Sahel

Question 1

Location

Answer 1

A belt of land with a semi arid climate, south of the Sahara desert

Spans Africa from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east

Runs through countries such as Senegal to chad to Sudan

Latitude between 15 and 20 degrees north

Question 2

Large percentage of the lowest income countries are in sub Saharan Africa including: (identified by the EU)

Answer 2

Senegal
Gambia
Liberia

Question 3

Background of the region

Answer 3

Depend more on their natural resource base for economic and social needs more than any other region in the world

Two thirds of people live in rural areas and rely on agriculture and other natural resources for income

Environmental resource base of the region is shrinking rapidly

Air and water pollution, deforestation, loss of soil and soil fertility, and a dramatic decline in biodiversity throughout the region

Most countries are so crippled by poverty that few resources are available for managing the environment

Question 4

Why is the Sahel vulnerable to desertification

Answer 4

The people who live there are some of the poorest in the world

Low unreliable rainfall and searing summer temperatures - bake soils

Long droughts and serious famine are common

Question 5

Population increase in the Sahel and its implications

Answer 5

About 260 million people are thought to live in the Sahel region

Population estimated to be doubling every 20 years

Rate of Population increase (3%) is greater than the food increase (2%) - so the rapidly increasing population is putting additional pressure on land to be more productive

An increasing population also requires more water, and groundwater supplies are being depleted

Question 6

The fuelwood crisis

Answer 6

Energy sources are limited in the Sahel - with most people having to rely on wood for cooking

With limited availability and increasing demand for the growing population, the land has been stripped of its trees. Some species of trees have now become completely extinct