Variability in Africa

As mentioned in my introductory post, there are differing human and environmental conditions across the continent of Africa. The variability of these conditions often influence or are influenced by water presence. I thought it would be interesting to get a better picture of the variability within Africa so I created a visual mind map: 

Variability in Africa, a Mind Map 
(Click on the map to see it in more detail)

Citations: 
Aleman et al, 2016; Almazroui et al, 2020; Cartwright, 2015;  MacDonald et al, 2012; 
Masih et al, 2014; United Nations, 2015; United Nations Environment Programme, 2010



For me, this mind map is a great way to picture how varied the continent is and also reminds me of how much needs to be considered when discussing environmental change and water in Africa. I also noticed how interconnected each branch is, for instance the presence of a particular biome is influenced by precipitation and water availability which in turn can be influenced by physical location. 

I aim to use this post as a basis for my blog by expanding on certain branches and perhaps seeing how they are related to each other. I would love to know if there is anything else you would add to this mind map, or even an area mentioned that you would like to hear about most, so please do leave a comment below. 



















Comments

  1. Kerry11 November 2020 at 09:56

    Really great idea to create your own diagram to show variability in Africa. Could you make the embedded image larger so that the reader can see the information a bit more easily? I think you could enhance your post by adding a little bit of a summary (or highlights) of what you found regarding the variability, including a short concluding sentence or two about what it means for water and environmental change in Africa.

    Perhaps consider increasing the font you use in your posts? It will enhance the readability of your posts.

    (GEOG0036 PGTA)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kerry11 November 2020 at 09:57

    I look forward to reading more! Perhaps you could focus on one of the issues in your diagram in your next post. You have certainly done a lot of research on it and you could delve into (one or more) of these issues greater depth if you wanted to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sana Ahmed10 January 2021 at 11:27

      Thank you! I aimed to use this diagram as a basis to help me structure and add further detail to these topics in the rest of my blog. My next few posts go into more detail, such as those that focus on precipitation, I hope you enjoy reading them.

      Delete
  3. Laura Sevilla10 January 2021 at 10:28

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Laura Sevilla10 January 2021 at 10:42

    I love the idea of visually representing information! It makes understanding the variability across the continent of Africa easy to understand and remember. You have clearly spent a lot of time researching and condensing this information.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sana Ahmed10 January 2021 at 11:21

      I really appreciate your comment, thank you! I feel like actually seeing and reading about a topic at the same time gives me a better understanding of it, so that is why I wanted to do the same for this post :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Solving the Water Crisis

Image
I recently watched a documentary which I heard about through a colleagues blog , called 'Brave Blue World: Racing to Solve Our Water Crisis', which sparked my interest so I thought I would share it.  The film focuses on innovation towards sustainable water and uses examples from all over the world, making it clear that difficulties regarding water resources are not just found in developing regions. Often the water crisis is discussed in a negative light and rightly so, however this documentary gives people hope that we are moving in the right direction, that there is potential to deal with the issues. The correct management is crucial and it starts at a local scale. They split the water crisis down into three key areas - water scarcity, the need for resilient infrastructure with regards to climate change and making it affordable. I thought this was a good way to take all factors into consideration, from the physical aspects of water availability and the interdisciplinary impact...
Read more

An Introduction

Image
Hello and Welcome! In this blog I will be exploring the relationship between water and environmental change with a focus on the African continent. I believe that we humans are intrinsically linked to the physical environment and that our development as a species is reliant on this connection.  Water, especially freshwater, is now being shaped by humans more than ever before and the time we live in now is more increasingly being recognised as  'the age of humans'- the  Anthropocene .  A concept that puts the relationship between humans and the environment into perspective is The Doughnut of Social and Planetary Boundaries, developed by   Kate Raworth(2017) . This framework combines both the Earth's planetary boundaries  ( Rockstrom et al., 2009 )  and the  UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs ) .  The SDGs are the global standard that is to be achieved when looking at development, they outline the targets that need to b...
Read more