Why does climate change present potential dangers for the African Continent?

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Why does climate change present potential dangers for the African Continent?

From the risk of malaria to desertification to the debt crisis, Africa suffers potential danger from not only social elements, but economic and environmental factors too. This makes it a zone under threat. Although the countries within Africa, do not contribute heavily towards climate change in comparison to the scale of western countries, such as the USA, it is the one suffering from its consequences. Such global warming effects seen are desertification for example, which then leads to famine and the threat food security sees.

Desertification has both human and natural causes. Human is seen through overcultivisation and overgrazing leading to desertification. Where as due to the change of climate, fertile land turns into desert. However, you could argue that although climate change is thought to be a part of the earth’s natural cycle, human actions are said to fasten its process leading to the effects that it has. Moreover, desertification leads to not only famine and the threat of food security. Due to the land turning into desert, the growth of crops is unsustainable which leads to many people whom rely on the growth of crops for their personal food source to starve. This begins famine. Famine sees the struggle to receive food and a long suffering demonstrating here of both social and environmental factors.

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Africa also holds the burden of debt as a poor under developed LEDC country. Although some countries have had their burden lightened through parts of their debt written off, the weight of the debt is still quite heavy which forces people to go through the production of cash crops. This is when crops grown are internationally sold. The money received here is not used for individual profit, rather to help pay the debt off. Due to desertification as such, and famine and the food security African nations have less food for them selves resulted to by climate change. To add ...

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