Key Issue #4
Cultural Ecology
– The geographic study of human-environment relationships
Environmental Determinism
The idea that the physical environment
causes social development.
Possibilism
The physical environment may limit human actions,
but people have the ability to adjust to the environment.
A Case Study ofDjibouti
usachppm.apgea.army.mil/hiomtb/content/.../DJIBOUTI_05.06.ppt
Where in the world is
Djibouti?
Physical Environment
• Topography– Coastal plain and
plateau separated by central mountains
• Climate– Desert– Torrid– Dry
Physical EnvironmentAverage Max/Min Temperature in Djibouti City
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Physical EnvironmentAverage Total Precipitation in Djibouti City
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Environmental Health Risk
• Greatest short-term health risks
– Water contaminated with raw sewage or runoff containing fecal pathogens and water contaminated with industrial waste
– Extreme heat
Environmental Issues
• Food– Fecal and chemical contamination
• Soil– Localized to specific areas surrounding industrial facilities and
waste disposal sites
• Water– Municipal water treatment and public sanitation services
inadequate– Persistent discharge of untreated sewage into surface waters and
coastal areas– Discharges from offshore tanker traffic contribute to
petrochemical contamination of Djibouti's coastline
Infectious Diseases
• Foodborne and Waterborne Diseases– diarrhea (bacterial & protozoal), hep A/E,
typhoid/paratyphoid fever– Cholera
• Vector-borne Diseases– Malaria– Chickungunya, Leishmaniasis, Crimean-Congo fever,
Dengue, Leishmaniasis, Rickettsioses, Rift Valley fever, Sand-fly fever, West Nile fever, Yellow fever
Infectious Diseases Cont.
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases– HIV, Hepatitis B– gonorrhea / chlamydia
• Water-contact Diseases– leptospirosis, schistosomiasis
• Respiratory Diseases– meningococcal meningitis,
tuberculosis
Economic Issues• Economy is based on service activities
connected with the country's strategic location and status as a open or free trade (imports and exports) zone in the Horn of Africa
• Scarce rainfall limits crop production• Few natural resources and little industry• Heavily dependent on foreign aid • Unemployment figures of nearly 60 per cent
Economic issues
• Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35 per cent between 1999 and 2006 because of recession or slump, civil war, and a high general populace growth rate (including immigrants and refugees)
Social Issues
• Literacy rate of the population over 15 years of age as 46 percent (males 60 percent; females 33 percent)
• Total enrollment at primary and secondary schools was equivalent 26 percent of the school-age population.
• No university in Djibouti--technical skills are often found lacking.
Social Issues• Life-expectancy estimates are 49
years for males and 53 years for females in 2001
• Infant mortality stands at 102 per 1,000, (the U.S. rate is 7 per 1,000).
• There is a 600-bed hospital in the capital and a 60-bed maternity and pediatric hospital in Balbala.
• Large prostitute population=high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
“Location Gives Tiny State Prime Access to Big Riches” by Jeffrey Gettlemen
• Considering this information and the article you read for homework, let’s consider how Djibouti exhibits
– Environmental determinism?
– Possibilism?
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