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| African Sahel | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sahel |
| Area km2 | 3300000 |
| Countries | Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan |
| Population | 100000000 |
African Sahel The Sahel is a semi-arid belt of land stretching across Africa south of the Sahara and north of the Sudanic savanna, forming a transitional zone between arid and humid regions. It spans multiple sovereign states including Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and South Sudan and intersects major rivers and trade routes such as the Niger River and the Senegal River. Historically and contemporarily the region links trans-Saharan commerce exemplified by the Trans-Saharan trade with inland markets like Timbuktu and coastal hubs like Dakar.
The Sahel's geography comprises broad plains, seasonal rivers, dunes from the Sahara Desert, and isolated highlands such as the Aïr Mountains and the Tibesti Mountains. Climatically the region is governed by shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the West African Monsoon, producing a short rainy season and a prolonged dry season that shape landscapes from the Senegal River Delta to the Lake Chad basin. Rainfall gradients and evapotranspiration vary markedly between western zones near Guinea and eastern zones adjacent to Sudan, influenced by phenomena including the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Major hydrological features like Lake Chad and the Niger River Delta have complex interactions with groundwater basins and aquifers such as the Taoudeni Basin.
Sahelian ecosystems host assemblages of species adapted to xeric conditions, including large mammals like the African elephant in remnant herds, migratory birds following the East Atlantic Flyway and the Black Sea–Mediterranean Flyway, and endemic taxa such as the Addax and the Dama gazelle. Vegetation zones feature drought-tolerant trees like Acacia senegal and Balanites aegyptiaca, shrublands, and grasslands supporting pastoral systems historically associated with Fulani transhumance routes. Protected areas and conservation initiatives involve entities like the IUCN, UNEP, and national parks such as Waza National Park and the Sahelian Reserve of Kaouar. Biodiversity faces pressures from habitat fragmentation near urban centers including Niamey, N'Djamena, and Ouagadougou.
The Sahel is home to diverse ethnic groups including the Fulani, Tuareg, Hausa, Songhai, Toubou, Wolof, Manding, and Kanuri, each associated with distinct languages, social institutions, and itinerant practices. Cultural centers and historic cities such as Timbuktu, Gao, Agadez, and Kano were nodes of Islamic scholarship linked to institutions like the University of Timbuktu and to caravans from Fez and Cairo. Religious traditions are shaped by Islamic networks tied to Sufism orders including the Qadiriyya and Tijaniyya, and by syncretic practices maintained in rural communities and marketplaces in towns like Zinder and Saint-Louis, Senegal.
Pre-colonial polities in the Sahel produced influential empires and city-states such as the Ghana Empire, Mali Empire, Songhai Empire, and the Kanem–Bornu Empire, which commanded trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, and manuscripts. Centers like Timbuktu and Gao became repositories of Islamic learning and libraries patronized by rulers like Mansa Musa and merchant elites linked to Mediterranean traders in Cairo and Alexandria. Regional histories include conflicts and alliances documented in chronicles such as the Tarikh al-Sudan and interactions with Sahelian confederacies, long-distance traders from Sijilmasa, and emissaries to the Ottoman Empire and later European states.
European colonization by states including France, Britain, and Germany reconfigured borders through agreements like the Berlin Conference and administrative units such as French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa. Decolonization produced independent states—Mali (1960), Niger (1960), Sudan (1956), Chad (1960)—whose postcolonial politics involved coups, civil wars, and rebellions exemplified by the Tuareg rebellions and the Chadian Civil War. Contemporary security challenges engage multinational operations and organizations including the United Nations, African Union, ECOWAS, G5 Sahel, NATO-trained missions, and counterinsurgency efforts against groups linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.
Sahelian livelihoods include rainfed agriculture of millet and sorghum, pastoralism centered on cattle, sheep, and camels, and artisanal mining for resources such as uranium in Niger and gold in Mali and Burkina Faso. Markets in regional cities like Niamey, Bamako, and Ouagadougou connect to continental trade corridors including the Trans-Sahelian Highway and rail links to coastal ports like Dakar and Lagos. Development actors and financial institutions such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, and bilateral aid agencies support infrastructure, irrigation projects, and microfinance targeted at rural cooperatives and urban informal sectors.
The Sahel faces desertification, land degradation, recurrent droughts, and variability intensified by Anthropogenic climate change and land-use change from expanding agriculture and grazing. Responses include large-scale reforestation and restoration programs like the Great Green Wall initiative, community-based land management practiced among pastoralist groups and agroforestry projects involving Faidherbia albida, and climate services coordinated by the WMO and regional meteorological agencies. Cross-border cooperation on water resources involves agreements affecting the Niger River Basin Authority and initiatives to manage the shrinking Lake Chad with stakeholders including riparian states and international partners.
Category:Regions of Africa