Introduction to the Sudanian Savanna:
The Sudanian Savanna is an ecosystem marked by diversity and
endemism. This tropical grassland is home to over 1000 endemic plants (World
Wildlife) and a number of animal species. The area covers almost 100,000 square
kilometers and is marked by long grasses, shrubs, and occasional trees. This
ecosystem spans across a great number of Central and Southern African nations
including Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, CAR, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan and Uganda (World Wildlife). Unfortunately this
ecosystem now finds itself with a relatively dangerous conservation status and
is now defined as a critical or endangered area. This is primarily the result
of increased human activity.
Modern Day Sudanian Savanna
"Ecoregions." Encyclopedia
of Earth.
Map of Sudanian Savanna (area in pale yellow)
"African Savanna." Apassionforscience
Historic Characteristics of Sudanian Savanna:
Historically this ecosystem was marked by a variety of trees
and wooded areas that collectively created a closed dry forest. These areas were home to various large and
tall trees and relatively dense forests. Moreover about eight thousand years
ago this area was home to a relatively cool climate that was very different
from the hot and dry climate seen today. Evidence for this can be found in the
pollen record from Lake Tilla in Northeast Nigeria researched by Ulrich
Salzmann and documented in his article “Are modern savannas degraded forests? -
A Holocene pollen record from the Sudanian vegetation zone of NE Nigeria”.
Salzmann explains that as the years progressed the climate became increasingly dry and hot. This therefore lowered the levels of the lakes, and changed the composition of the fauna and flora found in this region. The gradual transformation from a closed dry forest to an open savanna and open woodland can be attributed to this climatic change. Long ‘elephant’ grasses and large tree species now mark the Sudanian Savanna, however these trees are sparse due to the destruction of the original closed dry forest (Salzmann 2). It is likely that the appearance of human activity throughout the area exacerbated this transformation particularly as a result of fire.
An image of historic dry forest of the Sudanian
Savanna
"Herpetology of Ethiopia &
Eritrea." Biodiversity
Human Impact:
Unfortunately this ecosystem has been heavily hit by human
activity. With the increase in population there came an increase in hunting,
agriculture, herding, and most importantly fires.
As humans began to settle in this area, the vegetation
suffered irreversible changes. These groups used the area for agriculture
therefore introducing non-native plant species and putting pressure on the
ecosystem as a result of seasonal farming (Forkour, Landmann, Conrad, and Dech
22). Even more critically damaging to the Sudanian Savanna, people began to cut
down trees and small bushes in order to use the wood. Humans tended to burn
this wood for cooking and warmth, and unfortunately these fires often became
fully-fledged wildfires. These fires have been detrimental to this ecosystem
and played a huge role in changing the area from closed dry forest to grasses
and shrubs (World Wildlife).
Another unfortunate affect of human presence in the Sudanian
Savanna is the prevalence of hunting. Groups of people historically hunted wild
animals all over this area, and this practice still continues today. The hunting of large animals for food and
sport resulted in a huge decrease in the population of a great number of
species including giraffes, wild dogs, elephants, and lions (World Wildlife). The effect of this hunting can be seen
specifically through the example of the black rhinoceros. This animal was
hunted so heavily that its population has been completely destroyed and it no
longer lives in this area (World Wildlife).
Table from “Policy, environment and development in African
Rangelands”
“Fig. 4. Aerial census data on wildlife populations
in the Mara National Reserve” (Homewood 138)
Environmental Science
& Policy
This table demonstrates
a 58% reduction in the total population of wildlife over a period of twenty
years in the Mara National Reserve, Kenya (Homewood 138). This is therefore
evidence to demonstrate the threat of human activity on wildlife throughout
this region, even within those areas that are designated as protected reserves.
A final problem associated with human activity is the
drainage and pollution of the Sudanian wetlands. People have begun to use this
water for agriculture thus disrupting the ecosystem by converting the wetlands
into dams or irrigation systems (World Wildlife). Much wildlife, in particular
birds and migratory animals, depend on the location of these wetlands for
survival. Therefore the human use of this water supply is critically harmful to
these animals. Furthermore the wide array of plant life that inhabit these
wetlands are displaced and therefore their species begin to deplete.
How humans benefit:
The fundamental way in which humans benefit from this
ecosystem is through agriculture. For a great number of years humans have
cultivated this land in order to sustain themselves. As explained in “Farming
Systems of the African Savanna” by Andrew Ker, the growth of the human
population and the increase in agricultural technology in this region has led to increasingly
heavy farming. This is beneficial for humans as they are able to grow their
crops, and support their diet through the hunting of large mammals.
Unfortunately whilst these activities benefit human life, they are detrimental
to the conservation status of the Sudanian Savanna. The increased risk of
wildfires, the depletion of animal species, and the destruction of wetlands and
plant species are all extremely harmful to this ecosystem and have been
responsible for the increasing disappearance of native plants, the forest like
ecosystem, and a number of large mammals (Ker 31).
Protected areas:
Protected areas do exist throughout this region, and in fact
they cover a large expanse of land. Unfortunately these areas are little more
than ‘paper parks’ meaning that whilst they are acknowledged as protected areas on paper, little is done to actually protect the wildlife. This is primarily a result of a lack of funding and government ability to properly
enforce regulations. Particularly in densely populated regions
such as Nigeria, these protected areas fail to stop the spread of logging,
human induced fires, and poaching, thus the fragmentation of remaining forest
areas persists (World Wildlife).
In particular we can see this by looking at the Kainji Lake
National Park in Nigeria. The park was established in 1976 and is therefore one
of the region's oldest parks. However, due to continual political instability,
poor infrastructure, and most importantly lack of money, this park remains
un-policed and unregulated. As a result the park continues to be subjected to deforestation,
hunting, and the spread of wildfires.
Fishing in particular has become an issue for this area as unregulated
fisheries are established causing a huge decline in the number of fish (BirdLife International).
What the future holds:
Unfortunately, the future for the Sudanian Savanna is not
positive!
United Nations Environment Programme
Global Resource Information Database - Sioux Falls
This graph demonstrates the expected population growth for
countries within the Sudanian Savanna region: Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and
Kenya. Thus it seems that a decrease in agriculture or deforestation is
unlikely due to the hypothesized population growth. Moreover without the
finances or the benefit of a stable political scene to create regulations, a
thorough conservation of this area is unlikely. Thus the future for this
ecosystem is bleak.
Projections for the area depicted by the article
“Agricultural land use mapping in the Sudanian Savanna of West Africa: Current
status and future possibilities” point towards further depletion of typical
savanna and the fragmentation of forests due to farming. In particular studies
predict the disappearance of remaining dry forest due to deforestation and
wildfires, a change in the characteristics of the savanna elephant grasses
due to intensified agriculture, and the depletion of large mammal populations
due to hunting (Forkuor, Landmass, Conrad, and Dech 23). Finally the drainage,
pollution, and reconstruction of wetlands will probably increase thus putting
even more of a strain on the animals and plants that depend on this ecosystem
All of these activities will be exacerbated by climate
change. Unfortunately with the increasing
heat and lack of precipitation, this region is unable to regenerate in the same
way it has historically. Thus as the authors of “Food Security in the Horn of Africa: The
Implications of a Drier, Hotter and More Crowded Future” suggest, agriculture will be even more detrimental to the conservation of the
environment as climatic changes intensify.
What can be done?
In order to try and save the Sudanian Savanna, policies of
conservation need to be implemented immediately. Governments need to increase
their regulation and surveillance of so called protected areas in order to stop
or at least significantly decrease the human use of this land. Furthermore the strengthening of laws
surrounding use of land for agriculture, logging, fishing, and hunting should be
implemented. With the added difficulty of climate change, this ecosystem simply
cannot regenerate itself due to increased temperatures and a lack of rainfall (United Nations
Environment Programme). To conserve the area steps need to be taken to
dramatically reduce human activity.
Beuchner and Dawkins depict in their article “Vegetation Change Induced by Elephants and
Fire in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda” that the Murchison Falls National Park is threatened by
human activity even though it is a protected area. The authors state that vegetation throughout the park is under immense threat due to human induced fires. Thus a fundamental way in which this ecosystem
can be preserved is by strengthening laws against any unlicensed human presence on protected lands. Furthermore as
we have seen fire is a huge threat to this ecosystem, thus it would be hugely
beneficial to enforce regulations against unlicensed fires within the savanna
area, and to create more substantial safety regulations surrounding logging and
agricultural practices in order to minimize the risk of wildfire. In a similar
fashion more emphasis on hunting and logging prevention should be initiated to decrease the destruction of both wildlife and tree populations.
Unfortunately these tasks take a significant amount of
human and financial capital. Thus in order to begin protecting the environment
these countries need to achieve some kind of political and financial
stability. There are various ways in which this can be encouraged including the
introduction of ecotourism. If this practice could be promoted it would benefit
the country financially and moreover create an incentive for governments to preserve
the savanna in order to reap the economic rewards of tourism.
"WWF Ecoregions." Wildlife Conservation, Endangered Species Conservation. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.worldwildlife.org/>.
Works Cited
"African Savanna." Apassionforscience /. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. <http://apassionforscience.pbworks.com/>.
Beuchner, H., and H. Dawkins. "Vegetation Change Induced by Elephants and Fire in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda." Ecology 42.4 (1961): 752-66. Web.
"Ecoregions." Encyclopedia of Earth. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. <http://www.eoearth.org/>.
Forkuor, Gerald, Tobias Landmann, Christopher Conrad, and Stefan Dech. "Agricultural Land Use Mapping in the Sudanian Savanna of West AFrica: Current Status and Future Possibilities." IEEE International (2012): 22-27. Web.
"Global Resource Information Database - Sioux Falls." United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.unep.org/>.
"Herpetology of Ethiopia & Eritrea." Biodiversity. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2012.
Homewood. "Policy, Environment and Development in African Rangelands." Environmental Science & Policy 7.3 (2004): 125-43. Print.
"Important Bird Areas Fact Sheet: Kainji Lake National Park." BirdLife International. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.birdlife.org/>.
Ker, Andrew. "Farming Systems." Farming Systems of the African Savanna. Ottawa, Canada: International Development Research Centre, 1995. 30-36. Print.
Salzmann, Ulrich. "Are Modern Savannas Degraded Forests ? - A Holocene Pollen Record from the Sudanian Vegetation Zone of NE Nigeria." Vegetation History and Archeobotany (2000): 1-15. Web.
