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Níger, BY FRANCESCA BOOTELLO AND NICO BROCHARD 

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Níger, BY FRANCESCA BOOTELLO AND NICO BROCHARD 

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Student Guide: Case Study Cards – Managing Extreme Environments

You and a partner will research a real-world extreme environment (either a hot arid or cold periglacial area) and create a Case Study Card that explains how people use and manage that environment.

Work in pairs to complete the following:

1. Research your assigned case study

2. Fill out the Case Study Card

FRANCESCA Y NICO

Farming in the Sahel (e.g. Niger)

Type: Subsistence farming in a semi-arid region

Key issues: Desertification, climate variability, overgrazing

Management: Agroforestry, zai pits, and farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR)

1. Location:

Country and region: Niger, West Africa, Part of the sahel region (a semi arid belt south of the Sahara desert)

Location description: Niger is a landlocked country bordered by Mali, Nigeria, Algeria etc. The sahel stretches across the southern part of Niger

2. Environment Description

What kind of extreme environment is it?

Hot semi-arid (borderline arid) environment

Describe the climate and landscape conditions:

Very hot and dry, especially in the dry season

Low and unpredictable rainfall

Frequent droughts

Poor, sandy soils and sparse vegetation

High risk of desertification and soil erosion

What is desertification? When a fertile land becomes dry and barren, usually in dry areas like the Sahel

Causes:

Overgrazing

Deforestation

Poor farming

Climate change

Soil erosion

Effects:

Loss of fertile land

Less food

Water shortages

People forced to move

3. Human Activity

What activity takes place here? Subsistence farming, people grow crops like millet, sorghum and maize and raise animals like for example (for example: goats) mainly to feed their families

Who is doing it? Local farmers and herders and SOMETIMES supported by NGOs or government programs

4. Opportunities

What are the benefits of this activity?

Food for families and communities

Employment for rural populations

Some cash income from selling surplus crops or livestock

Helps maintain traditional lifestyles and cultures

5. Challenges

What are the problems or risks involved?

The farmers in Sahel face climate change, land degradation and desertification, conflict and they also face challenges though low precipitation and long droughts. Conflicts for water and land and the limited access to finance complicates their situation.

Environmental damage?

Poor soil quality, overgrazing, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices contribute to widespread land degradation and desertification reducing the amount of arable land that's suitable for agriculture and the surface area of crop yields.

Health or safety?

Farmers in Sahel face diverse challenges resulting from the lack of resources, such as water and land that became scarce because of climate change and land degradation. Conflict between farmers for these scarce resources. These conflicts disrupt agricultural activities and displace communities. Moreover the high percentage of poverty, lack of healthcare and sanitation summed up with the increased exposure to extreme weather events because of climate change make it difficult for farmers to survive.

Climate issues?

Farmers face several climate related challenges brought by climate change. These challenges include droughts, land degradation, rising temperatures, flooding, changing precipitation patterns. Most Sahelian farmers depend on rain fed agriculture. The changing precipitation patterns, the longer droughts and rising temperatures make it difficult for them to grow their crops properly as they cannot predict when it will rain as the patterns have changed and droughts become more frequent and longer increasing water scarcity.

Impact on local people?

Local people are extremely impacted by these issues, as they mostly depend on farming to maintain their families.

6. Management Strategies

What is being done to solve or reduce the problems?

Technology?

They are promoting and enhancing agricultural technologies. This includes adopting drought resistant crops, and adopting climate smart agricultural practices. They also promote techniques such as the zai pits technique to catch natural rainfall and improve sustainable water management. Plus strengthening irrigation systems.

Laws or policies?

Increasing regional cooperation to coordinate irrigation initiatives, harmonize standards, and monitor progress.

Sustainable practices?

Promoting sustainable water management techniques like the zai pit technique, adoption of drought resistant crops and climate smart agricultural practices. As well as integrating trees and crops, promoting agroecological practices and enhancing biodiversity.

7. Evaluation

Is the activity sustainable? Why or why not?

The activity is sustainable, because they are promoting sustainable useful techniques that cost little to nothing but effort. They also promote adopting and using crops that can face the harsh dry environment to lower the costs.

Give a balanced opinion and short conclusion
In my opinion the techniques proposed to solve this problem are useful but governments should increase the global awareness on the situation. This can be helpful to reduce the challenges and improve the situation.

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1. Location

Country and region name → Country: United States and Region name: Northern Alaska on the North Slope by the Beaufort Sea.

Add a small sketch map or describe where it is → It is located in the far north of Alaska, above the Artic Circle. It lies on the coastal plain of the Artic ocean, close to the Beaufort Sea. This region is extremely cold, flat and covered by permafrost.

2. Environment Description

What kind of extreme environment is it? (Arid or Periglacial)

Describe the climate and landscape conditions (e.g. cold, dry, permafrost, rainfall)

The environment is periglacial. Temperatures are very cold, there is low precipitation. There is a permafrost. The landscape is tundra with weak vegetation. The winters are long and dark, on the other hand the summers are short and cool.

3. Human Activity

What activity takes place here? (e.g. mining, oil extraction, farming)

The main activity in Prudhoe Bay is oil extraction, which involves drilling into underground reservoirs to extract crude oil.

Who is doing it? (e.g. governments, companies, local people)

The ones doing the oil extraction are large oil companies such as “BP”, “ExxonMobil” and ConocoPhillips. The U.S government also helps by giving permission to drill and making sure that companies follow environmental rules. Some local people are also involved, by working there or making land agreements.

4. Opportunities

What are the benefits of this activity?

Jobs? → Oil extraction has created many job opportunities, for example,  workers, for example, engineers, construction, maintenance, etc.

Money for the country? → It generates a huge amount of money in tax revenue and royalties for the state of Alaska, also for the U.S government. The money generated is used to fun public services, for example, hospitals, schools, roads, etc.

Food or energy? →  It produces a large amount of oil, with this amount the  energy is produced, so there is a higher supply of energy.

5. Challenges

What are the problems or risks involved?

Environmental damage? → Permafrost melting by melting and drilling and oil spills can harm the land, water and animals.

Health or safety? → Workers can face danger from cold weather, oil spills or accidents in the extraction.

Climate issues? → Oil drilling adds to climate change by releasing greenhouse gases.

Impact on local people? → Some local people worry about their land, animals and lifestyles getting damaged.

6. Management Strategies

What is being done to solve or reduce the problems?

Technology? → Pipelines are built around so animals can pass under and for the heat not to melt the frozen ground.

Laws or policies? → The U.S. government has rules to protect the environment, like cleaning up oil spills and making sure everyone is safe.

Sustainable practices? → Drilling only happens in certain places to protect animals and nature. Companies try to do less harm and follow rules to keep the land safe.

7. Evaluation

Is the activity sustainable? Why or why not?

The activity is not very sustainable and has high environmental risks. This is because there can be several oil spills that can cause long-term damage, also because the permafrost is thawing from heat caused by the buildings and pipelines, which affects the land. Wildlife Can be disturbed or displaced from their habitats. Although it brings economic benefits and energy security. Lastly, this place is a non-renewable resource, meaning that it won’t recover, when it’s gone it's gone.

Give a balanced opinion and short conclusion

Prudhoe Bay proves that natural resources can be exploited in extreme environments. Although long term sustainability is uncertain because of the high cost. A slow shift to renewable energy can be more sustainable in the future.

8. Visual (Optional)

Include a photo, drawing, or diagram if it helps explain your case study

https://static.conocophillips.com/files/news/square-sml-good-pipeline-and-caribou-shot-1600-2.jpg

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Norilsk Mining, Russia

Type: Nickel and metal mining in a cold periglacial area

Key issues: Extreme pollution, collapsing infrastructure due to melting permafrost

Management: Limited; recent efforts at clean-up and modernization

1. Location

Country and region name :The Norilsk mining centre lies in the Russian High Arctic, about 2800km north east of Moscow

Add a small sketch map or describe where it is

2. Environment Description

What kind of extreme environment is it? (Arid or Periglacial)

Is located in a Periglacial area

Describe the climate and landscape conditions (e.g. cold, dry, permafrost, rainfall)

Is cold. The winters are very long, also there are snowstorms and strong winds are common.

3. Human Activity

What activity takes place here? (e.g. mining, oil extraction, farming)

The activity that takes place is mining.

Who is doing it? (e.g. governments, companies, local people)

Its  controlled by a company called Unexim Bank

4. Opportunities

What are the benefits of this activity?

Jobs?

Money for the country?

Food or energy?

The principal benefit of this activity is the generation of economic wealth by the extraction of natural resources. This helps the development and employment for the country.

5. Challenges

What are the problems or risks involved?

Environmental damage?

Health or safety?

Climate issues?

Impact on local people?

The problems or risks involved are the environmental damage, health and impact on local people.

6. Management Strategies

What is being done to solve or reduce the problems?

Technology?

Laws or policies?

Sustainable practices?

To solve or reduce the problems they use technology (Sulfur program 2.0 ) and they have strict policies. Actually they are investing in sustainable developments.

7. Evaluation

Is the activity sustainable? Why or why not?

The activity is not sustainable because it is polluting the rivers and is killing forests, it emits a massive amount of  sulfur dioxide.

Give a balanced opinion and short conclusion
As I said before, in my opinion, mining is not a sustainable activity, so they should implement measures that make it so. Furthermore, I believe Russia has the money to invest in sustainable measures, so we should review why it isn't being used.

8. Visual (Optional)

Include a photo, drawing, or diagram if it helps explain your case study

Video: https://www.nbcnews.com/video/how-norilsk-russia-became-one-of-the-most-polluted-places-on-earth-128419909988

Links:

http://nbcnews.com/news/world/norilsk-russian-arctic-became-one-polluted-places-earth-rcna6481

https://www.britannica.com/place/Norilsk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norilsk_Nickel