Animals in danger

Water

The magic stones

Soil Erosion

DESERTS AND WATER

The third world has many problems. One of the most serious is soil erosion. This turns millions of hectares on land into desert every year. Another is water. In rich countries there's always enough and it's always clean. In poor countries there's never enough and it's often dirty.

□ The problem

Why does soil erosion happen?

There are several reasons and each one connects to the next.

1 The population in most Third World countries grows every year. So...

2 Farmers cut down more and more trees to get extra land for food crops. (Ethiopia, for example, has lost 90% of its forests since 1900.) And then...

3 They grow as much food as possible. (In the past, farmers were able to grow crops, then leave a field for several years. This gave the soil a chance to recover. In the past 20 years that hasn't been possible. Why? Because of the need to grow more and more food.) So...

4 They start to use the same land too often. So...

5 The soil becomes thin, dry and weak. Then, after a few years rain and wind erode it. So...

6 The farmers aren't able to grow as much food as before. So...

7 People become hungry.

It's the same story almost everywhere in the Third World. More people — fewer trees — greater use of land — thinner soil — erosion — famine.

In other words, erosion costs lives. It also means that the world's deserts are growing all the time.

□ The Solution

Is it possible to stop soil erosion?

Not completely, but a very simple idea is hoping some people in a small West African country to make the problem less serious. Here's how:

In Burkina Faso, lines of stones are stopping erosion. It's a quick, cheap and easy way to save soil and grow more food. What happens is this. The farmers put lines of stones around their fields. They do this before the rains. Then when the rain comes, it doesn't wash the soil away. Instead, the water sinks into the earth. This makes it wetter, richer and more fertile.

□ The Problem

We all need clean, fresh water. Without it, we die in three days. But in many parts of the Third World, clean water is rare. Instead, people have to drink dirty water. Then they become ill. Then they can't work. Then they can't afford to buy food.

Like soil erosion, the water problem often ends in death. Here are the facts.

1 Over 2 billion people don't have clean water.

2 80% of the world's diseases come from dirty water.

3 Nearly 30,000 people die every day from diseases like this.

4 30% of the people in hospitals are there because of 'dirty water' dis­eases.

5 Everyone in Britain uses an average of 125 litres of water every day. This is where it goes. Drinking/cooking— 35%. Toilet — 32%. Bath — 17%. Washing — 12%. Garden/washing clothes — 3%. Dishes — 1%.

6 A water-testing kit costs Ј15. One of these can test the water in a river or well"' and make sure it's clean. A water pump costs Ј138. One of these can raise safe, clean water for a whole village.

□ The Solution

In the past it was difficult and expensive to dig deep wells. Today it's much cheaper and easier. Now, thanks to wells like these, more and more villages have clean water. And that's not all. Deep wells mean that a vil­lage can have safe water all year — not just when it rains. Projects to build more and more wells like this are the real hope for the future.

□ Your opinion

Do people in the Third World have any hope for the future? Why? / Why not?

Perhaps the most famous rare animal is the panda. Twenty years ago it was nearly extinct. Now, its numbers are growing again. It's even become a symbol for wildlife conservation. But many other species have been less lucky than the panda. Some are already extinct. Today, many more are in serious danger. This is because man (a) hunts them (b) destroys and pol­lutes their habitat.

Is it too late to save animals like these?

□ The problem

Дата добавления: 2015-05-24