Opportunities for Development an

							Opportunities for Development
and Challenges
in hot arid and semi-arid areas
         ………..and the impacts
      Some general ideas
      See pupil’s book pages 155 - 157
Agriculture

   Traditional
   Varies from region to region
Australia
    Aborigines
    Hunter-
     gatherers
Middle- East and North -Africa

   Nomadism –
   Herding of goats, camels, sheep and cattle
    looking for scarce water and good grazing
Tuareg of North Africa
Irrigated agriculture

   Oases such as Douz in Tunisia
   Dates from the multi-purpose date palm
   and olives, figs and oranges= in their shade
On banks of exogenous rivers such as the
Nile
   Barley, wheat, beans, rice, cotton,etc grown
    in irrigated areas
Recent changes –

   Construction of Dams
     E.g. Aswan in Egypt
     Has provided all year round water supply, formerly
      seasonal with Nile floods
   Hydroponics – practised in oil rich countries
   Desalination plants have provided water for
    agriculture in countries such as Kuwait
Challenges to agriculture

   Cultivation of marginal land in Sahel has
    caused desertification
Desertification

   A combination of factors have been
    responsible
       Human factors (due to population increase)
           over-grazing
           Ploughing up unsuitable lands
           Deforestation for firewood
           Lack of a fallow period
       Climatic factors
           Drought
Salinisation

   Where high temperatures cause saline
    waters to be drawn to the surface
   Salt is left behind as water evaporates
   Salt crust stops root penetration and stops
    infiltration
   Many crops will not grow
   This can be because of irrigation not properly
    controlled
Also caused by….

   Salinisation can also be caused when an
    aquifer is over-pumped in coastal areas and
    salt water then pollutes it.
Further Research

   Read and make notes on TWO examples of
    Agriculture in Arid regions
   E.g. Page 160 Agriculture in the Thar desert
   Geofile 446 Drought and desertification in
    India and Pakistan
   Water management in Tunisia- geog review
    sept 2001
   Draa Valley in Morocco, page Raw