what are the nature and social costs of environmental degradation in africa?

Answer 1

same as everywhere else

everything!

Answer 2

Environmental change is taking place everywhere, all the time. It is just that humans. currently choose to blame themselves and worry about it. I read a theory (its all theoretical) that global warming will lead to greater rainfall in the area of the Saharan Desert and that will mean a return to fertility there. Which, of course, will be tough on desert creatures and plants.
There is plenty of evidence that there were once great rivers in that area, it wasn't man who changed things. Then there is plenty of evidence that areas of swamp and jungle in the Congo were once a savanah plain with cities. Again, it wasn't man who changed things. We are too self important and think everything good or bad is down to us.
So blame overpopulation, goats, growing food for exports, blame anything you like. In the long term Nature rules everything, not us. You can always blame Nature, that would only be natural?

Answer 3

One large problem is desertification. That is when normal land turns into desert. That would be worth looking into.

One thing you have to consider from a social standpoint is that African people are less developed than we are, and they can't spend all their time worrying about the environment. After all, the current developed nations all went through a period (industrial period) when they were producing a lot of pollution. It wouldn't be fair to expect the Africans to magically skip over this period. So I would say that from a social standpoint it is actually good, because it means that they are developing.

Answer 4

less than in Europe and especially the USA (who use twice as much resources as an average European) as land isn't so heavily used in Africa, and the ecological footprint of an African is much less as they travel less by car or other motor vehicles.

But environment is certainly beind degraded, principally through deforestation (often illegal logging) and desertification, they also go sometimes hand in hand, as when poor villagers cut firewood in the Sahel region just south of the Sahara, they increase the likelihood of desertification as trees and bushes stop the sand flying and roots can keep the soil in its place.

This is why the ecological movement of planting trees in Kenya, launched by the nobel prize winner Wangari Maathai is an important initiative.

Answer 5

The african problem is not the same than developped country. Because in developped country we know already that what we are doing is bad. and peoples don't want to go back for less pollution.
In African country, they want to become high developped like developped country, and no one can't stop this. But when Africans peoples will be at the same level of developped country, earth will be almost die !!!
because 25 % of peoples on the world (developped country) are making 75 % of pollution. So when 75 other % peoples living in non developped country will polluting like 25 % !!!!
It will make 300 % of pollution as we know now !!!!
All peoples need to be responsible at his pollution, and try to carry earth.
If not, perhaps human lives their least hours... Perhaps it's the best thing that the earth could hope !!!
but certainly, if human don't do something quickly, dead will increase more and more (air, water, earth pollution are so increasing, exponentially to continue and so on, and so on...).
and also GOM (OGM) are one sort of pollution, like nuclear, like motor explosion gaz, like intensive agriculture, like chemical products that aren't absorbed by earth...

Pollution are every where, it's time to hurry up !!!!!!!!

Answer 6

Ask Bono
ono ask Geldof

Answer 7

Something else Bono and Geldof can get off on.