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Responding to desertification and climate change

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Responses range from simple stone lines in a field to global climate agreements. What works depends on a country's wealth.

Water technology in dry areas

Low-tech: rainwater harvesting; stone lines along contours (used in Burkina Faso) that slow runoff so water soaks in; sand dams in seasonal rivers (used in Kenya) that store water in the sand.
High-tech: drip irrigation delivering water to plant roots; desalination; deep boreholes.
Other responses: planting trees, such as the African Union's Great Green Wall across the Sahel (launched in 2007).

Responses to global warming

Individuals: using less energy, walking or cycling, eating less meat, flying less.
Organisations: companies switching to renewables; NGOs campaigning and planting trees.
Governments: international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015), which aims to keep warming well below 2 °C and pursue 1.5 °C; national targets and renewable energy.

Developed and developing countries

Developed countries can afford major mitigation (cutting emissions) and adaptation, such as sea walls and flood defences.
Developing countries often focus on adaptation, such as drought-resistant crops, flood shelters and early warnings, and argue that rich countries, which emitted most historically, should pay more.
Worked example

Explain why stone lines are a suitable response to desertification in poor rural areas.

  1. They are cheap and built from local stones by farmers themselves.
  2. They slow runoff so rainwater soaks into the soil and soil is not washed away.
  3. This increases crop yields without expensive technology.

Answer: Cheap, local and effective at keeping water and soil on the land.

Key idea

Water technology for dry areas includes rainwater harvesting, stone lines, sand dams, drip irrigation and desalination; the Great Green Wall plants trees across the Sahel. Global warming responses come from individuals, organisations and governments (Kyoto 1997, Paris 2015). Developed countries can afford more mitigation and adaptation.

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