Western africa
Impact of Geography
Western Africa is a very diverse region. It has desert landscapes and also the tropical rain forests of the more humid south. Many people in West Africa are farmers and they depend on the rainfall for their livelihood. Some regions can fluctuate from year to year in terms of rainfall, which in then can result in droughts or poor harvests from time to time.
This can be a problem in the region of West Africa called the Sahel Regions. Above this zone, places are generally too dry to farm, so people who live there often herd animals for a living. The population density is higher in regions where there is more vegetation and rainfall.
The Virgin rain forest, which once covered much of the West African coast, has been drastically reduced by logging and agriculture. The southern regions’ tropical rain forest grows some of the world’s most prized hardwood trees, such as mahogany and Iroko. The Niger River flows 2,600 miles (4,181 km) and supports rich fish stocks.
Environmental Issues in West Africa
Drought, soil erosion, desertification, and deforestation are prominent and also interrelated environmental problems in West Africa. All of these contribute in some way to a lack of necessary natural resources for people’s daily lives (i.e. food, water, firewood, etc.). As mentioned above, some regions of West Africa suffer much more from these problems than others—in particular the Sahel region.
Countries included in West Africa are Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad (a country just to the east of Niger). The rainfall has decreased since the 1960’s, and as the population has also grown in much of this region, it has become difficult to produce enough food locally to feed everyone. As farmland is overworked, forests are cleared, and rainfall decreases, the environment is becoming slowly more desert-like in the Sahel. For Example, Lake Chad was once one of Africa’s largest freshwater lakes located where the countries Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger meet. Over the past few decades Lake Chad has been shrinking. It used to be 9,700 square miles in 1963, but in 2001 it measured only 1/20th of this size. Now it is measured to be 521.2 sq miles, it is almost gone.
Drought, soil erosion, desertification, and deforestation are prominent and also interrelated environmental problems in West Africa. All of these contribute in some way to a lack of necessary natural resources for people’s daily lives (i.e. food, water, firewood, etc.). As mentioned above, some regions of West Africa suffer much more from these problems than others—in particular the Sahel region.
Countries included in West Africa are Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad (a country just to the east of Niger). The rainfall has decreased since the 1960’s, and as the population has also grown in much of this region, it has become difficult to produce enough food locally to feed everyone. As farmland is overworked, forests are cleared, and rainfall decreases, the environment is becoming slowly more desert-like in the Sahel. For Example, Lake Chad was once one of Africa’s largest freshwater lakes located where the countries Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger meet. Over the past few decades Lake Chad has been shrinking. It used to be 9,700 square miles in 1963, but in 2001 it measured only 1/20th of this size. Now it is measured to be 521.2 sq miles, it is almost gone.
LEGACY OF IMPERIALISM
The Europeans (French) have changed many parts of Africa with their conquering imperialism in a vast majority of the continent. Imperialism can either have positive toll or negative toll. Everybody has been affected by imperialism. Because Western Africa has a massive amount of natural resources, many people are paying attention to West Africa. The Europeans have conquered many parts of Africa and most of the world too. The imperialism has changed Western Africa.
West Africa is a province that is full of natural resources so that brought more Europeans towards the rich mineral deposits that lay there. Firstly they exploited the land and the people for their own ends (crops, minerals, and slaves). Later they believed that Africans needed to to be governed and raised in their own image. The Europeans are doing it for money. They wanted whatever raw materials they might find, as well as the possibility of land for them to settle onto if they needed more space, plus they just wanted to own more stuff, kind of a common human greediness. Imperialism has had many different effects.
Imperialism did not only have a negative effect. Without European intervention the people of west Africa might have been centuries behind. For example, if you look at the Native American; they were content living in the stone age for thousands of years. Science wasn't really anything important to them. It wasn't until European contact that they were brought out of the stone age. Of course their backwardness was what made it so easy for Europeans to claim land in the America. Colonization didn't really hurt Africa because there wasn't much to hurt. Commerce, trade, wealth and industrialization. Colonialism was, arguably merely an extension of an aggressive trade policy by European nations seeking to secure both markets for their ns were forced to construct roadways. To feed themselves and their workforce, they culled out large, productive commercial farms. In this case imperialism had a positive effect on the people of Africa.
Imperialism effected everything. Imperialism has evolved West Africa into a civilized region full of trade. Imperialism effected everything like the culture religion, people, and history. The effects of colonialism have left behind have changed the way Africans live today. When the Europeans were conquering Africa they also converted people to their religion. Imperialism had different effects for every region of Africa. The effects of imperialism have changed many peoples lives.
WORKS CITED
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