deforestation Keywords: desertification, water shortage, socio-ecological crisis, natural disasters

By the turn of the century, the socio-ecological situation in Africa, which had been constantly deteriorating over the past few decades, had sharply worsened and entered a phase of permanent crisis, which created a real threat to the very existence of African peoples. This crisis is developing simultaneously in three main directions: degradation of the natural environment, the extreme manifestation of which was desertification; depletion of water resources and the rapid spread of a tropical disease pandemic.

The documents of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro on June 20-22, 2012 and called "Rio+20"*, noted, in particular, that desertification, land degradation and periodic droughts are global problems. They pose a serious threat to sustainable development in all countries, and they are particularly relevant for African States and the world's least developed countries1.

The Conference expressed deep concern about the devastating effects of cyclical drought and famine in Africa, particularly in the Horn of Africa and Sahel regions, and called on the international community, as well as countries directly affected by these phenomena, to urgently take short -, medium-and long-term measures to address these acute problems.

FORESTS ARE BEING DESTROYED, DESERTS ARE ADVANCING

The most important socio - ecological problems of the African continent are deforestation and desertification. Deforestation is occurring simultaneously in several directions. First of all, this includes deforestation, including commercial logging, clearing of forest areas for farmland, the growth of cities and towns and the laying of roads between them, mining in areas that were used for forests, as well as the production of charcoal.

The largest scale of commercial logging is in South Africa, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Tanzania and Ethiopia. An important feature of forest harvesting in Africa is that only certain types of trees are cut down and sent for industrial processing, mainly evergreen and semi-evergreen (i.e., those that lose the upper part of their foliage during dry periods, while the" lower tiers " remain evergreen). A significant number of trees of other species are also cut down, but they go to the so-called dumps and disappear forever. The highest forest losses were recorded in Togo, Nigeria, Mauritania, Uganda and the Comoros. At the sub-regional level, the largest net losses are in South Africa, although the rate of loss has slowed in recent years.

Among the main causes of deforestation is the use of timber.-

For the first time, the articles of this author were published in our magazine, at that time "Modern East", in N 4 and N 10 for 1960 (editor's note).

* "+20 " in the name of the conference is explained by the fact that one of its main tasks was to determine the shape of the world in 20 years-how we would like to see it. Its participants tried to determine what joint efforts of States should lead to reducing the level of poverty, strengthening the principles of social justice, while ensuring the preservation of the environment.

coal as fuel for heating homes and cooking food. The share of biomass combustion energy - wood, industrial and grain waste, etc. - reaches 5% of the total heat and energy balance of homes in the Maghreb, Egypt and Sudan, 15% in South Africa and 86% in subtropical Africa. The continent's demand for wood and charcoal has increased by 45% over the past 30 years, mainly due to population growth and increased thermal energy requirements.² If in developed countries biomass as a fuel has long been practically not used, in many African countries it remains the main source of heat in residential buildings and industrial premises.

Forest areas are also being reduced due to the construction of new industrial enterprises, especially oil refineries, as well as hydraulic structures. So, thousands of hectares of forest were cut down and were flooded with the waters of the Kosou reservoir in Ivory Coast. Similarly, forests in Zimbabwe were affected by the flooding of the Kariba reservoir and the Kaindgii reservoir in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the creation of reservoirs changes the hydro-climatic conditions on adjacent lands, and as a result of flooding of large areas, degradation and, ultimately, complete disappearance of adjacent forests occur.

According to the report of the environmental organization "African Wildlife Foundation", which was distributed at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Durban (South Africa) in November-December 2011, a new wave of mass deforestation has begun in Africa. In Kenya, for example, only 1.7% of the country's territory remains "green".

"Deforestation is increasing in Africa," said the organization's president, Helen Ghikoni. - Forests are disappearing, meadows are being trampled down by overgrazing, swamps and swamps, where a reserve supply of water was accumulated in case of drought, are turning into steppes. " ³

Significant damage to the forests was caused and is still being caused by grazing of livestock that eat young growth and prevent the restoration of woodlands.

ECONOMIC INCENTIVES ARE THE MOST RELIABLE

Many countries in Africa are engaged in reforestation and reforestation efforts. For example, in Madagascar, in 2007, a program for the restoration of virgin forests was launched, the core of which was to reward farmers for participating in planting. The authorities find out in advance how much wood the residents of a particular village intend to burn to get the necessary coal (for themselves and for sale), and then give them money to purchase the equivalent amount of fuel, thereby saving significant areas of forests from destruction. This practice is fair, understandable and attractive, since poor peasants sitting on impoverished land often do not see any other way out than to burn the forest to extract and sell charcoal or free up new plots for arable land.

Among the initiators and developers of such a program are the World Bank and the German non-governmental environmental organization Mitsinzu*. Farmers are also paid to restore the lost virgin forest, and the seedlings are provided by local forest nurseries. However, no errors were avoided. So, for quite a long time on the island, pine and eucalyptus were used for planting new forests as the fastest growing and most unpretentious crops. But it turned out that they, like pumps, pump out moisture and nutrients from the soil, and nothing else grows nearby. But seedlings of valuable breeds require special care. In particular, they are based on-

* By the name of Mount Mitzinzu and the village of the same name at its foot, located near the capital of the country - Antananarivo.

up to protect from the scorching sun with bamboo or reed canopies. But the result more than rewards the extra effort.

With the help of the program, it is planned to restore 3 thousand hectares of "primary" forest over the next few years. In particular, the forests of the Andasibe and Analamazautra nature reserves, located near the Malagasy capital of Antananarivo, where the largest lemur species, indri, lives, will be restored. It is no coincidence that the restoration of forests began in the central part of Madagascar, in the historical region of Imerina. The name itself in translation from Malagasy means "you can see far away". Even in the Middle Ages, there were dense forests on picturesque hills, where huge beautiful spaces opened up to the eye.

In June 2011, Brazzaville hosted a summit of representatives from the 32 countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas that are experiencing a decline in rainforests. Among the speakers at the summit was DRC Environment Minister Jose Endundu. In particular, he said: "We must present a united front in relation to the UN Program to Reduce Harmful Emissions from Deforestation and Destruction of Forests. The situation in this regard has become critical over the past 100 years, and it needs to be brought under control." In his view, the international community should be responsible for preserving forests in the South. Today, these 32 countries account for 80% of all rainforests. The DRC contains 75% of the forests of the Congo River basin and 50% of all forests in Africa.⁴

THERE SHOULD BE MORE" NEW FORESTS"

In general, in Africa, reforestation is still, unfortunately, not widespread, and the area of "new", i.e. planted by humans, forests is only a little more than 1% of the entire continent. They are mainly concentrated in North Africa and South Africa. In addition," new forests " do not have, as a rule, any significant industrial use and are intended mainly to prevent the spread of deserts and protect cultivated land from dry weather.

The most significant achievements were made by Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. In the first of these countries, by the beginning of the XXI century, there were 219 thousand people. ha of eucalyptus plantations and 59.4 thousand ha of coniferous forests, as well as 247.5 thousand ha of coniferous trees planted on the border of the Sahara. In neighboring Algeria, 150 thousand hectares of forests were planted in the 1990s as part of the "Green Belt of the Sahara" program. In Tunisia, at the end of the last century and the beginning of this century, forest plantations were carried out on the territory of 312 thousand ha5.

An International Conference on Environmental Protection and Combating Desertification was held in Niamey, the capital of Niger, in October 2011. It was attended by experts from African countries, France, Brazil, representatives of a number of international organizations. These include organizations such as the Institute for Development Research (JRD) and the Great Green Wall All-Africa Agency (APGMV), which are implementing the African Forest restoration project.

The aim of the conference was to develop measures that can stop the rapid process of desertification. First of all, this concerns soil degradation caused by intensive deforestation. One of the disappointing results of the conference was the forecast that by 2050 2/3 of Africa's arable land will be unsuitable for cultivation.

However, the rate of reforestation on the continent is still far behind the rate of deforestation. In addition to its many negative consequences, which we have already discussed above, it contributes to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and leads to climate deterioration.

Deforestation inevitably leads to desertification, droughts and soil erosion. According to the UN definition, desertification is a reduction or destruction of the biological potential of the earth (the ability of the earth to produce natural resources), which ultimately leads to the creation of conditions characteristic of deserts, and is a form of large-scale degradation of ecosystems under the simultaneous impact of adverse and changing climate and their excessive exploitation.

The most common causes of desertification are the transformation of pasture areas into acreage," overgrazing " of livestock (grazing in quantities exceeding the capacity of pastures to restore), deforestation, exacerbation of the problem of poverty, and in some cases an imperfect legal basis for regulating land relations. The process of desertification is accompanied by a decrease in the biological potential and primary productivity of land*, and the loss of their ability to restore their quality after droughts. In a number of countries in Tropical Africa, the process of desertification has become catastrophic.

THE DESERTS ARE COMING

This process has been and is being conducted in many countries under the auspices of WHO-

* Primary productivity of land - the amount of biologically useful organic matter obtained on a given plot of land (field, meadow, forest, etc.) during the initial period of its cultivation; secondary productivity, as a rule, is several times less than the primary one. Biological potential - the ability of the earth to produce natural resources.

Regions of Africa affected by desertification.

1. Deserts.

2. High risk of desertification.

3. Average risk of desertification.

mainly due to two factors. One of them is the actual droughts that contributed to desertification, mainly in the pre-industrial period. When the productive forces on the continent have gained a certain development, the anthropogenic factor has acquired a greater influence on the acceleration of the desertification process. The intensification of cultural agriculture in areas with mobile and unstable physical characteristics, in particular in the African savanna, is rapidly disrupting the established links in the ecosphere. Therefore, in such territories, the economic effect obtained from the development of African virgin lands is replaced in a short time by a long period of depletion of vegetation and soil cover and gradually turns into desertification.

Pasture areas are particularly susceptible to desertification, especially during periods when the number of cattle and small cattle increases. It also threatens rainfed agriculture, which is constantly threatened by the onset of the desert.

Among the reasons for this phenomenon are non - compliance with crop rotation and the use of seed material that does not meet local environmental characteristics and natural and climatic indicators in its qualities.

Another threat factor to rainfed agriculture and another cause of desertification is the use of agricultural machinery in African conditions that is designed for other climatic zones and natural conditions. In particular, the use of multi-disc ploughs for plowing in southern Tunisia leads to the fact that wind erosion here turns to dust every month and is carried away by the wind 1 mm of the fertile layer, which is already extremely thin.

This erosion affects most arid areas, especially those countries bordering the Sahara from the north and south. As a result of wind erosion, the sand distribution zone expands, and dunes are formed, indicating that the desertification of the new area where they appeared has already taken place.

One of the leading places in Africa in terms of the scale of desertification caused by wind erosion is occupied by Sudan. Many of its northern, once inhabited, areas over the past decades have turned into desert and semi-desert. The resulting sand layer with a thickness of up to 7 cm prevents any agricultural work.

Even in the capital city of Khartoum, where the author lived and worked in 1976-1977, wind erosion is constantly making itself felt. Once every ten days, or even once a week, "habubas" - hot winds from the desert, carrying the smallest particles of sand, cover the entire horizon and increase the already high temperature in the city by several degrees. And incandescent sand particles penetrate into any room through any closed doors and shutters, covering furniture and all other objects inside buildings and premises with a thick dust.

Only as a result of wind erosion, the desert annually absorbs along the entire front of its offensive in many adjacent countries a strip of cultivated or cultivated land with a width of 30 to 100 m. The steady encroachment of sand seriously threatens, first of all, oasis agriculture, as well as reservoirs, which, as a result of the constant deposition of sand, are threatened with siltation.

Another source of environmental degradation in many African countries is water erosion, in which floods, floods and excessive precipitation, especially during rainy periods, wash away the fertile soil layer. In some cases, it is completely washed away, and this or that territory completely loses its natural reproductive capabilities.

In the arid climate of many African countries, irrigation is often the most important condition for agricultural production. However, salinization of the soil under the influence of water spills from irrigation systems and its evaporation due to savings on drainage systems, plus violations of technical requirements for their design, can lead to the emergence of another source of desertification.

It is impossible to ignore such a process as degradation

pasture lands. It manifests itself in the thinning of grass cover, the spread of shrubs and unsuitable vegetable crops for livestock, as well as a longer period of pasture recovery after annual droughts, which in recent decades have become a real natural disaster, and are increasingly hitting countries bordering the Sahara from the north and south. At the same time, under the pressure of the onset of the Sahara, nomads are shifting their movements more and more to the south. Farmers in the fertile coastal plains compete for land, leading to increased conflict and tension, especially along the shores of the rapidly drying Lake Chad.

According to experts, desertification can be stopped by improving agricultural practices, more competent irrigation works, and policies aimed at improving the skills and educational level of farmers and peasants. Then, due to the influx of more educated specialists into agriculture, the total number of people employed in this industry will significantly decrease. But at the same time, the number of jobs in industry, construction, and the service sector will have to increase in order to fill the newly free hands. And this is already a task that can be solved only at the national level with the direct participation of the highest state structures.

On the occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on June 17, 2005, then UN Secretary - General Kofi Annan in his message warned that desertification is one of the most alarming global processes of environmental degradation. It threatens the health and livelihoods of more than 1 billion people. people. In this appeal to the world's peoples, it was noted that desertification and droughts lead to agricultural losses of approximately $42 billion every year. Given the importance of the issue, the UN General Assembly declared 2006 the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.⁶

The problems of the countries of this region continue to be the focus of the UN's attention. Representatives of the United Nations constantly call on international humanitarian and non-governmental organizations to provide comprehensive assistance to these States. In February 2011, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos, after visiting Kenya and Somalia, in particular, said: "The world community should closely monitor what is happening in this part of the world. Only through joint efforts can the situation be corrected... " ⁷

THERE IS A LOT OF EFFORT, BUT FEW RESULTS...

If we compare all the factors that influence the growth of deforestation and desertification, we can confidently assume that the main one among them is anthropogenic. This is confirmed by experts from the United Nations Environment Programme. They believe that human activity is the main cause of desert sprawl. In Africa, more than half of the land suitable for cultivation has already turned into a desert.

The UN estimates that 65% of Africa's billion-strong population faces desertification and drought. These are mainly residents of regions where agricultural land has expanded due to deforestation.

The analysis of the causes and consequences of deforestation, desertification and soil erosion has shown that all this is nothing more than an extreme degree of degradation of the natural environment and the most dangerous form of its destruction in arid and semi - arid regions of Africa, leading, ultimately, to the disappearance of life forms that have existed here for centuries.

Despite the measures taken with varying degrees of activity and intensity by various countries of the continent, African and international organizations against deforestation and desert encroachment, they all produce little or no results. Due to the realities described above, the Africans have-

farmers, pastoralists, and nomads who face the daily challenge of survival have little choice but to continue destroying their habitat.

Another important area of rapid development of the environmental crisis in Africa is the aggravation of the problem of water resources. The African continent, which covers 29 million square kilometers, or 21.4% of the world's surface, has approximately 1% of the world's renewable freshwater reserves and is rightly considered one of the driest in the world. And its population is provided with water resources to a much lesser extent, but compared to the population of other regions.

Over the past decades, Africa's supply of fresh water has been steadily declining due to the high rate of population growth, averaging about 3% per year across the continent. But there are some countries where the population growth rate is even higher. In addition to population growth, the growing" water hunger " is caused by the spread of Western standards of living with their inherent wasteful water supply, as well as rapid industrialization (the vast majority of modern technological processes require a lot of water), often unsatisfactory state of irrigation networks, water pipes and other components of water infrastructure.⁸

The increasing scarcity of water resources inevitably leads to many other negative consequences, ranging from clashes and conflicts between individual villages and tribes over wells, over cattle watering places on the banks of rivers and lakes, and over other sources of water supply, to complicating relations between states, usually neighboring ones. Among the latter, we should mention the long-standing conflict over the distribution of Nile waters between the countries of its basin.

The decline in Africa's water supply is constantly in the focus of attention of the international scientific geographical and environmental community. In 2012, the Stockholm International Water Institute hosted the World Water Week on the theme "Water and Food Security"for the 22nd time. It was attended by more than 2.5 thousand experts and representatives of 200 organizations from 100 countries of the world. The main theme of the week was water resources in Africa, designed to help ensure a "larger crop per drop" ⁹.

This issue has been repeatedly raised in international political forums. Thus, on March 22, 2012, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the participants of the international conference in Nairobi on the occasion of World Water Resources Day...Water is the source of life on which all life in this world depends, including improving the health and living standards of children and mothers, food security, sustainable development, adaptation and mitigation of the negative effects of climate change"¹⁰.

However, recently there is evidence that the problem of water resources can be solved in the foreseeable future. So, in April 2012, a group of environmental scientists from the British Environmental Council and University College London (LUK)* Published a report that giant reservoirs of water are located under the surface of the arid regions of Africa. After conducting an extensive survey of the continent and mapping underground waters, they concluded that Africa's total groundwater reserves are 100 times greater than land-based water resources. Especially large reserves are found in sedimentary rocks near Libya, Algeria and Chad - they would be enough to cover these territories with a 75-meter water column.

* * *

The way out of the socio-ecological crisis to which modern Africa is exposed is largely connected with the development of the so-called "human factor", environmental measures and the activity of environmental public organizations. This is especially important from the point of view of forming a new type of ecological consciousness of the population, its education and training. The participation of an increasing number of Africans in the conservation and environmental movement is an important condition for reducing environmental tensions on the continent.

It should be emphasized that the environmental crisis in Africa, which is part of the global environmental crisis, cannot be overcome without external assistance and concerted actions and efforts of the entire international community.

* Part of the University of London, founded in 1826, it consists of 10 faculties with more than 4 thousand employees, including 698 professors. 26 Nobel laureates have worked or studied at LUK.

¹ UN. Rio+20. Conference on Sustainable Development. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. June 20-22, 2012 A / Conf.216/L. 1.

^{Klimanova O. A.} 2 Resursovedenie i resursy mira [Resource studies and Resources of the world]. Afrika, Moscow, 2007, p. 98.

³ www.itar-tass.com. Middle East and Africa. December 6, 2011

⁴ Ibid. Africa. June 15, 2011

^{Klimanova O. A.} 5 Ukal. soch. P. 100.

⁶ Geography and ecology in the school of the XXI century. 2008. N 9. P. 71.

⁷ Planet Pulse, 07.02.2011.

^{Abramova I. O., Fituni L. L.} 8 The price of "blue gold" / / Asia and Africa today. 2008, N 12. P. 8.

⁹ Kompas Publ., 2012, No. 39, pp. 80-81.

¹⁰ http://www.un.org/russian/waterfor lifedecadc/

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