Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

faces a wide variety of issues. Environmental issues include continued

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then land conversion, converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban area, urban ...

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused b ...

soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, a ...

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

, and significant

land loss Land loss is the term typically used to refer to the conversion of coastal land to open water by natural processes and human activities. The term ''land loss'' includes coastal erosion. It is a much broader term than coastal erosion because land l ...

as a result of the presence of hundreds of thousands of

land mines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

. Additionally, there is heavy mining within the country for gold, copper, and zinc. For years, mining was the only major source of revenue for the country and so this was encouraged by the national government. Significant strides towards sustainability and environmental recovery had originally been made by the Government of Eritrea. Although, the Eritrean Government had embarked on a program to reforest Eritrea (which in 1900 was 30% forested land, despite heavy logging) and prevent wood from being used as a fuel source, plans have been hampered in recent years because of a mass exodus of working Eritreans from the country. The government of Eritrea, with the assistance of the UN Development Program had enacted a

Coastal Marine and Island Biodiversity Conservation Project The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

which was designed to protect the entire coastal zone of Eritrea. This is the first project of its kind in scope and magnitude in the world. This program is meant to create a sustainable environment for coming generations. In recent years, the project has been hampered by the Eritrean government's continual encouragement of mining within the country which has affected the environmental stability of both highland and coastal regions.

References

External links

Initial National Communication under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Issues

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