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The center of the kingdom was Timbuktu. It was famous as a center of business, religion, and education.
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Mali a country surviving in the Sahel
Mali was a powerful African kingdom during the 1300s.
The center of the kingdom
was Timbuktu. It was famous as a center of
business, religion, and education.
Mali lost power in the 1500s. It still exists today, but without the
glory of the past.
Timbuktu today is still very traditional.
Water comes
from wells. Shared water
faucets (like this one) are
more modern.
Bread is still baked
in traditional
ovens.
Open-air markets
are common.
Islam is still the main religion.
Adobe-style mosques in Mali can be simple. . .
. . .or very fancy.
Mali is in the Sahel
- a dry grassland area south of the
Sahara Desert.
The Sahel doesn’t have a lot of trees or grass, and rainfall is unpredictable.
And since the 1970s, rainfall has decreased. That means harvests
are reduced and people are struggling to survive.
It’s a tough place to live. The rainy season is short
(June to September), so it’s hard to farm.
The Sahara Desert grows when drought comes. It takes over Sahel
land.
Land that was dry grassland slowly becomes desert - “desertification.”
Drought is not the only reason desertification happens.
There is a HIGH birth rate in the Sahel. 45% of the population is
younger than 15 years old.
More people means the land is overworked.
More people need more things:-- more firewood
-- more wood for housing
So they over-harvest the small trees they have.
Slash-
and-
burn
methods are used to clear more farmland to grow more
food for more people.
Land is overgrazed by herders. When the animals tear up most the plants and eat even the roots, it’s hard for the plants to grow back.
Overharvesting trees, increased slash-and-burn farming, and
overgrazing lead to naked land -- and that leads to erosion.
http://desertification.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/mali-nov-09-006.jpg
Exposed topsoil can be blown away by the wind or washed away in
rainstorms.
http://prod-images.exhibit-e.com/templates_exhibit-e_com/Dust_Storm1983_Horizontal0.jpg
This is a Sahel farmer’s millet field. He has finished his harvest for this
season.
How fertile does this soil look?
Blowing dirt and sand damages the plants and trees that are still there,
covering some and exposing the roots of others.
These dust storms damage machinery.
Wind-blown dust can also worsen health
problems, including eye infections, respiratory
illnesses, and allergies.
http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/small-girl-child-rubbing-eyes-2733351.jpg
The erosion is also damaging the Sahel’s main water source – the
Niger River.
The river is getting clogged up from erosion.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Niger_river_at_Koulikoro.jpg
The Niger River is the 3rd largest river in Africa, and several Sahel countries depend on it for water.
It is also a major transportation route.
Forty years ago, the Niger River was navigable from July through January.
But today, you can’t get through in July, August, September, or most of October. By the end of October, you can finally sail
the river.
And between drought and erosion run-
off, the tributaries of the Niger are
also disappearing.
http://wellsbringhope.org/images/uploads/blog_images/Dry_Riverbed.jpg
This means there is less water for crop irrigation, for herds, and for
people.
“Green Belts” – strips of grassland – help protect the Sahel from the growing
Sahara Desert.
Some of these grow naturally;
others are being planted.
http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4922823957089959&pid=15.1
Satellite photographs show that the Sahara has shrunk some in the last
15 years.
Trees and farmland are GROWING.
This farm in the Sahel was bare less than 20 years ago.
Example:Stones lined up
across fields slow erosion.
Reasons:-- more rainfall
-- better farming practices
http://www.fredhoogervorst.com/oni.app/local/upload/02599.jpg
Another example:Dig a small “valley” and plant your garden there. It will protect your field from wind
erosion and catch more water.
Local reforestation programs are helping protect the Sahel from desertification.
But much more needs to be done.
http://desertification.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/1988-07-02-making-plantpits.jpg?w=640 http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5041833196456827&pid=15.1
Desertification is happening all over the world. But it is most serious in Africa, where 2/3 of the continent is already dry grasslands or desert.
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