Transcript Africa Atlas Chapter 1 PowerPoint

AFRICA: Atlas of Our Changing Environment
AFRICA: Atlas of Our Changing Environment
AFRICA: Atlas of Our Changing Environment
Africa’s Facts and Figures
• Africa holds approximately 30%
of the earth’s minerals and oil
production
• Africa is the Earth’s oldest,
second largest (after Asia) and
second most populous (after
Asia) continent
• Africa has the world’s longest
river (the Nile), biggest desert
(the Sahara), oldest desert (the
Namib) and shortest coastline
Africa’s Geography
The Land
People
Water Resources
The Plants and Animals
Climate Zones
Africa’s Geography: Land
• 32% of Africa’s pasture lands and
19% of its forests and woodlands
are classified as degraded
•
• Africa's deserts account for about
5% of Africa's land area
• Arid lands cover approximately
60% of Africa
• 10% of farm soils are prime
agricultural land and more than
25% of the land has moderate to
low potential for sustainable
agriculture
• Forests account for over 20% of
Africa’s 30 million km2 of land area
Africa’s Geography: Water Resources
• It is estimated that over 300 million
people in Africa face water scarcity
•
• Per capita water consumption in
Africa is 31m3 per year
• About 75% of the African
population relies on groundwater as
its major source of drinking water
• Renewable water resources for the
whole of Africa amount to about
3 930 km3
Africa’s Geography: Climate Zones
• Africa is the world’s second
driest continent (after Australia)
• Africa is the world’s hottest
continent
• Africa emits only 4% of total
global CO2 emissions
Africa’s Geography: The Plants and Animals
 Africa is home to world’s largest bird –
the ostrich (Struthio camelus) and
largest living land mammal – the
African elephant
 98% of Madagascar's land mammals,
92% of its reptiles, 68% of its plants
and 41% of its breeding bird species
exist nowhere else on Earth
 Africa’s Congo Basin constitutes the
second-largest area of dense tropical
rain forest in the world (after the
Amazonian forests of South America)
Africa’s Geography: People
• In 2007 Africa was home to
more than 965 million people
• More than 60% of Africa’s
population was still living in
rural areas in 2005
• Africa now has the fastest urban
growth rate in the world
• 2.7% of Africa’s population lives
within 100 km of the coast
• 56.6% of African labour force is
engaged in agriculture
Africa’s Changing Environment
 Natural Change and Population
Africa’s population grew 2.32% annually
between 2000 and 2005—nearly double
the global rate of 1.24%
 Land Cover and Land Use
Africa is losing more than four million
hectares of forest every year—twice
the world’s average deforestation rate
 Air and Atmosphere
Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate
change - towards the end of the 21st
century, climate change will have caused
sea-level rises that will affect Africa’s
highly populated low-lying coastal areas
 Water
By 2050 it is expected that areas
experiencing water shortages in subSaharan Africa will have increased by
29%
 Biodiversity
Africa contains 3 044 protected areas including 198 Marine Protected Areas, 50
Biosphere Reserves, 80 Wetlands of International Importance, and eight of the
world’s 34 international biodiversity hotspots
Africa’s Changing Population
Africa’s population grew 2.32%
annually between 2000 and 2005—
nearly double the global rate of 1.24%
per year
Africa’s “Shrinking” Land Base
Increased population increases
pressures on the land and its
resources. In a hypothetical
situation whereby land is
shared equally among its
population, each individual’s
share of land would decrease
with the increase in population
as time passes, putting more
pressure on resources.
1990
2005
2050
1950
1970
Africa’s Changing Environment
Deforestation rate
Vulnerability to
Desertification
Deforestation
Africa loses an average of 40 000
km2, or 0.6%, of its forests
annually
Desertification
Lands prone to desertification
occupy about 5% of Africa’s
land mass and are home to 22
million people
Africa’s Changing Environment
Per Capita Renewable Water
Renewable Water
Africa’s freshwater supplies represent
less than 9% of global renewable
water resources
Water Stress
Water Stress
It is estimated that over 300 million people in
Africa face water scarcity conditions
8 Biological Hot Spots of Africa
A Few African Species Extinct in the Wild
Earth Observations
Africa at Night
 Light distribution correlates
with population density
 Africa with about 12% of the
world’s population consumed
a mere one-tenth of the
electricity used in North
America which had 5.1% of
global population (as of 2004)
Earth Observations
Africa—Lightning Centre of the World
Africa has more lightning flashes per square
kilometre than anywhere else on Earth
Africa – World’s Hottest Region
This image shows the highest land
surface temperatures recorded worldwide
between 2003 and 2005 (in pink)
Soil Moisture Monitoring using Radar
August 2005
August 2006
The maps show marked differences in soil moisture between August 2005 and
August 2006, as a result of above average rainfall in 2006
Thank You!
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