Arid environments Case Study

Question 1

What are the Physical problems facing darfur

Answer 1

increasing temperatures
The degradation of crops and vegetation
Increasingly sporadic rainfall

Question 2

How have increasing temperatures impacted on Darfur?

Answer 2

Temperatures have been increasing consistently over the last 20 years

This has led to:

• An increase in Baked soils
• An increase in evaporation

Both of these impacts have led to less infiltration, and more sheetflow, which removes nutrient rich topsoil.

Question 3

How has sporadic rainfall impacted on Darfur?

Answer 3

Sporadic rainfall has led to:

• short periods of intense rainfall, which has caused topsoil erosion
• long periods of drought, leading to baked soil
• Less nutrient cycling, as it depends on water to grow plants, which contribute to litter, and then nutrients.

Question 4

How has Soil degredation impacted darfur

Answer 4

soil degredation has increased the pace of desertification.

• Loss of flora, due to less nutrient rich topsoil being present
• engangered fauna such as the Dama Gazelle, due to food chain disruption.

Question 5

What is the most significant problem facing Darfur?

Answer 5

More sporadic rainfall is the most important as it causes soil degradation.
Increasing temperatures exacerbate rate of soil degradation, but the other problems caused are less immediate.

Question 6

What are the main solutions to the degradation of Darfur’s northern regions

Answer 6

• Local: Land for Life project, UN (including the womens’ farming project)
• Regional: Great Green Wall, NGOs and Sahel governments

Question 7

How successful has The Great Green Wall been?

(success/failure)

Answer 7

Despite 4 million hectares of land being rehabilitated, the project aims to rehabilitate:

10 million hectares of land by 2034.

This is unachievable as:

• $4.3 billion every year are needed.
• The project raised $2 billion in its first decade
• Much of the money comes from International Aid, making the project unsustainable.
• After 15 years of the project (2007-2022) only 4% of proposed targets have been met

Question 8

What are the successes of the Land for Life project?

Answer 8

The project aimed at restoring the Wadi El Ku region (arid) by making water use more efficient.

• 7m high water spreading embankment built , which extends 1.2 kilometres. It allows farmers to grow crops other than tobacco e.g watermelon, okra.
• 1,600 households from 34 village councils have tripled production of sorghum and millet using 2 water reservoirs that were constructed in the region.

Question 9

What are the failures of the land for life project?

Answer 9

It is only in the Wadi El Ku catchment area. It is not large enough to impact on all of Darfur.
Trees have been decimated in Eastern Darfur due to no economic aid.

• The water is dependent on groundwater/rainwater, which is variable. Thus, it has no longevity.

Despite being successful on a small scale, in the long run, it is doomed to fail.

Question 10

How has a lack of fauna further increased degradation?

Answer 10

Due to a lack of vegetation, monkeys who would previously have spread seeds naturally now have to be replaced by human NGOs who scatter baobab trees in convoys to attempt to bring the great green wall to life

Question 11

Solutions: The UN womens’ farming project (part of land for life)

Answer 11

• Aims to give women greater independence and focus on their work, reducing fertility rate (which is a cause of degradation by increasing population pressure)
• By seeing women in decision making roles in their farming and taking part in tribal decisions on agriculture for example this may increase equality
• Higher income (especially in women-led households) means children can go to school and break the cycle of poverty and subsistence farming. (In times of poverty girls are often taken out of school first)
• Women make up 50% of the population so by engaging them productivity could increase

Question 12

UN womens’ farming project: Evaluation

Answer 12

• Still reinforces dependence on agriculture and doesn’t strive to create alternatives
• Small scale, only “dozens” of women were actually enrolled in the scheme so its impact will be insignificant unless rolled out to the whole region
• However, it is a particularly relevant solution in Darfur where men die in conflict and if women are not taught agricultural practices they will fall into unsustaible practices such as removal of vegetation such as cacti or overgrazing
• May also give women more of a say/ more investment in ending the conflict by empowering them in their own farming and making their voice heard now they’ve got more to lose

Question 13

(Ben’s) Overall line of argument for any Darfur question relating to challenges

Answer 13

• The two greatest challenges facing Darfur are climate change and unsustainable agricultural practices
• However before the impacts of these can be sustainably managed, the catalyst of conflict and the level of desperation and impending famine is only fueling the long term degradation

Question 14

Overall line of argument for any Darfur question relating to solutions

Answer 14

• The most succesful attempt at managing the degradation of the Sahel region is the great green wall if it can achieve economic sustainability as it is the largest and most long term
• Land for life and the womens’ farming project are either too localised (only the Wadi El Ku catchment) or too small scale (only “dozens” of women have been enrolled)