17 June 2008
analysis
Washington, DC — The new Atlas of Africa from the UN Environment Programme features more than 300 satellite images, 300 ground photographs and 150 maps, along with informative graphs and charts that give a vivid visual portrayal of Africa and its changing environment. It also contains brief profiles of every African country, their important environmental issues, and a description of how each is faring in terms of environmental sustainability. "Before and after" satellite images from every country highlight specific places where change is particularly evident.
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains excerpts from the "Reader's Overview" section of the atlas. The full atlas, individual chapters, and related texts and images, can be downloaded at: http://www.unep.org/dewa/africa/AfricaAtlas
Two photoessays based on the Atlas are available at
http://allafrica.com/photoessay/Africa_Atlas
The Bad News: Environmental Change Threatens Africa
and
The Good News: Africa's Environment Can Be Rescued
http://allafrica.com/photoessay/Africa_Atlas_2/
For reports on the latest meeting of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN), held in Johannesburg earlier this month, see
http://allafrica.com/stories/200806130005.html
http://allafrica.com/stories/200806130013.html
and
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New from AfricaFocus:
Custom Google Searches, An Option for Smarter Searching
These SmartSearch pages use a Google Custom Search Engine to improve the chances that you will find relevant and reliable information. They use Google to search the entire web, but also give priority to results from selected high-quality sites.
(1) AfricaFocus SmartSearch - Current African Policy Issues
http://www.africafocus.org/plus/search1.php
Searches AfricaFocus and other carefully selected sites covering current issues
(2) AfricaFocus SmartSearch - Southern African Liberation History
http://www.noeasyvictories.org/search/smartsearch1.php
Searches No Easy Victories and 14 other sites with full-text research sources on the history of Southern Africa and Lusophone Africa.
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Africa: Atlas of our Changing Environment
http://www.unep.org/dewa/africa/AfricaAtlas
As the age-old adages say, "A picture is worth a thousand words" and "Seeing is believing", this stunning 400-page "Africa: Atlas of our Changing Environment" is a unique and powerful publication which brings to light stories of environmental change at more than 100 locations spread across every country in Africa. There are more than 300 satellite images, 300 ground photographs and 150 maps, along with informative graphs and charts that give a vivid visual portrayal of Africa and its changing environment. Using current and historical satellite images, the Atlas provides scientific evidence of the impact that natural and human activities have had on the continent's environment over the past several decades.
The observations and measurements of environmental change illustrated in this Atlas help gauge the extent of progress made by African countries towards reaching the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals. More importantly, this book contributes to the knowledge and understanding that are essential for adaptation and remediation. This UNEP publication should be of immense value to all those who want to know more about Africa and who care about the future of this continent.
Reader's overview:
[Excerpts only. Full text of this and other chapters available at http://www.unep.org/dewa/africa/AfricaAtlas]
"I reflect on my childhood experience when I would visit a stream next to our home to fetch water for my mother. I would drink water straight from the stream. Playing among the arrowroot leaves I tried in vain to pick up the strands of frogs' eggs, believing they were beads. But every time I put my little fingers under them they would break. Later, I saw thousands of tadpoles: black, energetic and wriggling through the clear water against the background of the brown earth. This is the world I inherited from my parents. Today, over 50 years later, the stream has dried up, women walk long distances for water, which is not always clean, and children will never know what they have lost. The challenge is to restore the home of the tadpoles and give back to our children a world of beauty and wonder." - Excerpt from Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech By Wangari Maathai 10 December 2004
Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment is the first publication to use satellite photos to depict environmental change in each and every African country during the last thirty years. Through a rich array of satellite images, graphs, maps, and photographs, this Atlas presents a powerful testament to the adverse changes taking place on the African landscape as a result of intensified natural and human impacts. The remarkable developments in earth observation technology and its application during the last three decades have provided important tools for environmental monitoring.
Earth-observing sensor systems on aircraft and spacecraft provide data streams for analysing environmental issues at varying spatial and temporal scales. The power of earth observations technologies to produce thousands of current and historical satellite images has illuminated the stories of environmental change, and has made this publication possible.
Africa: An Introduction to the Continent
There are 53 countries and one "non-self governing territory" (Western Sahara) in Africa. Ecologically, Africa is home to eight major biomes-large and distinct biotic communities with characteristic assemblages of flora and fauna. Chapter One of the Atlas vividly illustrates Africa's geographical attributes, presenting a physical setting in which readers may visualize the changes human actions are etching on the landscape. Maps, images and informative text reveal that Africa is endowed with rich natural resources that provide the basis for its peoples' livelihoods. Among the varied environmental features readers can see are rain forests, wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs, and coastal deltas. These ecosystems provide a rich and diverse array of potential sources of food and materials. In addition, Africa holds approximately 30 per cent of the earth's minerals including 40 per cent of the gold, 60 per cent of the cobalt and 90 per cent of its platinum. In recent years, oil production has been the main contributor towards Africa's economic growth. There are also grazing and agricultural lands that can support farming economies, as evidenced by the 56.6 per cent of Africa's labour force engaged in agriculture.
On the other hand, in many areas the environments from which most people in Africa must eke a living are harsh and the climate challenging. Africa is the world's hottest continent with deserts and drylands covering some 60 per cent of the entire land surface.
Only ten per cent of farm soils are prime agricultural land, and more than one-quarter per cent of the land has moderate to low potential for sustainable agriculture. Rainfall variability is high, ranging from near 0 mm/year in parts of the Sahara to 9 500 mm/year near Mount Cameroon. Droughts and famine are ever present, and tens of millions of Africans have suffered the consequences every season. Droughts not only directly cause food insecurity, triggering migration in some cases, but also negatively impact economic performance.
Water
Africa's water resources are continuously affected by persistent droughts and changes in land use. At the same time, a growing population is increasing the demand on already limited water supplies, particularly in areas which suffer from water shortages.
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