Sub-Sahara Africa
Somalia
I believe that mankind has taken for granted the beautiful situation we were given being able to live on this planet. It seems that people and corporations are so focused on their own short term goals rather than creating a stable future for their own children. Our technological advancements and the globalization that has taken place over the recent decades is impressive to say the least.
Even with our technological advancements we need to be intelligent enough to consider the future impact that our waste will create. Humans, without a doubt, have a moral obligation to take care of our world for we do not have another if we destroy this one. Parents are always trying to give their children the most opportunities and the brightest future they possibly can so we must act as the parents of our own planet. Therefore, we need to take action against problems like global warming not only for our own sake but for the sake of our children.
The picture below shows a group of Penguins forced onto a small island due to global warming.
It is without a surprise that Somalia, being one of the poorest countries in the world, has problems maintaining their environment. Without a central government there seems to be no one taking the responsibility of taking care of their land. Land degradation is a form of excessive erosion causing desertification, which is making a dry land even worse by losing its bodies of water. With the water in the land leaving the vegetation and wildlife has no chance of surviving, effectively destroying an ecosystem. I believe that this is an even greater problem in a third world country that depends on the wildlife for food and the wilderness for resources. There isn't stable land to sustain livestock and the dried up dirt makes it impossible to farm.
Charcoal is an important energy source for African countries as well as provides jobs for the people, but is a main cause of the deforestation. Somalia can make quick money off of their charcoal but their inefficient ways of production damage the environment. The use of charcoal puts pollution into the air and destroys wood resources, which the country is already lacking. A lot like global warming Somalia is focused on their short term profits instead of considering the long lasting impact of their actions on their own environment. It is the strong foreign demand for their product that encourages them to continue to produce charcoal.
Charcoal is an important energy source for African countries as well as provides jobs for the people, but is a main cause of the deforestation. Somalia can make quick money off of their charcoal but their inefficient ways of production damage the environment. The use of charcoal puts pollution into the air and destroys wood resources, which the country is already lacking. A lot like global warming Somalia is focused on their short term profits instead of considering the long lasting impact of their actions on their own environment. It is the strong foreign demand for their product that encourages them to continue to produce charcoal.
Below is a small example of the deforestation plaguing the country of Somalia
The United Nations Environment Programme started the Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) along with the World Bank in an effort to identify the issues in the Somalian environment. However, the ongoing civil war left the effort with very little relevant data to use but the JNA stated this was a very important first step.
This is a photo of some of the Somalian wildlife that died off because the lack of vegetation
Water.org does work in the Sub-Sahara Africa region but they do not work in the country of Somalia itself. I'm assuming this is because of the dangerous environment due to the constant civil war in the country. They do work in two of Somalia's neighboring countries of Ethiopia and Kenya. Ethiopia is one of the countries hit hardest by drought and failure of crops, but the program is helping 32,000 people. In Uganda many people just use springs to get their water instead of pipes. The springs are easily contaminated by the lack of drainage and no regulation of waste disposal. Right now the group isn't able to help more than a handful of countries in Africa but hopes to increase their reach in the future.
Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment