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Sahel is an area in Africa that has lost a huge area of productive land in the last century due to excessive human activities and climate change. This area is a blaring example of _______________.
desertification
failed Irrigation
endangering species
pollution
desertification
Sahel is the semi-arid transition zone between the Sahara Desert to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south, experiencing severe desertification. Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and unsustainable human activities like overgrazing and deforestation.
Sahel is the semi-arid transition zone between the Sahara Desert to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south, experiencing severe desertification. Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and unsustainable human activities like overgrazing and deforestation.
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), established in 1994, is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
The Sahel stretches across parts of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea.
Desertification reduces the land's biological productivity, threatening food security and forcing human migration.
The Great Green Wall initiative is an African-led project aiming to grow an 8,000 km natural wonder of the world across the entire width of Africa to combat desertification.
Over-cultivation and overgrazing deplete the soil of nutrients, leaving it susceptible to wind and water erosion, a process known as land degradation.
Failed irrigation (Option B) refers to waterlogging or salinization of soil, which is a localized form of land degradation rather than the regional climate-driven phenomenon seen in the Sahel.
Pollution (Option D) typically refers to the contamination of air, water, or soil by toxic substances, whereas desertification is characterized by the loss of soil fertility and vegetation cover.
Endangering species (Option C) is a consequence of habitat loss but is not the specific geographic term for the degradation of arid land systems.
A is correct тАФ The Sahel serves as a global case study for desertification due to the combined pressures of climate change and unsustainable land-use practices.
When studying desertification, link it to the 'Great Green Wall' initiative and the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15, which focuses on Life on Land and halting land degradation.