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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.
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.
"Use of terms"
For the purposes of this Convention:
"desertification" means land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations
and human activities; "combating desertification" includes activities which
are part of the integrated development of land in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas for sustainable development which are aimed at:
prevention and/or reduction of land degradation; rehabilitation of partly
degraded land; and reclamation of desertified land.
"drought" means the naturally occurring phenomenon that exists when
precipitation has been significantly below normal recorded levels, causing
serious hydrological imbalances that adversely affect land resource
production systems;
"mitigating the effects of drought" means activities related to the prediction
of drought and intended to reduce the vulnerability of society and natural
systems to drought as it relates to combating desertification;
"land" means the terrestrial bio-productive system that comprises soil,
vegetation, other biota, and the ecological and hydrological processes that
operate within the system;
"land degradation" means reduction or loss, in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity
of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and
woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of
processes, including processes arising from human activities and
habitation patterns, such as:
soil erosion caused by wind and/or water; deterioration of the physical,
chemical and biological or economic properties of soil; and long-term loss
of natural vegetation; "arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas" means
areas, other than polar and sub-polar regions, in which the ratio of annual
precipitation to potential evapotranspiration falls within the range from 0.05
to 0.65; "affected areas" means arid, semi-arid and/or dry sub-humid
areas affected or threatened by desertification;
"affected countries" means countries whose lands include, in whole or in
part, affected areas;
"regional economic integration organization" means an organization
constituted by sovereign States of a given region which has competence in
respect of matters governed by this Convention and has been duly
authorized, in accordance with its internal procedures, to sign, ratify,
accept, approve or accede to this Convention;
"developed country Parties" means developed country Parties and
regional economic integration organizations constituted by developed
countries.
Definitions
desertification means land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations
and human activities
combating desertification includes activities which are part of the
integrated development of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas
for sustainable development which are aimed at: prevention and/or
reduction of land degradation; rehabilitation of partly degraded land; and
reclamation of desertified land
drought means the naturally occurring phenomenon that exists when
precipitation has been significantly below normal recorded levels, causing
serious hydrological imbalances that adversely affect land resource
production systems
mitigating the effects of drought means activities related to the prediction of
drought and intended to reduce the vulnerability of society and natural
systems to drought as it relates to combating desertification
land means the terrestrial bio-productive system that comprises soil,
vegetation, other biota, and the ecological and hydrological processes that
operate within the system
land degradation means reduction or loss, in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity
of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and
woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of
processes, including processes arising from human activities and
habitation patterns, such as: soil erosion caused by wind and/or water;
deterioration of the physical, chemical and biological or economic
properties of soil; and long-term loss of natural vegetation arid, semi-arid
and dry sub-humid areas means areas, other than polar and sub-polar
regions, in which the ratio of annual precipitation to potential
evapotranspiration falls within the range from 0.05 to 0.65 units
affected areas means arid, semi-arid and/or dry sub-humid areas affected
or threatened by desertification
affected countries means countries whose lands include, in whole or in
part, affected areas
regional economic integration organization means an organization
constituted by sovereign States of a given region which has competence in
respect of matters governed by this Convention and has been duly
authorized, in accordance with its internal procedures, to sign, ratify,
accept, approve or accede to this Convention
developed country Parties means developed country Parties and regional
economic integration organizations constituted by developed countries
For the purposes of this Convention:
"desertification" means land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations
and human activities; "combating desertification" includes activities which
are part of the integrated development of land in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas for sustainable development which are aimed at:
prevention and/or reduction of land degradation; rehabilitation of partly
degraded land; and reclamation of desertified land.
"drought" means the naturally occurring phenomenon that exists when
precipitation has been significantly below normal recorded levels, causing
serious hydrological imbalances that adversely affect land resource
production systems;
"mitigating the effects of drought" means activities related to the prediction
of drought and intended to reduce the vulnerability of society and natural
systems to drought as it relates to combating desertification;
"land" means the terrestrial bio-productive system that comprises soil,
vegetation, other biota, and the ecological and hydrological processes that
operate within the system;
"land degradation" means reduction or loss, in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity
of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and
woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of
processes, including processes arising from human activities and
habitation patterns, such as:
soil erosion caused by wind and/or water; deterioration of the physical,
chemical and biological or economic properties of soil; and long-term loss
of natural vegetation; "arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas" means
areas, other than polar and sub-polar regions, in which the ratio of annual
precipitation to potential evapotranspiration falls within the range from 0.05
to 0.65; "affected areas" means arid, semi-arid and/or dry sub-humid
areas affected or threatened by desertification;
"affected countries" means countries whose lands include, in whole or in
part, affected areas;
"regional economic integration organization" means an organization
constituted by sovereign States of a given region which has competence in
respect of matters governed by this Convention and has been duly
authorized, in accordance with its internal procedures, to sign, ratify,
accept, approve or accede to this Convention;
"developed country Parties" means developed country Parties and
regional economic integration organizations constituted by developed
countries.
Definitions
desertification means land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations
and human activities
combating desertification includes activities which are part of the
integrated development of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas
for sustainable development which are aimed at: prevention and/or
reduction of land degradation; rehabilitation of partly degraded land; and
reclamation of desertified land
drought means the naturally occurring phenomenon that exists when
precipitation has been significantly below normal recorded levels, causing
serious hydrological imbalances that adversely affect land resource
production systems
mitigating the effects of drought means activities related to the prediction of
drought and intended to reduce the vulnerability of society and natural
systems to drought as it relates to combating desertification
land means the terrestrial bio-productive system that comprises soil,
vegetation, other biota, and the ecological and hydrological processes that
operate within the system
land degradation means reduction or loss, in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity
of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and
woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of
processes, including processes arising from human activities and
habitation patterns, such as: soil erosion caused by wind and/or water;
deterioration of the physical, chemical and biological or economic
properties of soil; and long-term loss of natural vegetation arid, semi-arid
and dry sub-humid areas means areas, other than polar and sub-polar
regions, in which the ratio of annual precipitation to potential
evapotranspiration falls within the range from 0.05 to 0.65 units
affected areas means arid, semi-arid and/or dry sub-humid areas affected
or threatened by desertification
affected countries means countries whose lands include, in whole or in
part, affected areas
regional economic integration organization means an organization
constituted by sovereign States of a given region which has competence in
respect of matters governed by this Convention and has been duly
authorized, in accordance with its internal procedures, to sign, ratify,
accept, approve or accede to this Convention
developed country Parties means developed country Parties and regional
economic integration organizations constituted by developed countries