Chapter 25

 Section 1

1. Cash crops in south Asia provide food for families and farmers, as well as export profits in international trade.

2. Pakistan, India and Bangladesh all have a free press.

creative writing: I would like to go to Nepal for vacation so that i could see the Himalaya mountains, although I would not go hiking in them. i think that this is the most tourist-friendly country in south Asia because of all of the tourism sparked the Mount Everest's popularity, and because of its ecotourism.



Mount Everest trail



Section 2

1. Problems in South Asia are caused both by religious and ethnic concerns as well as issues with self-governing peoples.

2. Rapid industrialization means that more and more people are in need of food, water, supplies and living space, and the cramped cities of South Asia cannot support all of the people living there. The result is poor living circumstances, deforestation to bring in wood for housing, cooking fire, and urbanization, and lastly, there is a lack of resources in the cities because there is such a high demand for everything. it also puts a lot of pollution into the atmosphere, ruining air quality and cleanliness.

creative writing: Government officials in South Asia are trying to convince poor rural populations to stop illegal logging and hunting of endangered animals. If I were one such official, and I had to write to the people of my country, I would write something like this:

 To the people of South Asia:

 I know that you are struggling with feeding yourself and your families, and you might not have enough money to do so, but that is no reason to destroy our Earth, our home, our animals or forests. deforestation is one of the biggest problems in South Asia, and illegal logging is the biggest contributor to it.

 Our rain forests keep the soil from eroding and they give us oxygen to breathe. They remove much of the pollution that we put into the air, and they protect us from rising air temperatures and from monsoons. you may illegally be cutting down these old growth forests to sell for money, but if you will be part of the Chipko movement, we can save our forests, and therefore, save the Earth and ourselves.

 Besides the forests, our endangered species are being poached, and this can also affect our lives, and our Earth. As forests disappear, so does much of the animals' territory, and they are pushed closer and closer to our rural areas and even our cities. Bengal tigers have lost more that 70% of their original habitat, putting them in small spaces, and decreasing their chances of survival. That is why they are coming to our farms and trying to make off with the livestock that you grow: they have no prey in their territories anymore, so they take ours. If we protected these endangered animals instead of killing them and selling their pelts, we could make jobs by hiring rangers to patrol the tigers' territory to protect these beautiful animals.

 These animals and forests are important to the Earth, to our survival, and to the survival of our children. so please help to keep them safe and stop the destruction of our world.



Deforestation in South Asia is affecting the Bengal Tiger populations, as well as many other species.



Chapter 22

Section 1
1. Three problems that cash-crop production has created for countries in sub-Saharan Africa are: (1)the risk of being dependent on one or two crops, (2)the effects on the economy because of a drop in crop prices or (3)an unfavorable growing season that could affect crops.

2. Three ways that transportation and communications in the region are changing are as follows: (1) Nigeria is planning to link all of its railway systems, (2) new satellite technology is helping to bring television stations to households in Africa, to make it cheaper to get channels outside of urban areas, and (3) the number of telephone and cell phone lines has neatly tripled between 2000 and 2004, allowing people to communicate across long distances, while costing them less money.

African girl holding her cell phone

creative writing: countries in the sub-Sahara African region have taken on enormous debt that they have been unable to repay. i think that this is from their advances in technology, communications, and transportation. because these countries are so poor, they could not afford to pay for all of these advances on their own, so they borrowed money from other, richer countries to take a step into the twenty-first century, but their economies still have to balance out before they can repay their loans.

Section 2

1. Three reasons that food shortages have occurred in parts of Africa south of the Sahara are: (1) drought, which shortens the amount of crops that survive to produce fruits, vegetables and grains, (2) wars, which stop economic growth, causes farmers to give their products to soldiers, and destroys farmland, and (3) exceeded carrying capacities.



Somali soldiers



2. Three of the steps African countries south of the Sahara are taking to protect their environments are as follows: (1) eliminating poaching with new, stricter laws, (2) new ranching laws that encourage crocodile farming, and (3) protecting habitats for endangered animals like elephants, rhinoceroses, and smaller game animals, so that when animals are reintroduced, their habitats will be able to support them.



African Elephants were hunted for their valuable tusks,
and in 1989, they were put on the endangered species list.



creative writing: Famine and war are among the threats to the people of Africa south of the Sahara, and desertification and poaching are among the threats to the environment and wildlife. War and poaching are both ways of killing a species, war being the killing of humans, and poaching being illegal hunting of animals. Both are serious threats that are caused by humans. famine and desertification are both natural occurrences that can destroy a population, whether it be human or animal. If humans can stop fighting and make peace, the citizens of the sub-Sahara African countries can focus on their farming, conservation of land, and protection of wildlife. this may seem far-fetched, but if the fighting stops, we can fix all of our other problems by working as one.