10.4 Sustainable Management (sahel+murray darling)

• what is sustainable development

  meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs
• What are the 2 examples

  1. Sahel
  2. Murray darling Basin - Australia
• Where is the Sahel

  • Extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the west to the Indian Ocean in the east 
  • Forms the transition between the Sahara to the north and wetter grasslands in the south 

  Countries involved: from west to east 

  • Senegal 
  • Mauritania 
  • Mali 
  • Burkina Faso 
  • Niger 
  • Nigeria 
  • Chad 
  • South Sudan 
  • Eritrea 
  • Ethiopia 
• what is the climate like in the Sahel

  Sahel climate  

  • Semi-arid  
  • Tropical Savanna  
  • Most amount of rainfall happens in July and August 
  • Small temperature range due to it being located close to the Equator  
  • Has one wet season in June and September and rain is delivered by ITCZ (huge belt of low pressure near equator) 
  • Can have convectional rainfall due to open spaces  

   

  Vegetation:  

  In Dry Season:  

  • Vegetation is extremely sparse 
  • Little to no grass  
  • Few shrubs and trees but little vegetation on them   

   

  In Wet season:  

  • Vegetation is dense 
  • It is green  
  • The grass is long
• PHYSICAL CAUSES DESERTIFICATION

  • close to an arid environment
  • 1950s - 1970s rainfall was above average but this was then followed by periods of drought in 1960
  • rainfall happens once a year
  • changes to rainfall are caused by changes in the sea-surface temp in gulf of guinea - when it is warm the ITCZ shifts southwards from the Sahel reducing the African monsoon that would usually draw in moist air and bring in rainfall
• Causes due to human activity

  • population is doubling every 20 years
  • growth rate exceeds food production rate
  • Population migrating due to political stability and war (conflicts in Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Darfur and Eritrea cause movement of people from the rural areas to refugee camps in nearby countries) 
  • overgrazing and poor agriculture lead to soil erosion
  • salinisation, water logging and deforestation
  • Lack of coherent environmental policies and misplaces development priorities
• what are the consequences of desertification in CHAD

  • Species located in Lake Chad are threatened by the declining lake levels (esp the painted hunting dog) 
  • Birds and animals in area also threatened as they are important food resources for local human population 
  • Conflict between Chad, Cameron, Nigeria and Niger about who has rights to the remaining water (e.g fisherman want the water to stay in the lake while farmers and herders want the water for their crops and livestock  
  • Droughts resulted in crop failure, destruction of pastures, water supplies drying up and malnutrition 
• Consequences of desertification in Somalia

  • the UN declared a state of famine 2011 
  • 60% of livestock malnourished  
  • Majority of the youthful population malnourished  
  • Black-market trading of international aid  
  • Uneducated children exposed to poverty grow to become child soldiers or to resent their government further and be encouraged to take up arms  
  • Drought forcing people into poverty  
  • Land mines and conflict destroy or make hazardous land that may be farmed, therefore forcing civilians to farm on increasingly smaller areas 
• What Management strategies have been introduced

  THE GREAT GREEN WALL - aims to stretch across Africa

  • Plant a vast line of Trees that will stretch from Senegal on the Atlantic coast to Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden (8000km) passing through 9 other countries along the way  
  • Restore 100 million hectares of degraded land  
  • Will form the largest organism on the planet  
  • Completion date 2030
• How successful has the GREAT GREEN WALL BEEN

  • been going on already for 10 years and only 10% complete  
  • Concerns that any new saplings will not survive without careful maintenance (found that 60-80% of the new samplings along the route have already died) 
  • the project is too ambitious  
  • Other countries joining in e.g. Ethiopia already restored 1 million hectares of land 
  • In Ethiopia the project has opened 200,000 jobs
  • trained a further 60,000 people on food and energy security
  • war in the north has left hundreds of thousands facing famine conditions  
• Where has been the most successful in the Sahel

  IN SENEGAL

  • 18 million trees have been planted but believed many of these have died (due to miss management?) 
  • Project has created $19million in revenue 
  • Reforested many areas  
• What areas are involved in Murray Darling

  • New South Wales  
  • Queensland  
  • South Australia  
  • Victoria
• What are the physical causes of desertification in MD

  • Water availability in this area is not consistent and is drought prone  
  • Very vast area  
• what are the human causes of desertification in MD

  VERY HIGH DEMAND FOR WATER

  • One of the highest average waters use per person in the world 
  • Basin is home to 2.6 million people and is under pressure to provide the water needed to support $24 billion agricultural industry and $8bn tourism region 
  • 40% of Australia agricultural production comes from this region and contains 70% of irrigated cropland and pasture – therefore needs a healthy river system 
• What are the consequences in MD

  • Death of livestock  
  • Crop failure  
  • Fires in the arid condition which can lead to further land degradation and changes in plant species  

  Farms in South Wales  

  • Cows are forced to eat dry grass they wouldn't usually and many animals becoming starved 
  • River is lacking water  
  • More than 90% of south Wales is in Drought  
  • Farmers forced to hand feed their animals  
  • Many farmers becoming caught up in bills as no longer making a profit  
  • Lots of farmers forced to sell cattle  
  • Mental health of farmers is worsening
• What Management strategies have been introduced in MD

  1. LIMIT WATER CONSUMPTION through local water plans + how much is taken from the basin each year
  2. MONITOR + ENFORICE COMPLIANCE - ensuring enough is left for river and lakes
  3. MAINTAIN WATER QUALITY - ensure the water is suitable for drinking, agriculture, recreation and the environment  
  4. MANAGE GROUND WATER - important to preserve water
  5. DEVELOP INFRASTRUCTURE, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE  - Dams, barrages and weirs regulate water flows and help deliver of water to communities, irrigators and the environment (this can be very costly though)
• What are some direct actions that have been taken in MD

  • Subsidised rainwater storage tanks for homes  
  • More efficient irrigation systems (high tech drip irrigation and water capture systems may be more sustainable but are also a lot more expensive) 
  • Recycling wastewater from showers, baths, washbasins and washing machines (grey water) 
  • Legislation to ban car washing and limit showers when necessary (is it possible to ban car washing and will people apply to these regulations?) 
  • Trading water between and within states