Jacob+H.+-+ASI+-+FA09

=Environmental Degredation in Africa=

Degradation
-Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil, the destruction of the ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife.

"In Africa, Environmental Degradationis an issue that is effecting many aspects of African culture. For example, 60% of poor populations who are found in wask ecosystems and remote,rural areas, the challenge of environmentally sustainable poverty easing is great." What this means is that the combonation of poverty and environmental degradation is hurting a great percentage of Ghana. When an area is effected by Environmental degradation, thier crops may be less nutritious due to infirtle soil. Therefore the food that people must eat, is not giving them vital nutrients. On top of that, due to drought, water shortage is brutal. It causes dehydration, and the food that needs cooking with water (which is most food) can not be. The whole process creates a vicious circle that eventually may end up killing off too many Africans. While international environmental concerns are often expressed in broad terms such a desertification or climatic change, the environmental problems of concern to vulnerable groups in marginal areas are generally quite localized in nature, revolving around immediate issues, such as the degradation of a particular rangeland or soil erosion on farmland or the progressive shortening of fallow. These affect the poor because they are directly related to household food security. Degradation of the resource base generally translates into decreases in production or income and thus in the availability of food.

Odoi-Larbi, Stephen. "ACF". ACF. September 21, 2009 [].

=History=

Ghana
In precolonial times the area of present-day Ghana comprised a number of independent kingdoms, including Gonja and Dagomba in the north, Ashanti in the interior, and the Fanti states along the coast. In 1482 the first European fort was established by the Portuguese at Elmina. Trade was begun, largely in gold and slaves, and intense competition developed among many European nations for trading advantages. With the decline of the slave trade in the 19th cent., only the British, Danes, and Dutch still maintained forts on the Gold Coast. The Danes (1850) and Dutch (1872) withdrew in the face of expansionist activities by the Ashanti kingdom; the British, however, remained and allied themselves with the Fanti states against Ashanti. In 1874 the British defeated Ashanti and organized the coastal region as the colony of the Gold Coast. There was fighting between British and Ashanti again in 1896, and in 1901 the British made the kingdom a colony. In the same year the Northern Territories, a region north of Ashanti, were declared a British protectorate. After World War I part of the German colony of Togoland was mandated to the British, who linked it administratively with the Gold Coast colony. In the Gold Coast, nationalist activity, which began in the interwar period, intensified after World War II. Kwame Nkrumah of the Convention People's Party (CPP) emerged as the leading nationalist figure. In 1951, Britain granted a new constitution, which had been drawn up by Africans, and general elections were held. The CPP won overwhelmingly and Nkrumah became premier. =Libya= The first inhabitants of Libya were Berber tribes. In the 7th century B.C., Phoenicians colonized the eastern section of Libya, called Cyrenaica, and Greeks colonized the western portion, called Tripolitania. Tripolitania was for a time under Carthaginian control. It became part of the Roman Empire from 46 B.C. to A.D. 436, after which it was sacked by the Vandals. Cyrenaica belonged to the Roman Empire from the 1st century B.C. until its decline, after which it was invaded by Arab forces in 642. Beginning in the 16th century, both Tripolitania and Cyrenaica nominally became part of the Ottoman Empire. Tripolitania was one of the outposts for the Barbary pirates who raided Mediterranean merchant ships or required them to pay tribute. In 1801, the pasha of Tripoli raised the price of tribute, which led to the Tripolitan war with the United States. When the peace treaty was signed on June 4, 1805, U.S. ships no longer had to pay tribute to Tripoli. Following the outbreak of hostilities between Italy and Turkey in 1911, Italian troops occupied Tripoli. Libyans continued to fight the Italians until 1914, by which time Italy controlled most of the land. Italy formally united Tripolitania and Cyrenaica in 1934 as the colony of Libya. Libya was the scene of much desert fighting during World War II. After the fall of Tripoli on Jan. 23, 1943, it came under Allied administration. In 1949, the UN voted that Libya should become independent, and in 1951 it became the United Kingdom of Libya. Oil was discovered in the impoverished country in 1958 and eventually transformed its economy.

=Political=

Ghana
Ghana spearheaded the political advancement of Africa and Dr. Nkrumah laid the foundations for the unity later expressed in the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). He was a firm supporter of the Commonwealth and the Non-Aligned movement. On 24th February 1966, the government of Dr. Nkrumah was overthrown by the Ghana armed forces and the police. A National Liberation Council (NLC), headed by Lt. General Joseph Arthur Ankrah, was formed to administer the country. General Ankrah was removed from office in April 1969 and Lt. General Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa became the Chairman of the NLC, which later gave way to a three-man Presidential Commission with General Afrifa as chairman. The Commission paved the way for a general election in 1969 which brought into power the Progress Party government, with Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia as Prime Minister and Mr. Edward Akufo Addo as president. The Ghana armed forces again took over the reins of gov- ernment on 13th January 1972, and Colonel (later General) Ignatius Kutu Acheampong became the Head of State and Chairman of the National Redemption Council (NRC). The name of the NRC was later changed to the Supreme Military Council (SMC). General Acheampong was replaced by General F.W.K. Akuffo in a palace coup in July 1978.

Libya
Libya has a peculiar political system known as the //Jamahiriya// or the "republic of the masses." In theory, this means that the Libyans rule their country directly through a series of popular entities that function as local governments, which are called Basic People's Congresses (BPCs). Each BPC chooses a secretary to represent it in Libya's highest legislative organ, the General People's Congress (GPC). The GPC chooses "the secretaries of the secretariat," (cabinet ministers) who form the cabinet called the General People's Committee, and also the head of the Committee, who presides over the cabinet as the prime minister. The system has undergone changes in form, but the theoretical concept of running the country through popular entities has been kept. In 1992, Colonel Qadhafi divided Libya into 1,500 //mahallat// (communes or neighborhoods) and granted each of them its own budget as well as executive and legislative powers. As part of his decentralization policy, in 2000 he transferred most central government executive functions excluding its defense, trade, social security, health, education, and infrastructure to 26 municipal councils represented in the GPC.

=Economics=

Ghana
The coming of Europeans altered the trading patterns, and the focus of economic power shifted to the West African coast- line. The Portuguese came first, seeking the source of the African gold. It lay too far inland for them to reach; but on the Gold Coast they found a region where gold could be obtained, exported along established trade paths from the interior. Their fort at Elmina ("the mine") was the first in a series of forts along the Gold Coast designed to repel the other European seafarers who followed in their wake, all struggling for their share of the profitable Gold Coast trade.

=Libya= Because of Libya's great dependence on oil revenues, the general level of the Libyan economy is closely related to the health of the petrochemical industry. Despite massive investment in agriculture and nonpetroleum-related industry, the percentage of Libya's gross domestic product (GDP) derived from oil has remained fairly constant since the early 1970s, fluctuating between 50 and 60 percent until 1982, when declining oil revenues caused it to drop below 50 percent. Since Muammar al Qadhafi and his associates came to power in 1969, reducing Libya's dependence on oil has been the government's major economic policy objective. Its inability to achieve this goal stems from ill-advised policy decisions as well as the many obstacles to economic diversification in a land lacking in both basic infrastructure and water resources.

=Social=

Ghana
or several years now Ghana has been playing host to an ever-increasing number of visitors, especially tourists from all over the world. Ghanaians are a hospitable, respectable and peace-loving people. One could tell from their greeting forms and general behavior. Ghanaians have wide and generous smiles when you greet them. Traditionally, children are taught in their homes to respect their elders. A child who fails to observe social value is considered as untrained and uncultured. Visitors from all over the world are sure to be well received in any Ghanaian community that they happen to visit. In all Ghanaian communities, a visitor is first given a seat, and then water to drink before he is greeted and asked the purpose of his visit. The smile on their face seems to be permanently in place and the world have observed that Ghanaians are very patient as people, kind not only to visitors but to themselves too. Women are highly respected. A woman is given a seat first before a man. However, if water is being offered, it is the man who drinks first. Hardly ever touching or kissing in public, for instance, Ghanaians may not be particularly demonstrative in love, but their feelings for their partners must not be mistaken. Their love is pure. Ghanaians are well known for their wisdom which is expressed in their use of proverbs, especially at the courts of chiefs, and in bedtime stories and anecdotes.

Libya.
A government advertisement appearing in an international publication in 1977 asserted that the Libyan social security legislation of 1973 ranked among the most comprehensive in the world and that it protected all citizens from many hazards associated with employment. The social security program instituted in 1957 had already provided protection superior to that available in many or most developing countries, and in the 1980s the welfare available to Libyans included much more than was provided under the social security law: work injury and sickness compensation and disability, retirement, and survivors' pensions. Workers employed by foreign firms were entitled to the same social security benefits as workers employed by Libyan citizens. Subsidized food, inexpensive housing, free medical care and education, and profit-sharing were among the benefits that eased the lives of all citizens. The government protected the employed in their jobs and subsidized the underemployed and unemployed. In addition, there were nurseries to care for the children of working mothers, orphanages for homeless children, and homes for the aged. The welfare programs had reached even the oasis towns of the desert, where they reportedly were received with considerable satisfaction. The giving of alms to the poor remained one of the pillars of the Islamic faith, but the extent of public welfare was such that there was increasingly less place for private welfare. Nonetheless, the traditional Arab sense of family responsibility remained strong, and provision for needy relatives was still a common practice. =Future=

Ghana
Bad economic policies have left Ghana like many sister nations in Africa trodding behind old pals like Malaysia and Singapore with relatively lesser natural resources. The big question is what measures are we putting in place to breed a new generation of politicians in this country? The answer is far and wide but obviously falls on the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS). This is one body that has groomed a good number of Ghana’s politicians. This domocratic body is also laced with numerous challenges both within and without. Financial misapropriation has become a bed-fellow of the leaders of this body who in some cases fail to present their annual financial statements to the detriment of the progress of Ghanaian students who need a powerful and unified voice. The worst of all, politicians to some extent manipulate the actions of NUGS leaders to achieve their political targets. =Libya= Since then investors and executives of all stripes have poured into Libya — especially oil executives. Oil accounts for more than 90% of Libya's revenues. At a time when world oil prices are over $40 per bbl., analysts estimate that Libya's known oil reserves hold 30 billion bbl. — more than $1 trillion worth — enough to keep the pumps turning in Libya for decades. What's more, only about 25% of the country has yet been explored. Some 120 companies have joined Libya's first open bidding process to dig for new oil in 15 areas; the bid results are expected at the end of this month.

Oil companies regard Libya's crude as some of the best on the planet. Relatively thin, it is among the easiest to refine. And tankers leaving Libya need far less time to reach U.S. and European ports than those leaving the Persian Gulf. Given the turmoil in Iraq, and the fact that Washington is on chilly terms with Iran, many U.S. oil companies see Libya as a dream prospect. "There's a huge amount of oil that hasn't been discovered," says Michael Thomas, director of the London-based Middle East Association, a trade-promotion group that organized the business conference in Tripoli where Seif spoke. "The money is all there. There is nothing like this in the world."



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