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World’s Soil Resources

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Maputo accounts for 83 percent of the country’s urban population, while the figures for Dakar, Lome, Kampala<br />

and Harare are 65, 60, 52 and 50 percent respectively (World Bank, 2002). Nigeria and South Africa represent<br />

exceptions to this single-city dominance, as they have several large and well distributed urban centres. South<br />

Africa and Nigeria are also the countries recording the highest amount of impervious surface area (ISA) in<br />

the region, and they have high Urbanization Indexes (the ratio between the total area of the country and the<br />

urbanized area) (Figure 9.2).<br />

9.4 | The most important soil threats in Sub-Saharan Africa<br />

Of the threats to soils and related ecosystem functions in SSA listed in Section 9.3, the most critical are soil<br />

erosion, loss of soil organic matter and soil nutrient depletion (UNEP, 2013). Loss of soil biodiversity is also a<br />

significant threat in SSA. These four threats are interrelated. More is known about the first three and these are<br />

discussed in greater detail in this section.<br />

10<br />

8<br />

Urban Area (SQKM)<br />

Urbanization index (%)<br />

1,2<br />

1<br />

Urban Area (thousands SQKM)<br />

6<br />

4<br />

0,8<br />

0,6<br />

0,4<br />

2<br />

0,2<br />

0<br />

0<br />

South Africa<br />

Nigeria<br />

Sudan<br />

Democratic Republic of the Congo<br />

Morocco<br />

Cote d'Ivoire<br />

Ghana<br />

Mozambique<br />

United Republic of Tanzania<br />

Ethiopia<br />

Cameroon<br />

Zambia<br />

Angola<br />

Niger<br />

Kenya<br />

Senegal<br />

Zimbabwe<br />

Uganda<br />

Mali<br />

Republic of the Congo<br />

Benin<br />

Botswana<br />

Burkina Faso<br />

Namibia<br />

Gabon<br />

Madagascar<br />

Chad<br />

Central African Republic<br />

Togo<br />

Somalia<br />

Sierra Leone<br />

Mauritania<br />

Liberia<br />

Rwanda<br />

Malawi<br />

The Gambia<br />

Eritrea<br />

Lesotho<br />

Burundi<br />

Guinea-Bissau<br />

Swaziland<br />

Equatorial Guinea<br />

Mauritius<br />

Djibouti<br />

Reunion<br />

Urbanization index (%)<br />

Figure 9.2 Extent of urban areas and Urbanization Indexes for the Sub-Saharan African countries. Source: Schneider, Friedl and<br />

Potere, 2010.<br />

Status of the <strong>World’s</strong> <strong>Soil</strong> <strong>Resources</strong> | Main Report Regional Assessment of <strong>Soil</strong> Changes<br />

253<br />

in Africa South of the Sahara

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