Djibouti

Djibouti is an East African country located in the Horn of Africa. Djibouti borders with three countries including Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. This desert like country is known mostly for their extraordinary marine life and ocean views. Ranked number 5 for least populated countries in Africa, Djibouti is overtaken by dry deserts and harsh living conditions which makes it hard for the people populating the country to grow vegetation and have access to a stable water supply.

Djibouti is rapidly having issues with desertification due to the use and consumption of vegetation through people and animals quicker than they can regrow or spread through the country. Because of desertification the country of Djibouti is turning more into a desert with only 0.3% of the country being forested. With Djibouti being named a semi-desert with hot and humid temperatures year-round, weather has no positive effect on the plants and forests. A huge impact is linked directly to Djibouti’s location in reference to the equator where it sits directly north of the hottest point on earth. Another factor of weather conditions that have an affect on desertification is Djibouti’s location in reference to the shoreline around and in their country. Most of Djibouti's desertification problems have been connected towards the actions of the government, people living in the country, and environmental causes. There are ways to take action to prevent Djibouti from losing what's left of its greenery and vegetation. Through a stable water resource, attention to vegetation, and understanding weather patterns the population of Djibouti can become more habitable and green.

Djibouti’s high day temperatures and low amount of rainfall is resulted from their continuous periods of dry seasons and droughts. Moumtaz states that "these dry seasons and droughts decrease groundwater which is essential for forests and trees in these arid environments to grow and spread throughout the country." Due to climate change issues the water supply in Djibouti is greatly affected not only for the people but the environment as well.  Searching for Water in the desert - Bing video . The lack of a water supply and resource of water affects the growth of vegetation from the country's surface and disallows fresh water collections for the people.

Large periods of drought and heat waves lead to mass negative impacts on the peoples crops, which also includes forests, plants, and food security. Djibouti has been slammed with constant droughts which has made it, as Qu describes as, "one of the most food-insecure nations in the world." Climate change and heat cause a lack of vegetation for the people which leads to the decrease in crops and reduces the possibility for growth and spread of plants. With these harsh weather conditions the people must resolve the lack of plants by finding alternative resources for food and vegetation to provide for the people and animals.

Troni describes that "the people living on the shorelines of Djibouti have experienced a huge climate change with temperatures skyrocketing leading to problems on land and in the oceans." The rising climate has killed the crops and increased the ocean temperature leading to rising sea levels and less life on the shore of the ocean. The ocean is a huge alternative source to food and even a water source if the people of Djibouti utilize it correctly. Due to high sea levels and high temperatures the marine life on the shore of the ocean ha died out which can only be resolved by reaching farther out in boats to collect resources to maintain life in this country.

Djibouti must pull their water supply from underground water tables through filtration because they have no access to fresh surface water from rivers or lakes. With regular drought like situations there is no water which makes forest life struggle to stay alive along with crops and plants for a food source. These dry seasons usually last from April to September which leaves a huge gap for when these forests and plants are usually in their prime to grow and thrive, but unfortunately the climate stops this growth from occurring. This is the only reliable source fresh water so the people must work hard to pinpoint locations that are high in water concentration and absorb as much as they can for themselves and vegetation.  Local tribe concerned over future prospects Djibouti lake - Bing video 

This picture shows the desert like environment that Djibouti presents due to the high temperatures and lack of forestation. Shown in the pictures are huts where some people must reside for the ocean side resources because of how scarce vegetation is in the environment. The lack of vegetation is represented here by the materials used to create these huts.

For economical purposes, Europeans used machines to collect the crops before Djibouti was established. Tsing relates to desertification by providing evidence of the importance of these crops through various techniques of gathering the crops for civilizations to be able to survive. While Europeans used machines to collect their crops, the people of Djibouti must use their manual labor skills because of lack of technology. Weather does not work in the crops favor as well resulting in dry crops which end up dead. Many of their farm animals end up overgrazing which is also a key factor to deforestations in these harsh environments. The government needs to supply machinery to allow for more vegetation and better crop gathering techniques. This will allow the people to have more vegetation opportunities and easier labor.

Djibouti's desertification problems are constantly occurring mainly due to harsh weather conditions and improper crop care. Being so close to the equator Djibouti's temperatures do not support the crops and vegetation causing the desert like scene. These conditions make it very hard for many people living here to have fresh water, a strong food source, and crops for cattle. By assessing these problems there are many alternatives to solve the problems that this populations is running into. The government needs to aid this country with resources to allow them to be successful in taking care and harvesting plants. The use of machinery is necessary for this success. Measuring weather patterns will allow this country to know when to plant their crops, how to keep their crops healthy, and when to harvest. This country can also benefit and help with vegetation by understanding where their best water source is, and by the help of government they can collect this water and store it for emergencies. This country will turn completely desert without these factors helping to allow vegetation and crops to be more abundant in resources.

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Pike, John. “Military.” Djibouti - Climate. Accessed September 28, 2021. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/djibouti/climate.htm. 

Power, Samantha. “Water and Sanitation: Djibouti.” U.S. Agency for International Development, March 8, 2018. https://www.usaid.gov/djibouti/global-health/water-and-sanitation. 

Razack, Moumtaz. “Simulation of Climate Change Impact on A Coastal Aquifer under Arid Climate. The Tadjourah Aquifer (Republic of Djibouti, Horn of Africa).” Publication Year 2019. https://doaj.org/article/24c965a61ce840fea39e73996f5e4ede 

Qu, Carolyn. “Monitoring Extreme Agricultural Drought over the Horn of Africa (HOA) Using Remote Sensing Measurements.” April 2019. 

Tsing, Anna L. “The More-than-Human Anthropocene.” Feral Atlas. Stanford University Press, January 1, 1970. https://feralatlas.org/. 

Marston, Sallie A. “World Regions in Global Context: Peoples, Places, and Environments, 6th Edition.” Pearson. Accessed September 28, 2021. https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/program/Marston-World-Regions-in-Global-Context-Peoples-Places-and-Environments-Plus-Mastering-Geography-with-e-Text-Access-Card-Package-6th-Edition/PGM50813.html. 

“Interesting Facts about Djibouti: Just Fun Facts.” Just Fun Facts | Fun and interesting site, June 15, 2020. https://justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-djibouti/.