Africa Human- Environment Interaction Ch 18 sec 3

I. Desertification of the Sahel The grasslands south of the Sahara desert are turning into desert, partly because of changes in the climate, and partly because of human activity. Overgrazing of the grass, farming, and population growth have turned grasslands into desert.

I. Desertification of the Sahel Forest regions are disappearing around the Sahel as well. Slowing desertification is a difficult process; some countries are replanting trees and changing how farming practices use the land.

II. Harming the Environment in Nigeria When oil was discovered in Nigeria, the government and foreign oil companies did not use safe practices to extract the oil. Nigeria is the 6 th largest oil producer in the world. It was a wealthy nation until oil prices fell, and it couldn’t pay its debts.

II. Harming the Environment in Nigeria There have been over 4000 oil spills in Nigeria, and there has not been any effective clean up operations. The government is still corrupt, and there are other problems facing the people, including how to benefit from having the large oil reserves.

III. Controlling the Nile The Nile has provided life for Egypt, however, while the periodic flooding was necessary to make the land fertile, it also caused much damage. The Egyptians built the first Aswan Dam in 1902, but it became outdated rather quickly.

III. Controlling the Nile They built another dam, the Aswan High Dam, in 1970 to try and control the flooding. It provides a steady supply of water and kept the lower Nile from flooding. The problems with the dam were many. First, many people had to move from the region that would become flooded.

III. Controlling the Nile Ancient Egyptian temples had to be moved, or flooded by the lake. The soil became less fertile because there was no more flooding. More mosquitos and the diseases they carry showed up because of the lake created by the dam.

In your notebooks Create your own process of desertification in your notebook. Use pictures and captions to show how an area can become desert over time. Look on pages