Let's Talk About Food Security

Where In The World?

East Africa
Let's Talk About Food Security

This week in the South African city of Durban, civil society and NGO leaders met at the World Economic Forum on Africa. Currently, food security is a major issue in areas of East Africa due to adverse weather patterns. In response, experts say food security must be a major part of discussions on advancing the continent economically. Gilbert Houngbo, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development works closely with smallholder farmers to promote rural transformation and said making agriculture in Africa appealing to investors is a dimension of famine that must be addressed.

The food security issue in Africa is driven by widespread drought in the continent. The map track food security on a scale that ranges from minimal (dark blue) to catastrophic (dark red). Click on the map to expand.

Graphic Source: Hunger Across Africa
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Pakistan

Borderline

Border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have heightened after Pakistani census workers and paramilitary personnel came under heavy fire near the Chaman crossing point. Nine people were killed and dozens others wounded while conducting the country's first door-to-door population census canvassing in 19 years. Afghanistan justified the attack, stating that the Pakistani census team had worked on the Afghan side of the border. The two countries share an estimated 2,500km-long border where large expanses are un-policed. The most recent dispute between the two countries occurred in February of this year when Pakistan shut its borders at Chaman and Torkham following a terrorist attack blamed on militants taking sanctuary on the Afghan side. The border points were opened after millions of dollars were lost in trading and business between the two countries.

The map shows the border line between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Click on the map to expand.

Graphic Source: BBC (2)

A Cartographer's Quandary

Too Many Variables, Not Enough Map Space

If you’ve ever taken a data visualization course, then you might have heard of Chernoff Faces. The problem at hand arrives when a cartographer is faced with too many variables and a limited number of ways to map them in a cohesive way. In 1973, applied statistician Herman Chernoff proposed one of the most strange and ingenious ideas in the history of information visualization and thematic cartography– symbolizing data using faces. The idea behind this is based on the fact that humans are exceptionally good at recognizing facial features. The goal of Chernoff faces is to attribute variables to facial features like eyes, nose, and lips. Because we do not equate human faces to anything other than just faces, the correspondence between data variables and facial features is relatively weak. Overall, using facial features for differentiating data values has been frowned upon for being unclear and too “busy”. Rather, the technique is viewed as an interesting format but not for mass relaying of information.

The map depicts death penalty execution since 1976 in the US using the Chernoff Faces technique. Click on the map to expand.

Further Reading: Maphugger, Eager Eyes, Flowing Data, Middlebury
Map Source: Cartastrophe

Yesterday's Answer

Q: Which two seas are connected by the Suez Canal?

A: Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea
Taking more than 15 years to plan and build, the Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. There are future plans to deepen the canal and add a new 22-mile lane branching off the main channel due to increased traffic.

Source

Today's Question

Q: Which bay has the highest tidal range in the world?

Stay tuned for Monday's DailyGeo where we reveal the correct answer!

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