Discuss the Impacts of Desertification in the Sahel?

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Discuss the impacts of desertification in the Sahel? (15 marks). The Sahel is the name given to the vast semi-arid desert on the southern edge of the Sahara, it stretches across the African continent and includes parts of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan. These are only some countries that pass through the Sahel, there are eleven in that it passes through in total. The area potentially could be turned into a desert in the future as aridity levels increase. This is leading to a decrease in population. The people who live in the Sahel are some of the poorest people on earth, this is contributed by the incredibly hostile conditions/environment (high temperatures and low unreliable rain rainfall). This means the area of the Sahel is barely able to support any life at all. The immediate cause is the removal of vegetation, the removal of vegetation happens due to a number of factors. Firstly too man live stock on too little land, this is called over grazing. Over grazing has led to a reduction in the remaining vegetation, the animals become desperate and resort to eating roots as well as leaves. The plants cannot recover and they die. The removal of crops to feed families and build on the land where the crops were. Deforestation for fuel and construction materials. Inappropriate irrigation practices that lead to high salinity levels which renders the soil infertile. These are intensified by other factors draught depletes vegetation cover. Climatic shifts increases the frequency and intensity of draughts. The growing population in the Sahel means more pressure on the land to produce crops. The poverty restricts the investment into the land to aid rehabilitation of the land. The Sahel area is barely able to support life. People have limited options for jobs due to desertification, many occupy such as herding animals across parched grass land or

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