Human influence on African nature. Reserves and national parks of Africa - presentation. Man: resettlement and impact on the nature of Africa Main negative factors

Africa is of great importance to the whole world because it is the second largest continent and has a population of more than 1 billion inhabitants. The population density averages 31 people per square kilometer.

Scales

The environmental problems of Africa affect 55 countries, in which there are 37 cities with a population of more than a million. It is on the planet since it is located in the tropics. However, due to the size of the territory, zones with different climate regimes can be distinguished.

Areas of Africa to be resolved environmental issues, are deserts, tropical forests and much more. Basically, plains prevail here, occasionally highlands and mountains. The highest point is Kilimanjaro, a volcano rising 5895 meters above sea level.

neglect

The governments of the countries of the continent do not pay too much attention to the environmental problems of Africa and ways to solve them. Few people care about how to reduce the harmful effects on nature. Modern technologies are not being introduced. Africa's environmental problems are not being solved by reducing or eliminating waste.

Considerable attention should be paid to such industries as heavy and light industry, metalworking, animal breeding, and the agricultural sector as well as mechanical engineering.

The environmental problems of African countries are due to the fact that safety precautions are neglected in the manufacture of certain goods, harmful emissions are not cleaned and enter the atmosphere in an untreated form, a large amount of wastewater goes into water bodies.

Main negative factors

Chemical waste enters the natural environment, polluting and spoiling it. Africa's environmental problems arise because resources are being spent in a chaotic way, rather than rationally and thoughtfully.

The land is being exploited, the cities are too crowded with people who live in poverty. Unemployment in settlements sometimes reaches 75%, which is a critical level. Specialists are poorly trained. So the environment is degrading, as well as man - an integral part of it.

In fact, this continent has a unique animal world and vegetation. In the local savannah you can find beautiful shrubs, small trees such as terminalia and bush, as well as many others. beautiful views. The same can be said about animals. However, lions, cheetahs, chic leopards and other residents of local territories suffer greatly from poachers, whose criminal activities are not suppressed by the state at the proper level.

Disappearance threatens already very many representatives of wildlife, and someone has completely disappeared from the face of the earth. For example, earlier here one could meet the quagga, which is a close relative of the zebra, also an artiodactyl creature. Now it has been completely destroyed. At first, people tamed this animal, but then they abused its trust so much that they brought it to extinction. In the wild, the last such individual was killed in 1878. They tried to keep them in the zoo, but even there their lineage was interrupted in 1883.

Dying nature

Environmental problems North Africa mainly consist in desertification, which is associated with uncontrolled deforestation, which spreads to all new territories, devastating them. Thus, degraded, soils are prone to erosion.

From here, deserts appear, of which there are already enough on the continent. There are fewer forests, which are the creators of oxygen.

Environmental problems and the center are largely in the destruction of arrays of the tropical sector. Also dangerous and harmful to nature is a peculiar city formed on the continent, which functions as a dump, called Agbogbloshi.

It was created in the northwestern part of the continent near the capital of Ghana - Accra. This is the "resting place" of electronic waste collected from around the globe. Here you can see old TVs and parts of computers, telephones, scanners and other similar devices.

Mercury, which is harmful, enters the ground from such garbage. hydrochloric acid, poisonous arsenic, various metals, lead dust and other types of chemical compounds in terrifying quantities, exceeding any holes and doses of concentration by several hundred times.

In the local water, all the fish have long died, the birds do not dare to fly in the local air, there is no grass on the soil. People living nearby die very early.

Betrayal from within

Another negative factor is that the heads of local countries have signed agreements, according to which chemical industry wastes are imported into this land and buried in it.

This is either an unwillingness to understand the dangers of the consequences, or a simple greedy impulse to cash in on the destruction caused to the nature of one's own land. In any case, all this has a monstrous effect on the environment and people's lives.

It is here that toxic substances and radioactive compounds formed during the production process are brought from developed industrial countries, since their processing will be much more expensive. Thus, for selfish purposes, not only representatives of other countries are destroyed, but also those who should patronize this territory and take care of it.

Fauna depletion

During the 18th century, the number of otters declined as their fur became very popular. For the sake of "soft gold" people went to this crime against nature. In 1984, the dam's floodgates were opened, killing 10,000 migratory caribou. Tigers, wolves and a lot of other animals also suffered.

In the west of the continent, black rhinos are rapidly dying out. Experts believe that the reason for this is the uncontrolled action of poachers, who are very attracted to the horns of these animals, which are sold at a high price on the black market.

White representatives of the species, which can be found in the north, also suffer. About a quarter of the mammal species inhabiting the continent are close to total extinction. Amphibians are disappearing even faster. Statistics are constantly updated, but bring not good news.

If governments do not seriously think about protecting environment, the list of problems can only grow, so in this moment it is very important to make positive changes.

Sections: Geography

Target: Give an idea of ​​the impact of man on nature, characterize natural disasters, nature reserves and National parks.

Equipment: physical map Africa, tables depicting the most famous reserves of Africa, illustrations depicting the protected and protected areas of the mainland, atlases, additional messages, the video film “Serengeti - African Reserve”, student reports on environmental problems and ways to solve them.

During the classes

I. Organizing time.

II. Repetition of previously learned material.

1. Poll homework(Front survey)

a) what natural areas stand out on the mainland? List and show on the map.

b) what are the features of the location of the natural zones of Africa?

c) what is the relationship between climatic zones and natural zones?

d) name the essential features of the zones of equatorial forests, savannahs, tropical deserts.

2. Individual written survey of students - according to the answer form.

Write the name of natural areas on the board:

a) equatorial forests;

b) savannah;

c) tropical deserts.

Students answer the questions with an X and mark the correct answer.

1. Occupies almost a third of the mainland, especially in the northern part (1c)

2. Located along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea and near the equator (a)

3. Occupies almost 40% of the mainland area (b)

4. Precipitation for almost a year, especially after 12 noon (at)

5. Dry and wet seasons stand out (b)

6. Sometimes it doesn't rain for years (c)

7. Soils are practically absent (c)

8. Soils are red-yellow, ferralitic (b)

9. Red-brown soils rich in humus (b)

10. Forest vegetation is arranged in tiers (a)

11. Vegetation is concentrated in oases (c)

12. Grasses and rarely standing trees predominate (b)

13. The most valuable plant is the date palm (c)

14. Many trees with valuable wood (a)

15. The most common trees are baobab and umbrella acacia (b)

16. habitats of a camel, velvichia, fennec fox (c)

17. The richest and most diverse animal world on Earth (b)

18. Monkeys, leopards, okapi - the inhabitants of this zone (a)

(Guess what each word means)

3. Learning new material.

1. The influence of man on nature.

(Studying the topic on supporting notes and logical chains).

XIX century -> change in the nature of Africa -> reduction of S forests (uprooting and burning under arable land and pastures)

plant diseases,

locust invasions

(textbook - p. 130, figure 59)

3. Reserves and national parks.

Reserves are territories where natural complexes are preserved in their natural state.

National parks - they can be visited by tourists who are required to comply with the rules established there.

There are especially many reserves and national parks in South and East Africa.

The most famous reserves of natural areas.

Watching the video "Serengeti".

Additional message.

1. The creation of national parks is the main condition for conservation protected areas where nature remains untouched by man - its animal world. African national parks, the importance of which can hardly be overestimated, are now visited not only by foreign tourists, but also by Africans themselves, especially schoolchildren and students. National parks preserve nature, serve as natural research laboratories for the most important observations.

Animals in such parks have forgotten what a shot is, and you can drive very close to an elephant, a giraffe, an antelope, a lion by car - they trustfully look at a person, and this serves as the best propaganda for nature conservation and the need to create national parks.

Millions of tourists flock to protected areas and, after spending at least a few hours among gullible animals, leave as friends and protectors for life.

Thanks to the work of two famous zoologists - the father and son of Grizhmenov, the Serengeti National Park is especially attractive to people.

2. national park Kruger.

The Kruger National Park is located in the northeast of South Africa in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpulanga. In the north of the river Limpopo separates it from Zimbabwe, in the east the state border - from Mozambique.

The park is one of the ten largest natural parks in the world. It has a length from north to south of 345 km, and from west to east - 54 km. Its area (20 thousand km 2) is comparable to the area of ​​our Ivanovo region.

Most of the territory of the Kruger Park is occupied by an undulating plain, turning in the east into low rocky foothill sections of the Lebombo ridge.

The climate is tropical, with hot and rainy summers and warm, dry winters.

The territory of the park is crossed by several relatively major rivers, flowing from west to east - Crocodile, Sabia, Olifants, Letaba, Shingwedzi, Luvuvhu.

Many small streams are plowed over in winter, forming dry sandy channels. Water scarcity is one of the main problems of the park, as well as of South Africa as a whole.

The flora is represented by 1968 species of plants, of which 457 species of trees and shrubs, 235 - cereals, 27 - ferns, 16 - lianas, 1213 - herbs and flowers. More than 800 species of animals are represented in the national park: 147 species of mammals, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 49 fish, 507 fish.

From flora there are “elephant” grass, bearded man, papyrus and an abundance of trees and shrubs; from the animal world - elephants, buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, antelopes, monkeys, warthogs, jackals, crocodiles, hippos, lions, hyenas and others.

On the territory of the national park, the restoration of the population of such animals as the black and white rhinoceros, a giant elephant has recently begun.

Every year, more than a million tourists from all over the world visit the Kruger National Park and the protected areas adjacent to it.

(From the magazine "Geography at School" No. 8, 2006)

III. Consolidation. Listening to reports and messages. Grading.

IV. Homework.

§29, write an essay “One day in Africa”.

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Slides captions:

AFRICA. The influence of man on nature. Reserves and national parks. Presentation for interactive whiteboard. Zgibay T.N., teacher of geography, Lyceum No. 82 of the Petrogradsky district of St. Petersburg

The African continent has the highest concentration of national parks, with 335 as of 2014, protecting over 1,100 mammal species, 100,000 insect species, 2,600 bird species and 3,000 fish species. In addition, there are hundreds of sanctuaries, forest reserves, marine reserves, national reserves and natural parks. Most protected areas are in Kenya, Gabon and Tanzania. There are especially many reserves and national parks in South and East Africa. 3

No. Country National park name Area, km² 1 Algeria Ahaggar 3800 2 Algeria Belezma 262.5 3 Algeria Shrea 260 4 Algeria Dzhurdzhura 82.25 5 Algeria El Qala 800 6 Algeria Gureya 20.8 7 Algeria Tassilin-Adjer 120000 8 Algeria Taza 37.2 9 Algeria Teniet El Had 34.25 10 Algeria Tlemcen 82.25

national reserve Masai Mara The Masai Mara is a National Reserve in Kenya and is named after the Masai people who inhabit these regions. It is famous for its lions, leopards and cheetahs, as well as the annual migration of zebra, Thomson's gazelle, and wildebeest. Masai Mara is relatively small, but it has an amazing concentration wildlife. The park is home to 95 species of mammals, amphibians and reptiles and over 400 bird species.

Bwindi National Park Bwindi National Park is located in southwestern Uganda in East Africa. The park includes 331 square kilometers of jungle forests and can only be reached on foot. Located on the eastern edge of the Rift Valley, the park has a rich ecosystem. It also has a wide variety of fauna, including a number of endemic butterflies and one of the richest concentrations of mammals in Africa. The park is home to nearly half of the world's mountain gorillas, sadly numbering only 340.

Central Kalahari The Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana's Kalahari Desert covers an area of ​​52,800 km², about twice the size of Massachusetts, making it the second largest game reserve in the world. The park contains wild animals such as giraffes, brown hyena, warthog, cheetah, wild dogs, leopards, lions, blue wildebeest. The Bushmen have inhabited the Kalahari for thousands of years. These tribes still live here and roam the area as nomadic hunters.

Ngorongoro Ngorongoro is located in northwestern Tanzania. In fact, this is the impressive Ngorongoro Crater, an extinct volcano that left behind a crater. The steep slopes of the crater have become a habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. The area is also of great importance in the study of the origin of man, because it was here that some of the earliest human remains were found, including traces of his stay here 3.5 million years ago.

Thank you for your attention!

On the topic: methodological developments, presentations and notes

Topic. Human influence on African nature. Reserves and national parks.

Detailed lesson plan. The main goal of the lesson is the environmental problems of Africa, the establishment of cause-and-effect relationships....

Lesson "Influence" economic activity man to nature. Reserves national parks of Australia "Objectives: to continue studying the topic of the relationship and relationships of the organism ...

help find the report. on the topic "human impact on the nature of Africa" ​​or just on nature and got the best answer

Answer from Dorji Ledzhiev[expert]
6. Human influence on nature. Reserves and parks
Back in the 19th century Africa was presented as a continent of virgin nature. However, even then the nature of Africa was significantly changed by man. The area of ​​forests, which have been uprooted and burned for arable land and pastures for centuries, has decreased. Particularly great damage to the nature of Africa was caused by European colonialists. Hunting, carried out for profit, and often for sport, led to the mass extermination of animals. Many animals are completely destroyed (for example, some species of antelopes, zebras), and the number of others (elephants, rhinos, gorillas, etc.) has greatly decreased. Europeans exported expensive timber to their countries. Therefore, in a number of states (Nigeria, etc.) there is a danger of complete disappearance of forests. Territories on the site of reduced forests were occupied by plantations of cocoa, oil palm, peanuts, etc. Thus, savannahs formed on the site of equatorial and variable-humid forests. Significantly changed the nature and primary savannas. There are huge areas of plowed land and pastures.
Due to mismanagement of agriculture (burning, overgrazing, and cutting down trees and shrubs), savannas have given way to deserts for many centuries. In the last half century alone, the Sahara has moved significantly southward and increased its area by 650,000 km2.
To save the savannas from the onset of deserts, a wide forest strip in the Sahara 1500 km long is being created, which will shield agricultural territories from the dry winds of the desert. There are several projects for watering the Sahara. Big changes natural complexes occurred in connection with the development of minerals and the development of industry.
Natural natural phenomena(earthquakes, droughts, floods, hurricanes, etc.) can bring great disasters to the population. One of Africa's most devastating natural disasters is recurrent droughts. This especially affects the population of the savannas adjacent to the Sahara. Droughts kill people, livestock and other living organisms. The reason for the aggravation of droughts is the felling of shrubs, trees, as well as overgrazing.
Some countries suffer disasters from floods, plant diseases, locust invasions, which in a few hours can destroy the entire crop of fields or plantations.
At present, humanity is becoming more and more aware of the need to protect nature on Earth. To this end, reserves (territories where natural complexes are preserved in their natural state) and national parks are organized on all continents. In the reserves it is allowed to be only people leading research work. National parks, unlike nature reserves, can be visited by tourists who are required to follow the rules established there. In many African countries, the protection of wild animals and the most interesting natural complexes (forests, savannahs, volcanic regions, etc.) is of great importance. Reserves and national parks on the mainland occupy large areas. There are especially many of them in South and East Africa. A number of them are world famous, for example, the Serengeti and Kruger national parks. Thanks to the measures taken, the number of many animals has now been restored.

Answer from Evgeny Fomichev[newbie]
Malamute, so what?

Answer from Alexander Rodnov[newbie]

Answer from Galina Steglenko[newbie]
Read the text of the textbook will have the same result

HUMAN: SETTLEMENT AND IMPACT ON THE NATURE OF AFRICA

(see the map of the physical-geographical zoning of Africa with links to photographs of the nature of this region)

Africa is considered the most likely ancestral home modern man (Fig. 23).

Rice. 23. Centers of human development and ways of its settlement in globe (according to V.P. Alekseev): 1 - the ancestral home of mankind and resettlement from it; 2 - primary western focus of race formation and settlement of proto-Australoids; 3 - settlement of proto-Caucasians; 4 - resettlement of proto-Negroids; 5 - primary eastern focus of race formation and settlement of proto-Americanoids; 6 - North American tertiary focus and settlement from it; 7 - Central South American focus and resettlement from it.

Many features of the nature of the continent speak in favor of this position. African great apes - especially chimpanzees - have, compared to other anthropoids, the greatest number of biological traits in common with modern man. In Africa, fossil remains of several forms of great apes of the family pongid(Pongidae), similar to modern great apes. In addition, fossil forms of anthropoids have been discovered - Australopithecus, usually included in the family of hominids.

Remains australopithecines found in the Villafra deposits of South and East Africa, i.e., in those strata that most researchers attribute to the Quaternary period (Eopleistocene). In the east of the mainland, along with the bones of Australopithecus, stones were found with traces of rough artificial chipping.

Many anthropologists consider Australopithecus as a stage of human evolution, preceding the appearance of the most ancient people. However, the discovery by R. Leakey in 1960 of the Olduvai locality made significant changes to the solution of this problem. In the natural section of the Olduvai Gorge, located in the southeast of the Serengeti Plateau, near the famous Ngorongoro Crater (northern Tanzania), remains of primates close to Australopithecus were found in the thickness of volcanic rocks of Villafranchian age. They got the name Zinjanthropes. Below and above the Zinjanthropes, the skeletal remains of a prezinjanthropus, or Homo habilis (Handy Man), were found. Together with the presinjanthropus, primitive stone products were found - roughly upholstered pebbles. In the overlying layers of the Olduvai locality, the remains of African archanthropes, and on the same level with them - Australopithecus. The mutual position of the remains of prezinjanthropus and zinjantrops (australopithecus) suggests that the australopithecines, previously considered the direct ancestors of the most ancient people, actually formed a non-progressive branch of hominids that existed for a long time between Villafranchian and the middle Pleistocene. This thread is over dead end.

Simultaneously with it, and even a little earlier, there was a progressive form - presinjanthropus, which is possibly direct and immediate ancestor of the most ancient people. If this is so, then the opinion is correct that the birthplace of prezinjanthropus is the area of ​​​​continental rifts East Africa- can be considered the ancestral home of man.

R. Leakey discovered in the vicinity of Lake Rudolf (Turkana) the remains of human ancestors, whose age is 2.7 Ma. In recent years, there have been reports of finds that are even older.

The remains of archanthropes, in addition to Olduvai, were found in northern Africa, in Algeria. The local name for the North African archanthropes is atlanthropes.

Modern man(Homo sapiens) appeared on the territory of Africa during the last, Gembla pluvial, which corresponded approximately to the end of the last glaciation of the northern regions of the Earth.

Fossil remains of a modern type of man, found in different parts of the mainland, show significant racial differences. Obviously, the main races that exist in Africa at the present time were outlined already in the era of the late (upper) Paleolithic. Further differentiation of races continued during the Neolithic. In North Africa, judging by the bone remains, there was an ancient caucasoid type, in South Africa - the so-called Boscopian type, the ancestor of modern Bushmen and Hottentots. In the west south of the Sahara, the Negroid(Negro) type. During the Neolithic, apparently formed Ethiopian contact race, and equatorial forests the Congo basin developed a race African pygmies (negrillian).

Modern indigenous population North Africa, including almost the entire Sahara, consists of representatives of the southern Caucasoid (Mediterranean) race, which is more ancient in time than the formation of a branch of the large Caucasoid race.

Anthropologically, the Caucasoid population of the countries of North Africa is distinguished by a large homogeneity. It is characterized by dark skin, dark hair and eyes, a dolicho- or mesocephalic skull, and an average height of about 170 cm. There are deviations from this type: lighter skin, blond hair and blue eyes, which may be the result of local depigmentation in mountainous areas with a harsher climate. To the southern Caucasoid race belongs the ancient Berber population North Africa and the majority of the modern population of the North African countries, historically formed as a result of the invasion of the Arabs and the Arabization of the indigenous Berber population. Most of the mainland south of the Sahara, with the exception of the areas adjacent to the Red Sea and the Somali Peninsula, is inhabited by peoples belonging to the African branch of the great equatorial race. It contains three races of the second order: actually Negro (Negroid), Negril and Bushmen (Koisan).

Features proper negro race especially pronounced in the population of the Niger and Congo basins. These peoples have very dark skin, curly hair, pronounced prognathism, a wide nose with a low nose bridge, swollen lips, and a dolicho- and mesocephalic head. In other areas, Negroids have deviations from these classically expressed features. For example, in Southeast Africa, some peoples have a lighter skin color, while the peoples of the upper Nile and Senegal, on the contrary, have almost black skin; prognathism is expressed to varying degrees in different peoples. There are very big differences in height. Especially high growth among the inhabitants of the Nile basin.

On the border of the ranges of the southern Caucasoids and Negroids, contact racial groups formed already in the early Neolithic. It - Ethiopian race, to which the peoples of Ethiopia, Somalia and neighboring regions belong. The representatives of the Ethiopian race expressed almost all characteristics Negroids, but as if in a softened form. Their skin is brown, but lighter than that of the most light-colored Negroes, their hair is curly and even curly, but to a lesser extent than that of Negroids, their lips are full, but not swollen, there is no prognathism, the nose is narrow, with a protruding nose bridge, a narrow tall face . In Western Sudan, on the border between the ranges of Caucasians and Negroids, transitional forms also developed with a combination of anthropological features of both of these races.

A special place within the African branch of the equatorial race is occupied by pygmies (negrillies). They are settled in small groups in the equatorial forests of the Congo Basin. Their average height is 141-142 cm, the maximum is 150 cm. The skin color is generally lighter than that of typical Negroids, curly hair, a wide nose, with a low nose, a wide mouth with thin lips, facial hair is more abundant than that of tall negroids. The fact that the Pygmies, on the one hand, have features that bring them closer to the Negroes, and, on the other hand, significant differences from the latter, suggests that these races had a common ancestor. The anthropological features of the pygmies were probably formed in the Neolithic under the influence of the specific natural environment of the equatorial forests, within which they still live.

Groups live in southwestern Africa Bushmen and Hottentots, combined according to some common anthropological features into one Khoisan or South African, race, or racial group. This race also has features in common with other dark-skinned Africans (broad nose and curly hair); some signs bring it closer to representatives of the Mongoloid race (relatively light, yellowish-brown skin color and epicanthus); other signs are specific to the Khoisan race: accumulation of fat in the buttocks (steatopygia), severe wrinkling of the skin. The features of anthropological similarity with the Negroes are explained by the fact that at the early stages of development all the races of the African branch had a common ancestor. Mongoloid features do not depend on the connection with the Mongoloids, which, obviously, never existed, and could not exist, but on similar environmental conditions in which these races were formed. The arid areas of the interior of South Africa are to some extent similar to the areas Central Asia. This similarity, for example, explains the presence of epicanthus among the Bushmen, which is considered a characteristic feature of the Mongoloids.

The movement of peoples across the Earth, which took place from ancient times and intensified in the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, during the colonization of Africa by Europeans, led to further confusion races and the formation of mixed anthropological types. The invasion of the Arabs into Africa, their penetration not only to the north, but also to the south, deep into the mainland, into the very thick of the Negroid peoples, led to the formation of mixed types of the population of South Sudan, very close in anthropological features to the Ethiopian contact race.

As a result of the mixing of races in the Middle Ages, a population was also formed Madagascar. It was formed, obviously, as a result of contacts between the Negroids and the southern Mongoloids (Indonesians) who penetrated the island.

Currently lives in Africa about 800 million people. The distribution of this population across the mainland is extremely uneven. Huge areas are almost completely uninhabited, many are very sparsely populated. For example, in the Sahara, Kalahari, Namib Desert population density 1 person per 1 km 2. The population of the tropical forests of the Congo Basin and many mountainous regions of East Africa is very low. The population density of the northern, southwestern and southeastern coasts of the mainland and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea is much higher. The Nile Valley in Egypt stands out in particular - it is one of the most densely populated territories not only in Africa, but throughout the world. The population density there exceeds 200 people, and in some places it reaches 1000 people per 1 km 2. In some areas of Africa, the uplands and mountainous regions are more densely populated than the lowlands, which have less favorable conditions for the life and activities of people. About 40% of the total population of the continent lives at an altitude of more than 500 m above sea level.

A big problem for Africa is natural focal diseases like malaria, trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, yellow fever, schistosomiasis, etc. Many of them are associated with the habitats of vectors (mosquitoes, tsetse flies, mollusks). In recent decades, AIDS has become widespread in many African countries, especially south of the equator. In 2001, a pandemic in Africa HIV infections and AIDS claimed lives 2.3 million people. The continent has the highest rate of HIV infection and the highest proportion of people living with HIV and AIDS. In 2001, there were 28.1 million people living with HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, which is 70 % of the total registered worldwide. Over the past 20 years, this disease has greatly affected the average life expectancy in the region, and in countries such as Botswana and Malawi, it no longer exceeds 40 years. It is now officially considered that in Botswana 35% of the adult population is HIV-infected. Every year the number of HIV carriers and AIDS patients is steadily growing. Tribal traditions play a big role in this, encouraging early onset of sexual activity, as well as the orientation of some developing countries towards the mining industry - mining villages with many dormitories are emerging around the mines, dominated by workers cut off from families. In the countries of North Africa, this problem is not so acute.

Africa is dominated by rural population, the countries of this continent are the least urbanized compared to other regions of the world. AT agriculture plantation or slash-and-burn agriculture and pastoralism predominate, often combined with a nomadic or semi-nomadic way of life. The long years of colonialism left an indelible mark on the distribution of the population, ways of farming and the nature of the use of natural resources.

sharply reflected on the state of the natural environment African countries also have socio-demographic processes of recent decades: high rates of population reproduction, this is associated with the expansion of cultivated areas and pastures, excessive and not always rational use of natural resources, urban growth. All this, taken together, has led to the fact that at present, relatively few areas of Africa have retained their pristine nature. Changes in the composition of forests under the influence of deforestation and burning, or even displacement of forests by anthropogenic savannahs, desertification of savannahs in the zones bordering deserts, the spread of introduced plants and animals of other continents, and the extermination of local species - all these results of human activity have become widespread not only in the most developed and populated the outskirts of the mainland, but also in its hinterland. In 1990-1995 the rate of deforestation in Africa was 0.7% per year. For 15 years (from 1980 to 1995) the area of ​​African forests has decreased by 66 million hectares. The highest rate of deforestation is in southern West Africa.

Over the past 100 years, Africa has worsened state of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Rapid population growth, agricultural intensification, urbanization and industrial growth have exacerbated environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources. Some of the most pressing environmental problems include loss of soil fertility, accelerated erosion, deforestation, biodiversity decline, increased water scarcity, and deteriorating water and air quality (Figure 110).