Desert CASE STUDIES

Greece & Niger

Demographics

Greece Niger

Population 10.7 mil 13.3 million

Population Growth
0.15% per year 2.9% per year
Rate

TFR 1.4 children per woman 7.3 children per woman

Birth Rate 9.5 / 1000 population per year 49.6 / 1000 population per year

Life expectancy 79.5 years 44.3 years

GDP per capita $30,600 $700

GDP composition by agric: 3.6% → industry: 24.5% → agric.: 39% → industry: 17% →
sector services: 68% services: 4%

Economy

Niger

one of the poorest countries in the world

centred on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world’s

largest uranium deposits

problems: drought cycles, desertification, and a population growth

have undercut the economy

possible solution: future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil,

gold, coal, and other mineral resources

Greece

has a capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about 40%
of GDP

Desert CASE STUDIES 1

 tourism accounts for 15% of GDP

immigrants make up 1/5 of the work force → mainly in agric. and unskilled
jobs

Desertification in Greece

Problems Solutions

50% of land in Crete and 35% of

Background land in Greece is a high risk of
desertification

farmers may be the first to suffer

from this, but they are also apart of
the problem → over-intensive use
of land, over-pumping of
Agriculture
groundwater, irrigation with water
with a high mineral salt content,
use of acidic chemical fertilizers,
and destruction of vegetation

overgrazing by thousands of sheep

and goats contributes to the
desertification of mountainous
areas of Crete → it has been known
for years that there are far more
sheep and goats in Crete that the
island can support → ~1.5 mil
sheep and goats graze 55% of
Cretan land → in Crete, the
Animal Husbandry
mountainous regions with the
worst overgrazing are the
Asterousia Mountains, Mt Psiloritis
and the Sfakia area → shepherds
set fires to burn off dry grasses to
encourage the growth of fresh
grass for their herds intensifies the
problems of desertification and soil
erosion

Desert CASE STUDIES 2

 the sheep and goats of Crete
threaten the island’s forests as they
eat the young tree shoots → forest
renewal and regeneration is
important as forests cover only
Forest loss 4.5% of Crete which feel to 2% in
Heraklion Prefecture → vulnerable
to forest fires → risk of erosion as
heavy rainfall easily washes away
the soil as there are no tree roots to
absorb it
the rapid growth of population
requires large amounts of water
(problem in the city of Heraklion
and the tourist resorts of Heraklion
Prefecture where water needs
Tourist increase exponentially every
development summer) → people are demanding
better water management and use
of treated wastewater in the city of
Heraklion → the water network is
old and leaky here with up to 50%
of water being lost
the Messara Plain South of Heraklion, in the Messara
area, is at immediate risk of
desertification → over 15 mil euros
have already been spent on the
construction of the Faneromeni
dam near Vori - the mean temp. in
Jan 2007 was 3 degrees higher (12
deg cel) than in Jan 2006 (9 deg
cel) → the water tavle is 5-10
metres lower than in 2006, and up
to 22 metres lower than in 2005 in
some areas
Desert CASE STUDIES
these problems are currently
met through boring new wells,
problem = in periods of law
rainfall these result in a fall in the
water table, salinization of
coastal areas, and drying-out of
wetlands → dam of the
Aposelemis River is a possibility,
take years to build and become
operational →
Faneromeni dam constructed in
1999 and completed in 2003 →
an earth dam with a capacity of
17 mil cubic metres - must wait a
few more years to see results →
progress slow - four years after
the completion of the dam, the
construction of the irrigation
pipelines has only just been put
to tender → another project in
the works is the redirection of
the Platys River, which flows into
the sea at Agia Galini → it is
estimated that almost 120 mil
cubic metres of surface and
groundwater flow into the Platys
catchment basin, only 3% of this
3
 water is used, and about 50 mil
cubic meteres of water end up in
the sea each year → project
aims to create a reservoir of 20
mil cubic metres of water and
transfer another 10 mil along a
pipeline to the Faneromeni dam
→ project ~$130 mil cost and
plans to provide irrigation for an
area of 45,00 square metres in
this part of Crete threatened by
desertification

Perspective: in 2006 (630 -

1280mm) Crete had more rain than
in 2005 (550 - 930mm) →
however, although the percentage
of rainfall was higher than the
previous year, the groundwater has
not been replenished because the
rain came in short, heavy showers
→ due to Crete’s semi-arid climate,
Crete’s Semi-arid
rain falls come all at once in a few
Climate
torrential showers → this means
that the water runs off the surface
of the earth without being
absorbed properly and
replenishing the aquifers →
evaporation is also very high here
→ about 8 cubic metres of water
are lost per square km of Cretan
soil

Desertification in Niger

Problems Solutions

Background the Ténéré desert (part of the a project to study the causes and
Sahara) accounts for 350,000 of effects of desert windstorms and
Niger’s 1,267,000 square kms - 3/4 what actions can be taken to
make the effects of these less

Desert CASE STUDIES 4

 of the land is desert - which is severe → the ‘African Land and
advancing by 6km every year → Water Initiative’, for which the
2004-2005 pilot project was
financed with 515,000 dollars

Oct 2005 → the highest amounts of

water collected each year were less
than 800mm throughout the country,
Arid Climate even dropping below 100mm in
almost of half of Niger →
temperatures can sometimes climb
to 45 degrees in the shade

85% of the West African nation’s

12.5 mil people depend on the land,
a ‘National Forestry Programme’
making a living from framing and
Agricultural financed with $365,000 2004-
livestock (subsidence agricultural)
2006
→ lack of rain led to crop failures up
to 80%

more than 1 mil children facing

Poverty
malnutrition

misery has made the Sahel’s

thousands of unemployed a easy
target for recruiters from extremist
groups (their main base lies across
Political groups Niger’s badly patrolled border with
Algeria) → called al Qaeda led by
black africans → outsiders fear the
Tuareg will make common cause
with Islamist extremists

Tuaregs of Niger
problem = increasing uranium mining in the areas where the Tuaregs live in
Niger is decreasing their quality of life

1. produces cancer-causing radioactive water → seeps into the groundwater

(aquifer) that Tuaregs drink

2. uses up extensive groundwater to process the uranium, depleting the aquifers

Desert CASE STUDIES 5

 within 20 yeas → groundwater sources will be exhausted and the Tuareg’s
will not be able to survive the 9-month dry season

all uranium mines are located in the centre of a major geographic feature of
the North in Niger → called the Azawagh Valley

this valley is valuable to the people as it produces seasonal grasses and

plants and standing ponds of water with high mineral content → nourishing
for livestock

practices

the Tuaregs raise camels, goats, sheep, and some cows

adjustments of the Tuaregs to the extreme weather and climate in the Sahara

have developed extensive patterns of pasture-sharing and well-calculated

nomadic movements to maximize the available pasture and water in the
Sahara

open-pit mining techniques

leaching → injection wells & recovery wells

dairy tenders manage their herd so that they give birth during the rainy
season where their is plenty of pasture for the offspring

The Great Green Wall

since 1920, the Sahara Desert has expanded by 10%

African countries are building a wall of trees and vegetation 4,349 miles long
to prevent desertification

the ‘Great Green Wall’ was started by 11 countries in Africa in 2007

the wall is going across the northern part of the Savanna biome of Africa
known as the Sahel

goals = 8,500 km long, 15km wide, the restoration 100 mil hectares of land
by 2030

Desert CASE STUDIES 6

 only 15% has been completed by 2021

benefits

creates green jobs → 20,000

makes more fertile agric.

almost 62,000 acres have been restored in Senegal

slow or stop desertification resulting in increased food security

reduce force migration and attraction to extremism

potential for greater rainfall because of more transpiration int the

atmosphere

Somalia 2009-2011
the worst drought to hit the area in 60 years
Demographics

When 2009-2011

GDP per capita $600 USD (Canada’s is ~43,000)

GDP by sector agric. = 60.2% Industry = 7.4% services = 32.5%

Labour force by occupation agric. = 71% Industry and services: 29%

Cause of Hazard Event

communities no longer have several years of regular

rainfall to recover from the occasional year of drought →
Lack of precipitation
now faced with almost constant state of food insecurity
due to droughts and subsequent poor harvests

in al-Shabab held areas contributed to the drought as

Deforestation cutting down trees can reduce rainfall and the ability of
the ground to hold water

Failure of Gov to adequately finance agriculture and irrigation schemes

Secondary hazard of famine

led to sharp increases in food prices
caused by poor harvests

Desert CASE STUDIES 7

 bans imposed on the UN World Food Programme
(resulted in famines) and other foreign international aid
exacerbated by al-Shabab
→ other al-Shabab restricitons such as threats to the
(militant leaders in souther
lives of UN staff, imposition of unacceptable operating
Somalia)
conditions, informal taxes and refusal to accept female
relief works

La Niña

Preconditions to the Disaster

country without an official national government since

Political instability the overthrow of President Mohamed Siad Barre in Jan
1991

1992-1993, 1973, 1984; people were pretty prepared as

Many prior historical instances
because were aware of the threat of drought and
of droughts in the region
subsequent famine

meant that they were helpless to modify hazard or

lessen the brunt → most did not have the tools or skills
Low economic status of area
to adequately prepare for the hazard → 71% employed
in agriculture hit by drought

Many mouths to feed high birth rates → TFR = 6.1

Socio-Economic Impacts

up to 10% of children are

more than 10 mil people threatened by showing signs of serve acute
Starvation starvation in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, malnutrition → increasing
and Djibouti susceptibility to infectious
diseases

famine forced nearly 500,000 people to

flee the Lower Shabelle and Bakool
25% of Somalia’s 7.5 mil
Mass migration regions by foot to reach camps in
people were displaced
neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia in
search of food

many refugees intend to settle down

permanently near refugee camps near
Refugee camps neighbouring countries → led to tension
with local communities over resource
allocation (cutting down of firewood)

Desert CASE STUDIES 8

 Environmental Impacts

No plants farmers fled this area which caused even more starvation

Livestock deaths resulted in permanent loss of livelihoods & income

Political

Al-Shabab had been previously popular because of the gov. stability it

Tension provided, however, the gov. was blamed for famine, leading to the loss of
support and spilts in party leadership

Local Response to the Event

being a LEDC → had no money, sufficient skills, or education to deal with

LEDC
the problem and aid the residents

Piracy attacking/robbing ships at sea

Migration only option for many as a result

no stable local gov. → therefore there were no authoritative officials to

No gov.
help coordinate any solutions

National Response to the Event

several camps in Magadishu (capital of

one camp: Badbaado
Refugee Somalia) for internally displaced people →
Camp - home to over
Camps camp is protected by soldiers from the
21,000 people
trasition gov.

International Response to the Event

over a dozen initiatives

was like this even before
led by African Union,
Al-Shabab banned aid many organizations
UN, and regional
groups → some food found it difficult and
Difficult to get countries have
deliveries would be almost impossible
aid to Somalia collapsed → military
looted by gunmen and to operate in al-
intervention by foreign
others were held for Shabab territories
countries have also
ransom by Somali pirates
failed

Camps Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya refugee camp

eastern Kenya → 1000+ → Doctors Without
people arrived each day Borders Hospital

Desert CASE STUDIES 9

 for help → more than
370,00 refugees
crammed int three
camps at Dadaah, built
for a capacity of 90,000
people

Vulnerability

most people are unable to

LEDC people are extremely poor
meet the basic food costs

10 mil people threatened by starvation in

Huge population
Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Dijibouti → lack of resources
density
limited aid coming through

Lack of
cannot receive aid due to
humanitarian 10.7 mil people in need of this
al-Shabab
access

unable to come up with

Ineffective gov. no gov. since Jan 1991
solutions

Adjustments

build roads for wages which can be used to

Work for Food Programmes
purchase food → benefits = encourage
(sponsored by the UN World Food
independency, improved roads help transportation of
Program)
aid when needed

act as wind breaks to reduce erosion + seeds can

Plant trees
feed livestock

not only provide water for domestic use, but also

Rainwater harvesting tanks reduces the burden of women to travel long
distances to find water

a bund is a partial interior dyking sytem on a slight

Bunding systems to capture slope → able to utilize land that is not typically used
rainwater in fields for crops → better crops from a bund system can be
used to purchase more livestock

“Conflict, not drought, is the reason so many Somalis are dying needlessly…
Conflict has turned hunger into famine and disaster into tragedy”

Desert CASE STUDIES 10

 Nile River Drainage Basin
Overview

the Nile measures 6,825 km from its source in Lake Victoria in Uganda and
Tanzania to its mouth at the Mediterranean Sea

area = 2.6 million km^2 → covers 1/10 of Africa

Problems

1. The disappearing delta

the Nile Delta is Africa’s most productive farmland → being eaten away

2. The Aswan High Dam

sediment is being trapped behind the Aswan High Dam → prevents people
who farm the land downstream from receiving fertile silt

water quality is declining due to build-up of chemical fertilizers that have

been used to substitute for the loss of silt

fishing industry is booming in the lake trapped behind the dam (Lake
Nassar)

the increasing silt behind the dam may rise the water levels causing the
lake to overflow the dam

the weight of the silt may weaken the foundations of the dam → causing it
to collapse completely

the river now leaves behind up to one ton per hectare of salts every year

without annual floods to wash away these salts → salinization is becoming

a major problem (land becomes too salty to grow crops)

3. Evaporation of the Lake Nasser

Desert CASE STUDIES 11

 Lake Nassar was created in 1917 by the construction of the Aswan High Dam

up to 10% of its water is lost each year to evaporation

3. Floods in Khartoum

lies at the confluence of two main tributaries of the Nile (the Blue and White
Nile)

in Sept 1998 → the city suffered its worst flooding in 50 years

torrential rain causes the Nile to rise 16 meters and burst its banks

flooded sewage systems and stagnant water increased the risk of

diseases

transport links in and out of the city were at a standstill

4. Tensions over distribution of water

the international nature of the drainage basin means that use of water in one
part of the basin may affect the use in another part

Egypt and Sudan account for 90% of the water drawn from the river

growing competition for use of the Nile due to developing industrial and food
production

Ethiopia plans to build a Tana dam near the source of the Blue Nile which
could divert 39% of the river’s water

Egypt has threatened to attack Ethiopia because they are taking too
much water from the Nile

in Feb 1999 → the ‘Nile Basin Initiative’ → all countries agreed to co-
operate so that the use of water is fairer in the future

Solutions

1. Greening of Sinai

Desert CASE STUDIES 12

 by 2003 → Egypt’s 5.5 bil euros irrigation project along the coastal strip of
the Sinai Peninsula should be completed

aim = to turn 250,000 hectares of desert into productive farmland and

eventually resettle 1.5 mil people from the overcrowded Nile Valley

building towns in this area would relieve pressure on cities like Cairo

increased food production could ease Egypt’s need to import food to feed
its increasing population

half of the water for this project would come from the Nile

concerns = disruptions of the Bedouin people who live in the area, as well
as the natural environment

2. Jonglei Canal, Sudan (1978)

in a joint Egyptian and Sudanese project → the canal was designed to speed
up the movement of water along the White Nile through the Sudd swamps

less water would evaporate in the hot climate of Sudd → more water would
reach the Nile

concerns = the 360 km long canal would have a devastating effect on the
swampland environment

project stopped in 1983 after rebel forces attacked the canal’s engineersw

today → the project only remains 70% complete

drying out and falling apart

Greening Egypt’s Deserts - 2007

Political

gov. is trying to encourage people to move into the desert by advertising their
new plan called “Toshka”

plan = $70 bil project to reclaim 1.5 mil hectares of desert over the next 10
years

Desert CASE STUDIES 13

 gov. will need to tap into scare water resources of the Nile River in order to
carry out this plan

controversies

critics question whether using precious water resources to grow in a

desert that is unsuitable for cultivation is a waste as the hot sun will
evaporate this water

critics suggest it may be more wise for Egypt’s government to mollify its
own population rather than heed its neighbours concerns

this plan can add increasing tensions over Nile water-sharing arrangements

in order to green the desert, Egypt might have to take more than its share
in the Nile water determined by international treaties

government is scared that opposition groups such as the Islamist Muslim

Brotherhood, which has a fifth of the seats in the Parliament, might capitalize
on this discontent

Environmental

desert tourism may be profitable, but could destroy fragile wildlife habitats
that might otherwise draw tourists

desert reclamation project last decade (south of Cairo) → destroyed much of

the Wadi Raiyan oasis and its population of slender horned gazelles

at the Desert Development Centre → irrigation water comes through a canal

connected to the Nile (15km away) where it is used to keep crops flourishing
and grass green for hardy hybrid cows to graze

Economic

this plan will cost $70 billion dollars over the next 10 years

makes more sense to turn the desert into a tourist industry and give out jobs

building of electricity-free ecolodge costs $400 per might

Desert CASE STUDIES 14

 this shows that the desert would be better used for ecotourism than
farming

Physical

lush fields of cauliflower, apricot trees, and melon growing among a vast
stretch of sand north of Cairo’s pyramids

plan situated in the desert area of Egypt

Social

Egypt is slowly greening the sand that covers almost all its territory to create
more space for its
growing population

The growing population is straining infrastructure

Government feels it needs to reduce the number of people in high density

areas → puts pressure on resources like fertile land

Only 5% of the country is habitable

Most of the 74 million people in Egypt live along the Nile River and the
Mediterranean Sea

Cairo is one of the most densely populated cities and its population is
expected to double by 2050

Egypt’s plan to build a new city

due to overpopulation problems → Egypt wants to abandon Cairo as its capital
and build a new$45 bill city in the desert

would make home ~7 mil people

only take 5-7 years to make

Desert CASE STUDIES 15

 goal of project = built national spirit, foster consensus, and provide for the
country’s sustainable long-term growth

Cairo is home to 18 mil people → criticized for its made infrastructure and
horrendous traffic → this project would help ease congestion and
overpopulation

some people aren’t impressed as they weren’t informed

China dealing with Sandstorms

problem = the Gobi Desert is creeping south and China’s heartlands are being
swept by increasingly regular sandstorms

had 13 sandstorms in the north last spring

2020 → a quarter of China is vulnerable to desertification

solution = the Chinese gov. has spent a year working towards better long-
range forecasts of sandstorms

satellites

radar

sounding balloons

other meterological technologies

Desert CASE STUDIES 16