Sahel and Arizona Flashcards
What are the challenges faced in the Sahel, Niger,
● Desertification
● Land ruined by excessive irrigation causing saline crusts
● Overgrazing by goats
● Recurring droughts
● Locusts in 1995
● Climatic changes - Droughts are now more common, high temperatures cause a high rate of evapotranspiration, rainfall is infrequent but intense, causing soil erosion
● Over population - Change in traditional farming practices. Nomads have adopted a more sedentary (settled) lifestyle with no change in traditional herding practices
How such fragile environments can be exploited for short-term gains’
How is the Sahel exploited?
● Land ruined by excessive irrigation causing saline crusts
● Growth in livestock for export – overgrazing by goats
● Uranium and gold mining - France receives almost 80% of its energy from nuclear power and the state-owned energy giant, Areva, gets a third of its uranium (French) from two mines in Niger, where it is the second largest employer after the state.
● Oil exploitation
Describe oil exploitation in the Niger.
Oil exploitation –
● Criticisms abound about the way the oil companies have neglected the surrounding environment and health of the local communities. The Niger Delta is the richest area of biodiversity in Nigeria, but regular oil spills that are not cleaned up, blatant dumping of industrial waste.
● The presence of multinational oil companies has had additional adverse effects on the local economy and society, including loss of property, price inflation, prostitution, and irresponsible fathering by expatriate oil workers.
How can careful management can help to ensure sustainable development in the Sahel?
● Use of mulches to improve soil and add moisture
● Planting pits – collect any runoff
● Intercropping – shrubs between millet rows to reduce wind damage
● Bunds – low stone walls along the contours to hold top soil and water
● Use of dung to retain moisture in soil
● Growing drought resistant crop varieties - Three new lowland rice varieties released recently in Nigeria could lead to a one-third increase in local farmers’ yields.
● Planting drought resistant trees
● Providing education on planting crops in a 6 year cycle
Describe the provision of education in the Sahel.
● Folasade is a member of smallholder women farmers’ network in Ondo state. ActionAid gave the group practical training in sustainable agriculture.
● “I used to burn bushes on my farm thinking it was the easiest way of clearing farmland. But since the training, I have stopped as I learnt that it reduces the nutrients in the soil. I have also started applying the new method of planting I learnt from the training, and my crop is growing very well”
Describe the challenges faced by Arizona
● Fastest growing state – retirement
● Excessive use of groundwater
● Entitled to 50% of water of Colorado River (rest to California)
How such fragile environments can be exploited for short-term gains’
How is Arizona exploited?
● Cotton cash cropping
● Copper mining
● Tourism
Describe cotton cash cropping in Arizona
Cotton requires 60 percent more water than wheat and water is pulled from a nearby federal reservoir, siphoned from beleaguered underground aquifers and pumped in from the Colorado River hundreds of miles away. Demand and prices for cotton are low however the federal government has long offered him so many financial incentives to do it that he can’t afford not to.
Describe copper mining in Arizona
- Rosemont Copper Company, plan to blast a mile-wide, half-mile deep copper mine on 4,000 acres of the mountains, 50 miles southeast of Tucson. It will draw off and is expected to pollute the arid region’s water supply and tourism industry that relies heavily on preserving the mountains.
Describe tourism in Arizona
– e.g. Grand Canyon - Humans have introduced non-native plant and animal species into the park, which out compete native flora and fauna for space, food and water. Air pollution has routinely drifted into the Canyon from metropolitan areas and nearby coal-fired power plants, affecting visibility from scenic vistas.
How can careful management can help to ensure sustainable development in Arizona?
What management can tackle the water scarcity?
● Vast Dams on Colorado - Lakes Mead and Powell
● Water transfer schemes to Phoenix and Tucson
● Water farming – buying land for its water store
● Precision levelling to conserve irrigation water
● Remote sensing (Agiis) to ensure exact needs of crops are met so saving water
● New irrigation techniques such as buried drip and precision sprinklers
How can careful management can help to ensure sustainable development in Arizona?
What management can tackle mining pollution?
● The Centre for Environmentally Sustainable Mining (CESM) The mission of CESM is to develop educational, training, and research to address environmental issues related to mining activities in arid and semi-arid urban environments.
● Examples include development of novel technologies to: minimize water use and suppress dust generation in mining operations, create sustainable mine tailings caps and prevent and treat acid rock drainage.
How can careful management can help to ensure sustainable development in Arizona?
What management has made the area more attractive for tourism?
● Park scientists at the Grand Canyon use integrated pest management techniques to eradicate and relocate non-native and pest species.
● A coal-fired power plant in Page (near Grand Canyon has installed scrubbers in smoke stacks to reduce air pollution.
