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13 INTRODUCTION T he relationship between humankind and the environment over the years has resulted in fundamental physical and structural modification of the earth’s ecology. The exponential growth in the world’s population in the last millennia, and the resultant pressure it exerted and continues to exert on the world’s natural resources, are disturbing the climate system on a global scale. Shifting modes of occupation on the African continent during the second part of the last decade and the dawn of large scale industrialization in the West have led to an increased demand for Africa’s raw materials. To satisfy the demand for raw materials, several African governments have engaged in unsustainable and indiscriminate means to explore and exploite the natural resources of the continent. Deforestation, low precipitation and evapo-transpiration have resulted in the creation of climatic zones that are likely to have wide-ranging and potentially serious health consequences.1 Lack of a technological innovation paradigm on the continent to respond to the challenges posed by this climatic variability, means the continent is the most affected compared to other continents. The African continent’s climatic conditions are influenced by a set of complex maritime and terrestrial interactions, resulting in a variety of climates across the various regions. These complex climatic conditions are responsible for the continuous rainfall patterns observed in tropical Africa and the almost permanent droughts in the Sahara Desert. As has been observed elsewhere, the causes of these varied climatic conditions cannot be quantified, but it can be argued that climate exerts a significant control over the day-to-day economic development of Africa, particularly for the agricultural and water resources sectors at regional, local and household levels.2 CHAPTER 2 Climate change and water degradation Challengesforsustaininghuman securityintheLakeChadBasin Nicasius Achu Check CHAPTER 2 14 Since the 1960s, observed temperatures have indicated a warming trend across various geographical zones of the continent. Though there may be some dissimilarity in temperature readings, average decadal warming rates of 0.29c in Africa’s tropical forest has led to significant changes in vegetation cover and permutations with regard to flora and fauna in fragile ecosystems.3 The rise in decadal temperature in tropical Africa has, equally, resulted in a noted decline of about 2 to 4 per cent in mean annual precipitation.4 The impact of inaction by the sub-regional governments on climatic variability on the fragile ecosystem within the Lake Chad Basin is significant and has equally impacted on the human security dynamic within the sub-region. Suliman argued that the triangular relationship between people, environment and the economy is more direct in Africa than in developed countries , where that relationship is masked by technology.5 He further argued that the mutually beneficial relationship between trees, crops and animals has long been recognised and applied by African farmers for generations, which he noted was crucial to sustainability of the environment. However, post Second World War industrialisation and the insatiable demand for Africa’s environmental resources has led to noticeable degrading trends in the environment and making large parts of the continent unfit for human habitation.6 This critically implies that the effect of environmental degradation is a major cause behind pervasive poverty and environmental conflict in rural Africa. Deforestation of Africa’s tropical forest has had a tremendous impact on the nature and pattern of rainfall on the continent. Such unsustainable forest plucking has also led to a vast expanse of land being exposed to drought, soil erosion and depletion of grassland, which tend to enforce the negative implications of reduced rainfall and the advancement of the Sahara Desert. Though several continental instruments and frameworks exist to counter the negative effect of environmental degradation, effective policy implementation and a strong political will is lacking. The solution in resolving today’s climatic change conditions lies in our knowledge of the past. Nicolson posits that knowledge of past environments and how humans interact with it can help us understand human ecology and also provide lessons to enable society to adapt better to environmental constraints.7 This is particularly important in a region such as Africa, where the course of human history is closely coupled with that of the environment. It is therefore important to note that any changes to the climatic conditions of the region would have a corresponding negative effect on the population. In attempting to situate climate change within the wider scope of water degradation and human...

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