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Overview:
Two of the most serious threats to African wildlife today are habitat destruction and hunting/poaching. In this lesson, students will investigate both of these issues and determine which problem should be addressed first or whether they must both be addressed simultaneously.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 18: "How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future"
Time:
Two to three hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
Objectives:
Students will
- read and discuss a National Geographic News article about the Africa MegaFlyover project;
- research and take notes on habitat destruction and hunting/poaching in Africa; and
- write essays explaining which issue should be tackled first or if both issues must be addressed simultaneously.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Have students visit the National Geographic magazine feature Africa MegaFlyover and then read the National Geographic News article, Africa Explorer Takes Off on Yearlong Aerial Survey.
Discuss the purpose of this expedition and the things Michael Fay hopes to find out. According to Fay, how significant is the "human footprint" in Africa today?
Development:
Closing:
Discuss students' findings as a class.
Also have students brainstorm the question of how habitat destruction and hunting/poaching are related. In what ways does each of these problems relate to and impact the other problem? For example, how is the problem of poaching exacerbated by loss of habitat? How might habitat destruction be quickened by hunting and poaching activities?
Suggested Student Assessment:
Ask students to imagine that they have been appointed to lead an African conservation organization. The group has just received a $1 million donation "to combat whichever problem is the most pressing, habitat destruction or hunting and poaching."
Have students write essays explaining which problem they'd choose to focus on and why. If they feel strongly that both problems must be tackled simultaneously, they may take this position, but they must explain and support with clear examples why they hold this view.
Extending the Lesson:
- Have students, either in groups or individually, create posters or multimedia presentations explaining the concrete steps they think should be taken to address one of the issues they've studied in this lesson. They may need to continue their Web or library research in order to complete this task.
- Have students go to the Wildlife Conservation Society's MegaFlyover page and click on "See the complete HF map" in small letters above the map of Africa. A new window will open up on their screens, showing the Human Footprint map of Africa.
- Have students examine and compare the variations of the Africa map that are available in this Human Footprint map. They should begin with the one they see automatically, which shows the overall level of human impact in Africa. To change map views, they'll click on Map Data Layers in the upper right of the map window, click on "The Human Footprint" to deselect this layer, and then choose other options one at a time to see how each one is distributed throughout the African continent.
Discuss what the different maps reveal about human impact and conservation efforts in Africa.
- Have students read the National Geographic News article Paradoxically, African Railroad Keeps Habitat Intact. Discuss their reactions to the findings that the article describes. Why is the FCE railroad so important to Madagascar's ecosystems? Why is it unusual for scientists to argue in favor of preserving a railroad to help the environment? How do you think this study could influence environmental efforts in Madagascar? How might it influence environmental studies elsewhere?
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