Key Issue #4

Cultural Ecology

– The geographic study of human-environment relationships

Environmental Determinism

The idea that the physical environment

causes social development.

Possibilism

The physical environment may limit human actions,

but people have the ability to adjust to the environment.

A Case Study ofDjibouti

usachppm.apgea.army.mil/hiomtb/content/.../DJIBOUTI_05.06.ppt

Where in the world is

Djibouti?

Physical Environment

• Topography– Coastal plain and

plateau separated by central mountains

• Climate– Desert– Torrid– Dry

Physical EnvironmentAverage Max/Min Temperature in Djibouti City

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Physical EnvironmentAverage Total Precipitation in Djibouti City

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Environmental Health Risk

• Greatest short-term health risks

– Water contaminated with raw sewage or runoff containing fecal pathogens and water contaminated with industrial waste

– Extreme heat

Environmental Issues

• Food– Fecal and chemical contamination

• Soil– Localized to specific areas surrounding industrial facilities and

waste disposal sites

• Water– Municipal water treatment and public sanitation services

inadequate– Persistent discharge of untreated sewage into surface waters and

coastal areas– Discharges from offshore tanker traffic contribute to

petrochemical contamination of Djibouti's coastline

Infectious Diseases

• Foodborne and Waterborne Diseases– diarrhea (bacterial & protozoal), hep A/E,

typhoid/paratyphoid fever– Cholera

• Vector-borne Diseases– Malaria– Chickungunya, Leishmaniasis, Crimean-Congo fever,

Dengue, Leishmaniasis, Rickettsioses, Rift Valley fever, Sand-fly fever, West Nile fever, Yellow fever

Infectious Diseases Cont.

• Sexually Transmitted Diseases– HIV, Hepatitis B– gonorrhea / chlamydia

• Water-contact Diseases– leptospirosis, schistosomiasis

• Respiratory Diseases– meningococcal meningitis,

tuberculosis

Economic Issues• Economy is based on service activities

connected with the country's strategic location and status as a open or free trade (imports and exports) zone in the Horn of Africa

• Scarce rainfall limits crop production• Few natural resources and little industry• Heavily dependent on foreign aid • Unemployment figures of nearly 60 per cent

Economic issues

• Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35 per cent between 1999 and 2006 because of recession or slump, civil war, and a high general populace growth rate (including immigrants and refugees)

Social Issues

• Literacy rate of the population over 15 years of age as 46 percent (males 60 percent; females 33 percent)

• Total enrollment at primary and secondary schools was equivalent 26 percent of the school-age population.

• No university in Djibouti--technical skills are often found lacking.

Social Issues• Life-expectancy estimates are 49

years for males and 53 years for females in 2001

• Infant mortality stands at 102 per 1,000, (the U.S. rate is 7 per 1,000).

• There is a 600-bed hospital in the capital and a 60-bed maternity and pediatric hospital in Balbala.

• Large prostitute population=high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

“Location Gives Tiny State Prime Access to Big Riches” by Jeffrey Gettlemen

• Considering this information and the article you read for homework, let’s consider how Djibouti exhibits

– Environmental determinism?

– Possibilism?