Impacts

• Expansion of the sahara

  • in the 50 years, 65 million hectares of the sahal have turned to desert
  • desertification is now estimated to be spreadimg at 1.5 million hectares per year
• Rills and gullies

  • overland flow from intense tropical rainfall removes topsoil and cuts into the land, forming rills and gullies
  • trampling of animals has made this much worse
• Loss of topsoil

  • strong winds remove topsoil that has been degraded by overgrazing, over cultification and deforestation
• Salinisation

  • Inapropriate farming techniques and the growth of cash crops has lead to an increase in flood irrigation. This causes salts to accumulate in the soils
  • If the soils are not drained properly, salt can build up in the root zones of crops. This can kill crops and contaminate the soils.
• Malnutrition

  • The failure of crops can lead to starvation and malnutrition
• Migration

  • The degradation of farmland and the increased pressures created by the rising population leads to people moving away from the sahel
  • This has led to a loss of traditional farming techniques
• Dependence on external suport

  • Malnutrition and loss of livelihood has lead to people to rely on the aid from other countries
  • This leads to over dependency on external help
• Education

  • Many countries in the sahel, such as Burkina Faso, rely on farming to provide an income and pay for healthcare and education
  • When degradation of the land has lead to farmers being unable to make an income, they can no longer send their children to school, leaving them uneducated