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 Water Resources People 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 km 2 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 31m 3 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 km 3

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 CO

2

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 the global rate of 1.24% —nearly double  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  Land Cover and Land Use Africa is losing more than four million hectares of forest every year —twice the world’s average deforestation rate  Water By 2050 it is expected that areas experiencing water shortages in sub Saharan 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 1970 1950

Africa’s Changing Environment Deforestation rate Vulnerability to Desertification

Deforestation Africa loses an average of 40 000 km 2 , 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 Water Stress

Renewable Water Africa’s freshwater supplies represent less than 9% of global renewable water resources 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!

For more information and free download go to: http://www.na.unep.net/Afric aAtlas/ To purchase go to: http://www.earthprint.com/