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Desertification In Ghana
What exactly is desertification? Unfortunately, there are many responses and many contradicting definitions. Some say that it is
permanent, others say it is a reversible process. There are even debates on whether the definition should include human
involvement or not. It seems that all that can be agreed on is that it is "the most serious environmental problem facing Africa today"
(Nsiah-Gyabaah, Kwasi. Environmental Degradation and Desertification in Ghana pg 27). At the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Developments (Earth Summit, 1992) desertification was defined as "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry
semi-humid areas, resulting from various factors, including climate variations and human activities" ("Desertification,"
Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential (S J0180). www.uia.org/uniademo/str/j0180.htm). When pondering the
terms 'desertification' or 'desertified land' our culture forms mental images of large dunes with sand slowing moving over them
like in an ocean. Perhaps a camel or two, baking in the sun. This romanticized idea is far from what scientists call desertification.
In real life desertification looks like an area of hard and cracked earth with sand blowing above. In this scene you are more likely to
see a nomad with emaciated cattle wandering the deserted plane in search of something to eat. Not too romantic, huh?
Desertification is more the "destruction of the biological potential of the land or the creation of desert-like conditions in previously
productive areas" (Nsiah-Gyabaah, 28). There are many reasons for desertification. The two most substantial are the recent
droughts in Africa and humans trying to sustain themselves on marginal lands (Glantz, Michael H. Drought Follows the Plow pg
35). More specifically, the reasons for desertification and land degradation include "climate changes, overgrazing, over-cropping,
deforestation, and over-exploited water" (Mainguet, Monique Desertification pg 66). Although it is hard to say exactly how much
area has already been turned to desert, there is a basic consensus among most scholars that estimates somewhere around 60
percent of the world and between 65 and 73 percent in Africa alone (Nsiah-Gyabaah, 3) (Encyclopedia of World Problems and
Human Potential. www.uia.org/uiademo/str/j0180.htm). Some places are worse than others are, for instance Ghana's forests
have been degraded into savanna, and the savanna areas are fast turning to deserts. The invasion of desert through
over-cultivation, forest clearing, and overgrazing has been worsened by extreme changes in climate of West Africa since the recent
severe persistent drought (Nsiah-Gyabaah, 10). Most people do not know this, but desertification has been around since the
Mediaeval period, perhaps even farther back in history (Middleton, Thomas Desertification: Exploding the Myth pg 2). It did not
receive very much public interest, however, until a series of droughts plagued the West African Sahel between the years 1968 and
1974. This drought caused a widespread famine, killing approximately 100,000 to 200,000 people and about 12 million cattle
(Glantz, 35). What are people doing to cope with losing their land, homes and jobs? It all depends on how much of the farmland
they can salvage. If they are still able to grow some crops on it then they can switch to substitute foods (tree fruits) and share what
they can grow between houses. If there is little or nothing that can be saved, the situation changes into that of the Dust Bowl.
These people sell whatever livestock and possessions they have left and perhaps migrate to other areas to farm or try to sell
themselves as labor (Nsiah-Gyabaah, 162). There are general ways to fix desertification as well. These involve either modifying
each individual's farming methods or massive restoration efforts that would have to be coordinated and funded by the
government. One way that the government could help rectify the situation is fairly simple and cost efficient. The theory is based on
the idea that people would be more concerned with the negative effects on the land if they owned the land themselves and got
something from it. Because of local interest in certain areas, some countries are considering land title registration
(Nsiah-Gyabaah, 171). There are also two major undertakings that a government can try in order to not only prevent and slow, but
to actually restore pastoral areas and eventually farming areas that are currently desert. They are natural and artificial recovery.
"Natural recovery may be obtained by exclusion of human influence: neither people nor cattle can penetrate the fenced area"
(Mainguet, 209). Some examples of where natural recovery has worked are Southern Tunisia and Iran. "Natural recovery can work
in poor soil, coarse sandy soils, saline soils, even with rainfall lower than 80 mm" (Mainguet, 204). Natural recovery does have
drawbacks though. First of all, the area that is being recovered must be fenced in. The size of the land fenced in could cause
problems for nomadic farmers who would have to detour the area. Other modes of transportation may also be affected and
disrupted. There are two types of artificial recovery. The first is intervention on "topography and soils: contour terracing,
scarification, plowing, water-spreading techniques, and fertilization. The second type of intervention is seeding" (Mainguet, 204). In
the second type seeds are first covered with clay and sand then driven into the sand by sheep. The clay makes the seeds heavier
and helps them to germinate. Improvement of the situation in West Africa and more specifically Ghana may lie more in the hands
of the individual farmers than on the government as a whole. Some of the ways that farmers can help is by implementing crop
rotation and multi-crop agriculture. Crop rotation means to change from season to season what types of plant are grown on an
area of land. Cereal farmers should try to rotate with groundnuts and cowpeas to keep fertility up and the need for fertilizers at a
minimum. (Nsiah-Gyabaah, 180). "Multi-crop agriculture, also called the inter-cropping system, or alley or strip cropping, is the
simultaneous culture of two or more crops in the same plot" (Mainguet, 220). This come in several different variations from
growing crops separated by rows of trees (alley cropping) and growing two or more types of plants in alternating rows. Both of
these methods help to control soil erosion. Trees help trap soil and prevent it from washing or blowing away. If fruit trees are
planted they are also an alternate food source and a source of vitamins that a person may lack if they only take in one specific
food. Obviously, desertification is a major problem with not only many causes but also as many solutions. The answer, however,
lies in the hands of each country and its citizens. Those that try to actively make a difference have a high possibility of success,
while those who continue to try to do everything the tradition way will soon find themselves trying to farm or drive cattle on rock and
sand.
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