Managing Natural Resources in Africa

Geography 12

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What are Africa’s Ecosystems?

1. Mediterranean

2. Mountain Regions

3. Tropical Grassland

4. Dry Grassland

5. Hot Dessert

6. Tropical Rainforest

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Relationship between the environment and people

Everything is Connected:

• Without adequate forest cover, soils become depleted.

• Without fertile soil, food production declines, and the threat of hunger increases.

• Without secure food supplies and clean water, good health is impossible!

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Relationship between the environment and people

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPlbbRUxh3c

Video: Climate Witness – Farmers in

Tanzania Left High and Dry

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Environmental Problems

• Deforestation• Soil degradation• Water resource degradation• Unsustainable use of land and water

resources• Desertification • Loss of biological diversity

(ECA, 1999)

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Environmental Problems

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Environmental Problems

• In Uganda and Ethiopia, 80% of all environmental degradation costs is from soil erosion

• Every year Africa loses 50 hectares of tropical forest a year• Every year 230 million hectares affected by soil and land

degradation

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Environmental Problems

One of the underlying causes of this situation is the inadequate

management of natural resources

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Any progress achieved in addressing the Millennium Development Goals of poverty and hunger eradication,

improved health, and environmental protection is unlikely to be

sustained if most of the ecosystem services on which humanity relies

continue to be degraded.

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What are the Millennium Development Goals?

• A series of 8 goals to be achieved by 2015. • They were developed to bind the world to

join forces to fight against poverty, illiteracy, gender inequality, child and maternal mortality, disease and environmental degradation.

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How do the MDGs relate to the Environment and Natural

Resources?

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MDGs: The 8 Goals and their Targets

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Goal # 1Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty

Target: • Reduce the proportion of

people living on less than $1.25 per day by half

• Reduce the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by half

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Goal # 2Achieve universal primary education

Target: • Ensure that all

boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling

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Goal # 3Promote gender equality and empowerment of womenTarget: • Eliminate gender

disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 at all levels by 2015

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Goal # 4Reduce child mortality

Target: • Reduce the

mortality rate among children under five by two thirds

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Goal # 5Improve maternal health

Target: • Reduce the

maternal mortality ratio by three quarters

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Goal # 6Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Target: • Halt and begin to

reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

• Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other diseases

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Goal # 7Ensure environmental sustainabilityTarget: • Integrate the principles of

sustainable development into country policies and programs

• Reverse the loss of environmental resources

• Reduce the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by half

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Goal # 8Develop a global partnership for developmentTarget: • Develop an open and fair

trading system with commitments to good governance and poverty reduction

• Deal with the debt problems of developing countries

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To achieve the MDGs, improved management of

resources is necessary

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Examples of sustainable management of natural

resources include:

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Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture

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Planting Trees

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Together we can build healthy communities!