A Line in the Sand

More and more of Africa is turning into a desert. Perhaps building a huge wall will stop it

In 2007, the United Nations Economic and Social Council issued a report about the problem of desertification in Africa, defining it as "a process of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities ... [which] manifests itself through soil erosion, water scarcity, reduced agricultural productivity, loss of vegetation cover and biodiversity, drought and poverty."

The report states that "both drought and desertification influence water availability, which is projected to be one of the greatest constraints to economic growth in the future."

Magnus Larsson has a possible solution. At the TED Global conference in Oxford this summer, the Swedish architect proposed "DUNE: Arenaceous Anti-Desertification Architecture," a bold plan to solidify sand dunes between Mauritania and Djibouti, essentially creating a 6,000-kilometer wall of sand across the Sahara in an attempt to stop the growth of the desert.

His plan calls for the use of Bacillus pasteurii, a bacteria commonly found in wetlands, to bind grains of sand together.

"There are many details left to explore in this story: political, practical, ethical, financial. My design is fraught with many challenges," he said, according to a BBC News story.

"However, it's a beginning, it's a vision; if nothing else I would like this scheme to initiate a discussion."

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image: "Dust storm over West Africa. A large, swirling mass of dust, visible on the left portion of the image, is blowing from the Western Sahara into the Atlantic Ocean. The islands at the top of the image are a part of the Canary Islands, a possession of Spain. The landmass on the right side of the image is North Africa, including the territory and country of Western Sahara (currently under the control of Morocco) and Mauritania, respectively. Dust storms occur when very strong winds carry sand from the erg, or sand dune deserts, of the Sahara. Dust storms are a naturally occurring phenomenon and may “fertilize” the oceans and even the Amazon rain forest by carrying and depositing minerals over great distances. However, they are often exacerbated by agriculture practices that contribute to soil erosion- a process called desertification." (credit: NASA)