quality and that of what water is present, as well as an increased risk of fire because of drier vegetation.

Which is worse flood or drought?

Repeated droughts around the world are destroying enough farm produce to feed 81 million people for a year and are four times more costly for economies than floods, the World Bank found in a new study. …

Why is a drought worse than a flood?

Droughts occur when an abnormally long dry period uses up available water resources. Floods happen when watercourses or rain swallow up land that is usually uncovered. These natural disasters are often made worse by human action.

How do droughts affect humans and animals?

When a drought occurs, their food supply can shrink and their habitat can be damaged. Losses or destruction of fish and wildlife habitat. Lack of food and drinking water for wild animals. Increase in disease in wild animals, because of reduced food and water supplies.

What animals would be affected by drought?

Drought impacts wildlife in many ways:

• Hungry deer, bears, raccoons, and other wild animals search for food.
• Less grass and vegetation growth reduces cover for waterfowl nests and young deer, antelope, and elk, making these animals more vulnerable to predators.

What are the long term effects of drought?

If drought becomes prolonged, the branches of woody plants will begin to die back, and plants can die entirely if their ability to absorb water from the environment is damaged (UMass Amherst). In long-term drought, native plants may die back, allowing for the intrusion of invasive plant species.

What do animals do when there is a drought?

Numerous animals, including many species of semiaquatic turtles, migrate to more permanent wetlands during drought, with some migrations being well over a mile. For such species the only possible outcomes are to die (fish again) or to reduce activity and wait out the drought, that is, to hunker down.

Do any animals benefit from drought?

Some predators, like lions, can benefit from drought conditions. During drought, many prey species die, providing a banquet of sorts for larger animals. But the drought can actually be good for wildlife in the long run, according to Isak Smit, a scientist with the South African National Park Service.

What animals are affected by drought in Australia?

The drought is shrinking greenery and with it, food and water for many animals like kangaroos, Koalas, emus, wombats, and echidnas.

Are zoos good or bad for animals?

That captivity can be REALLY bad for both physical AND psychological health. And while zoos have been really helpful is saving endangered animals, it doesn’t work out for certain species. For example, most large carnivores like lions and tigers that are bred in captivity die when released into the wild.

Do zoos kill animals?

Numerous animals are killed by zoos when they don’t sufficiently contribute to profits or fit into the facilities’ master plans. Animals may be killed because their genes are “overrepresented” in captive wildlife populations or to make room for younger animals who attract larger crowds.

Do animals die faster in zoos?

Animals die prematurely in zoos African elephants in the wild live more than three times as long as those kept in zoos. Even Asian elephants working in timber camps live longer than those born in zoos[5]. 40% of lion cubs die before one month of age.

Are animals better off in zoos or in the wild?

What we do know so far is that evidence suggests wild animals can be as happy in captivity as they are in nature, assuming they are treated well. Zoo animals with proper care and enrichment, for example, have similar hormone profiles, live longer, eat better, and are healthier than their wild counterparts.

Do animals get bored in the wild?

Most animals in the wild are constantly busy with activities necessary for their survival, and don’t have enough time to sit idly and become bored. Different mammals also have varying levels of curiosity, which also links to the idea of evolution.

Do animals in zoos live longer?

A study of more than 50 mammal species found that, in over 80 per cent of cases, zoo animals live longer than their wild counterparts. The effect was most pronounced in smaller species with a faster pace of life. Larger, slower species with few predators, such as elephants, live longer in the wild.

Do animals in zoos get depressed?

Animals suffer in zoos. They get depressed, psychologically disturbed, frustrated, they harm each other, become ill, go hungry, and are forced to endure extreme and unnatural temperatures. These animals cannot live as they would wish to live.

What animal represents depression?

The Phoenix is the mythological bird that rises from its own ashes, just as you can rise out of the depths of depression, your ashes. (“Ashes” is a bonus symbol of depression for you.)

What animals can be depressed?

Primates, rodents may show signs of sadness, study suggests. Learning more about depression in animals could one day benefit humans, say scientists who believe that mammals share the same basic wiring in their brain for emotions as humans do. (Although not every scientist agrees with that premise.)