Desertification in Nigeria

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Brief Introduction According to the World Ecology Report of Spring 2009, dry lands comprise of 41% of the earth’s total land area, and are home to roughly 2 billion people, or 34% of the earth’s population. It claims that currently (2009) over 250 million people in more than 100 countries were directly affected by desertification and more are at risk (This number would have increased already). The situation is more severe in Africa, where 66% of the total land area are arid or semi-arid. Not only is desertification harmful to the earth and its inhabitants, but it is also expensive each year, the world loses US$42 billion to desertification and its effects” (World Ecology Report, Spring 2009) . Desertification in Nigeria is a very delicate issue, because of the roles which the nation plays in Africa and globally. Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa, with a population of 168.8 million people as at 2012, and a total land mass of 356,669 sq miles. According to the Federal Ministry of Environment of Nigeria, the country losses about 600 meters of its arable land mass to desert encroachment yearly. And also according to the Minister of Environment (Nigeria) Mrs. Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia, Nigeria loses an average of 2,168sq km of range and crop land to desertification yearly, and she also went ahead to disclose that 43.3 percent of the total land area is prone to desertification . In fighting desertification in this country, the federal government is calling for the support of both state and local government support, as well as support from other organizations and the general public at large. This reason (call of support buy the federal government) as well as the 50 million United States Dollars grant price, together woul... ... middle of paper ... ... 06:00. http://dailytrust.info/index.php/editorial/3668-halting-deforestation (Cited 12-2-2013) this source is the reason why my work is coming in late as I decided to change a source which citation date I forgot. • Hugo Odiogor (May 03, 2010), Special Report on Desertification in Nigeria: The sun eats our land. http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/05/special-report-on-desertification-in-nigeria-the-sun-eats-our-land/ (cited 12-3-2013). • Federal Ministry of Environment of Nigeria (Date not stated), Drought and Desertification Amelioration. http://environment.gov.ng/about-moe/departments-agencies/technical-departments-3/drought-and-desertification-amelioration/ (cited 12-3-2013). • World Ecology Repert (Spring 2009), SPECIAL FOCUS: Desertification: Its Effects on People and Land http://worldinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/library/wer/english/2009_Spring_Vol_XXI_no_1.pdf

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