Publication Date:
2021-05-19
Description:
At the beginning of the new millennium Africa is
characterized by two interrelated features: rising
poverty levels and deepening environmental
degradation. Africa is the poorest region of the
world. It has the largest share of people living on
less than US $1 per day. Almost 40% of the
people in Africa live below the poverty line. At
least one-third of Africa’s population is
undernourished and that number is also growing.
Africa is the only region of the world where
poverty is projected to rise during this century if
adequate measures are not urgently taken. Of the
45 countries on the UNDP list of Low Human
Development Indicators, 35 are in Africa. Indeed
two-thirds of the 48 countries included in the list
of Least Developed Countries are in Africa.
Related to the rising poverty is the degradation of
the environment and increasing loss of the
region’s natural resources. UNEP’s Africa
Environment Outlook (AEO) report observes that
conditions in natural habitats and fragile
ecosystems have been deteriorating resulting in
diminishing biodiversity. There are high rates of
exploitation of such resources as freshwater,
forests, and coastal and marine stocks continue to
be used at rates beyond their viable rates of
replacement. Land degradation, natural as well as
human-induced environmental disasters and
invasive alien species continue to be major
problems in Africa. Natural disasters, such as
floods, droughts, earthquakes and landslides cause
considerable human suffering and economic
damage in the continent. On the whole,
environmental degradation undermines prospects
of fighting poverty, economic growth and
sustainable development in Africa. The vicious
circle between poverty and degradation of the
environment needs to be addressed in a
comprehensive manner.
Description:
Published
Keywords:
Poverty
;
Environmental degradation
Repository Name:
AquaDocs
Type:
Report
,
Non-Refereed
Format:
924008 bytes
Format:
application/pdf
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