While I would not consider hunting and shooting these animals with anything more deadly than my 7. After much reflection, I now consider the Big Five of African Development to be, in no particular order: agriculture and nutrition; water; preventative, curative and therapeutic healthcare; economic opportunity; and transportation.
As the Big Five game are considered the most difficult African animals to hunt, so too do I consider the Big Five of African Development to be the most problematic and difficult issues facing the people of this complex continent.
And as the Big Five game are heavily interdependent, so too are the five broad issues that comprise the Big Five of African Development. Availability and effectiveness of healthcare is surely reliant on the other four issues. Economic opportunities are meaningless and are unlikely to develop without the support of adequate agricultural, water, healthcare and transportation systems. A successful agricultural system cannot exist in the absence of viable economic, water, transportation and healthcare systems.
While this extreme interconnectedness complicates efforts to improve these systems, consideration of this interconnectedness can also yield great insight into approaches that may be effective. Given this hard constraint, the organizers realized that an attempt to address each of the Big Five of African Development during ORPA 4 would be futile. Furthermore, although many people still tend to think of Africa as a rather homogeneous monolith, the continent is comprised of an amazingly diverse array of cultures, social structures, languages, political and governmental structures, infrastructures and available technology, ideologies and physical environments.
This diversity would have to be considered when selecting the issues of focus for ORPA 4. Day-to-Day Survival. Coghlan, who wrote about his experiences establishing a diplomatic presence for the Canadian government in Sudan early in this decade he has been a member of the Department of Foreign Affairs Canada for most of his professional life , frequently returns to the theme of water:.
There were worries in some areas that this year's rains were already late, and in many communities the nearest water source at this time might be five or six hours' walk away. On one visit, an hour south of El Fasher on the way to look at a possible development project, Canada Fund coordinator Salah and I passed a large village where I noticed dozens of oil drums and other large containers by the edge of the road.
The village had no well, and the containers were there so that when it rained something that might happen only three or four times in a year the entire village could turn out and bail water from potholes in the road into the oil drums. Puddles were the only source of water for this community of one thousand or more. Every village dreams of constructing a new and better water tank and of piping water to every home, and many are the machinations centered upon this.
In an article he wrote for National Geographic on the Sahel region, Paul Salopek made similar observations:. As they have for centuries, the Sahel's people are finding ways to adapt in a land so uncompromising that failure means death. This article, written by Tabitha Gatthoni Mundia on the project she completed during her fourth year of studies for a B.
Particularly poignant was her discussion of her motivation for this work: the recent shortfalls of rain that have caused the villagers to depend entirely on the Kapingazi River for water, and how the responsibility for drawing water from the river and carrying it back to the village in large containers known as "mitungis" fell primarily to children especiallygirls who must miss school and eventually drop out to fetch water and do their household work on the river bank.
These and other writings led me to conclude that water was certainly one of the two most critical of the Big Five of African Development the reliance of the other four of these areas on water also contributed to my conclusion. How to chose only one of the remaining four agriculture and nutrition; preventative, curative and therapeutic healthcare; economic opportunity; and transportation? Another important resource, cobalt, is used in high-grade steel for aircraft and industrial engines.
African nations produce about 42 percent of the world's cobalt, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. Ores and minerals account for more than half of the total value of Africa's exports. Africa's great mineral wealth, however, has not meant economic prosperity for most of its population.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, European colonial rulers developed Africa's natural resources for export to Europe to manufacture goods there. As a result, many African nations have been slow to develop the infrastructure and industries that could turn these resources into valuable products. Libya , Nigeria , and Algeria are among the world's leading petroleum producers. Other countries, such as Angola and Gabon , have huge untapped oil reserves.
Libya , Nigeria, Algeria , and Angola combine to produce over seven percent of the world's oil. Angola illustrates why valuable resources don't always benefit most Africans. Recently discovered offshore oil deposits will likely enable Angola to surpass Nigeria as Africa's most oil-rich country. American oil companies pay Angola a fee for drilling rights and the oil.
However, the Angolan government spends the money on an ongoing civil war. This war is caused in part by ethnic divisions resulting from years of colonialism. Angola invests little money in schools, hospitals, or other public infrastructure. From rain forests to roaring rivers, Africa possesses an incredible diversity of resources.
After oil, coffee is the most profitable commodity in Africa. Even though few Africans drink coffee, the continent grows 20 percent of the world's supply. Lumber is another important commodity.
Nigeria leads African nations in lumber exports and ranks eighth worldwide in that area. However, logging is depleting Africa's forests. Every year loggers clear an area of land in Africa about twice the size of New Jersey. Other major commodities include sugar, palm oil, and cocoa. Cote d'Ivoire is the world's largest exporter of cocoa beans, the main ingredient in chocolate. Agriculture is the single most important economic activity in Africa.
About 66 percent of Africans earn their living from farming. The ITCZ shifts with the seasonal movement of the sun across the tropics:. Movements in the ITCZ are closely related to distribution of rainfall and climatic zones. The climatic zones assume symmetry around the equator, although the high altitudes in some parts of the continent and the adjacent disturb the symmetry. Rainfall averages from mm inches in the coastal strips of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Cameroun and eastern Madagascar to m 20 inches in the Sahel and mm 8 inches or less in the arid regions Sahara and Kalahari.
Temperatures range from 12 o C 54 o F to over 32 o C 90oF. The highest recorded Mean annual temperature is 3 o C to 5. Winds that tend to blow persistently over the ocean tend to drag a thin surface layer of the water in their direction of flow. This layer of ocean water called Ocean Current dictates the temperature and moisture characteristics of the wind and the coastal regions over which the wind blows. When ocean currents blow from low latitudes near to the equator towards higher latitudes towards the pole the currents carry WARM ocean water into relatively cool regions.
Such an ocean current is called Warm Ocean Current. Warm Ocean Currents supply moisture to winds blowing over them to develop rainfall on the adjacent Coasts. The cool surface of Cool Ocean Currents causes moisture in winds blowing over them to condense and form fogs, etc.
The winds are deprived of their moisture so they tend to absorb rather than deposit moisture at the adjacent coasts. The cool ocean currents tend to create rich fishing grounds. The Namibian coast that is washed by the Cool Benguelan current also has rich fishing grounds. Maritime versus Continental Climates. Large water bodies such as the Ocean and huge lakes modify climates in adjacent lands. Land is solid so it heats up more rapidly during the day. The compact nature of the land means that only a thin surface gets heated.
As a result, heat absorbed into the thin layer of surface rocks is released very rapidly. The interior location does not also allow rainfall to reach such places thereby creating Warm, humid, hot and dry climates.
These extremities in climate affect all states located in the interior of continents. Such climates are called Continental Climates as against Maritime climates experienced on lands located along coasts. In places such as Timbuktu, Mail, the diurnal and annual ranges in Temperature are very high because of continentality.
Since energy from the sun is transformed into heat on the surface of the earth, air temperature decreases with altitude at an average rate of 3.
Because of this decrease of temperature with height, mountainous regions such as the Ethiopian highlands have very cool temperatures. Very high peaks such as Mountain Kilimanjaro located along the equator even have permanent snow cover. The combination effect of the above factors create variations in temperature, rainfall and other climatic factors resulting in the following climatic types.
Humid Equatorial Climates Af. Semi-arid cimates Bsh. Desert Climate BWh. Mountain climates H. Humid Temperate climates C. Cool summers. Cool summers- Cape province in South Africa.
The Following types of vegetation types identified:. Tropical Rain forest:. This vegetation develops in low land areas with year-round precipitation. It is also found in a narrow belt along the Southeastern coast south from the equator.
Madagascar has a unique rain forest with special species of fauna and flora not available on the main land. Generally, a heavy canopy of foliage with lianes and epiphytes characterizes the rain forest. It occurs in regions where high temperatures are combined with heavy precipitation. Temperate Forest:. This vegetation is poorly represented in Africa.
It is only found on the lower slopes of the Ethiopian highlands and elsewhere on the highlands of considerable elevation and rainfall. Mediterranean Woodland. These are evergreen trees and shrubs adapted to the hot dry season and mild wet season. In North West Africa, the hilly belts support forests of evergreen oak, including cork oak and cedar, although they are now much reduced by clearing and grazing.
Evergreen shrubs with hard and usually small leaves are common as growth is slow but continuous throughout the year. The vegetation in the Southwest corner is similar. Mangrove Swamps.
This vegetation is found at the inter-tidal flats of the coastlines within the tropics. The margin of the Savannah coincides with the rain forest belt where dry conditions begin. In such areas, there is often a mosaic of forest savanna. Further away from the forest, as the dry season becomes more pronounced and more prolonged, the Savannah woodland thins out, and trees that are more drought resistant are found.
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