Newswatch: May 2012

A range of stories were in the media over the weekend, including the sad news of a magnitude 6 earthquake in Italy. Here's a brief round-up:

Italian Earthquake

At least seven people have been killed and numerous buildings destroyed after a M6 earthquake and aftershocks in northern Italy.

Waste Disposal in the Maldives

A shocking video shows the nature of waste disposal in the tourist hotspot of the Maldives. The video raises a number of questions about the environmental impact of tourism, and the importance of sustainable, effective waste disposal

US Boost for Food Security 

The US have announced a major investment in food security in Africa, and the topic is being discussed at the G8 meeting. Although we've not analysed the details of this investment, it is an important step to see this issue receiving such high-profile attention.

Malnutrition in Niger

On the subject of food security, serious malnutrition is being reported in the African nation of Niger. Reports suggest around six million people there are affected with numerous more across Western Africa.

Newswatch: April 2012

There have been a few relevant and interesting stories in the news recently, that many of our readers may be interested in:

'Huge' Water Resource in Africa

The British Geological Survey (BGS) have been working on a range of quantitative groundwater maps for the African continent. These suggest that many countries described as being 'water scarce' actually have sme good groundwater resources. Whilst the researchers are not advocating large scale extraction of this water, there is suggestion that the resources can be used in small, low-yield boreholes in rural areas. 

Mexico Raises 'Alert Level' on Volcano

A major volcano in Mexico has begun spewing ash, steam and burning rock, prompting Mexico to raise their alert level. In the past eruptions from the volcano, Popocatapetl, have resulted in many local communities being evacuated.

West African Food Crisis

This crisis hitting many nations in West Africa is impacting many people, and yet has a relatively low profile across the UK. Read more about the drought in the Sahel and the impacts on Oxfam's website.

BBC Panorama

This week the BBC Panorama show focused on the problem of acid pollution into a local river in the Democratic Republic of Congo. You can find a brief highlight here and the full documentary here. 

Critical Situation in the Horn of Africa: Worst Drought for 60 years

The horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya etc) has suffered from two very poor rainy seasons, resulting in poor harvests, reduced access to already poor water supplies and therefore millions of people needing humanitarian assistance. Food insecurity in this region is complicated by difficult access for humanitarian workers to large areas of conflict-ridden state Somalia. Relief Web has published an excellent and helpful PDF by UNOCHA outlining the situation in the region. With vast areas of the region in a critical state, one level short of catastophe/famine there is an urgent need for humanitarian assistance. 

Horn of Africa: On the brink of critical famine?

Rainy seasons will always fluctuate, and we can expect more poor rainy seasons in the future. In order to prevent similar crisis situations and serious famine there needs to be an investment in infrastructure - so food can be transported easily around the country to those places in severe need. The UNOCHA states that the situation in the coastal Somalian capital of Mogadishu is poor/serious compared to critical for agro-pastoral areas in other parts of Somalia. The ease of importing food into a coastal town is much easier than other parts of the country. In Ethiopia engineering geologists have been working on roads to connect more rural parts of the country with bigger towns, which will hopefully play an important role in helping food security in the country. In addition to infrastructure development, improvements in access to and management of groundwater resources is essential for irrigation, food security and health.

Development in this region must take a two-fold approach - with rapid and urgent investment in food security. UNOCHA currently estimates that it only has around 30-50% of the funding needed. In addition a long-term development plan including more investment in infrastructure and irrigation systems must be adopted to minimise the effects of poor rainy seasons in the future.

Key Themes: Agrogeology

The 'Key Themes' posts are a series of short articles outlining the role that geologists have in various aspects of global development.

Food security is a huge and emerging problem facing global development. Huge numbers of people are already undernourished, and world populations are expected to rise significantly over the next 40 years. Sustainable agriculture is fundamental to global development.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, estimates suggest that more than 50% of people rely on agriculture for their livelihood (Van Straaten, 2007) and in rural areas significant numbers are subsistence farmers – growing food to meet their family’s food requirements. Agriculture is a leading component of many developing economies. In Tanzania, for example, it is estimated that agriculture accounts for more than 40% of GDP and employs 80% of the workforce (CIA, 2011).

For agriculture to be sustainable, it must be done in a way that makes it possible to continue using the natural resource (the soil) over significant periods of time. The soil is the source of the nutrients needed for crops to grow, and agriculture to be productive. In many developing countries, soils are becoming rapidly depleted of the nutrients required for productivity, through over-exploitation, and soil quality is decreasing. For agriculture to be sustainable the import of nutrients must match or exceed the export of nutrients.

What role do geologists have to play in this sector?

Agrogeology is the application of geology to agricultural practice, examining how soil nutrients, pH and soil structure can be improved using naturally occurring, mineral-rich rock materials. Rocks such as potash, gypsum, limestone and dolomite are rich in nutrients and can be used as fertilisers – directly added to the soil. One of the biggest challenges is replacing and increasing phosphates in the soil. Geologists can play an important role in identifying, mapping and utlising phosphate-rich rocks. Rocks such as scoria and pumice can be used to help retain water in the soil, and rocks such as limestone and dolomite can be used to decrease the acidity of the soil, raising the pH.

A key text, Rocks for Crops, outlining the principles of agrogeology can be found here. It is written by Dr Peter Van Straaten, a leader in this field, who has kindly made it freely available for people to read and use.

See Also: Rocks for Crops – University of Guelph (Canada) Project headed by Dr Peter Van Straaten.