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| Sahara and Sahel | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sahara and Sahel |
| Location | Africa |
| Countries | Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia |
Sahara and Sahel The Sahara and Sahel are adjacent regions of Africa spanning from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, forming a transition from hyperarid desert to semi-arid savanna. They have shaped transregional exchange routes like the Trans-Saharan trade and the Saharan trade, influenced empires such as the Mali Empire and Songhai Empire, and remain central to contemporary issues involving United Nations, African Union, and regional states including Algeria, Niger, and Chad.
The Sahara occupies much of northern Africa between the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and Tunisia and the Red Sea coasts of Egypt and Sudan, while the Sahel forms a belt south of the Sahara from Mauritania and Senegal eastward through Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad to Sudan and Eritrea. Major physiographic features include the Tibesti Mountains in Chad, the Ahaggar Mountains in Algeria, the Nile River corridor in Egypt and Sudan, and the Lake Chad basin shared by Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria. Coastal fringes touch Mediterranean Sea climates in Libya and Algeria while inland depressions like the Qattara Depression and erg systems such as the Grand Erg Oriental dominate terrain. Political boundaries crosscut ecological zones, involving states and entities like Western Sahara and regional organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States.
The Sahara features hyperarid conditions with extreme diurnal temperature ranges influenced by subtropical high-pressure systems and the Saharan Air Layer; the Sahel has a pronounced monsoonal season controlled by the West African Monsoon and the seasonal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Rainfall gradients produce desert, semi-desert, and savanna biomes with episodic droughts recorded during the Sahel droughts of the 1970s and 1980s, impacting hydrological systems like the Nile River, Niger River, and Senegal River. Atmospheric phenomena such as harmattan winds and dust transport link to distant regions and events like the Atlantic hurricane modulation and Saharan dust transport to the Amazon Basin.
Vegetation ranges from sparse xerophytic shrubs and halophytes in Saharan oases such as Siwa Oasis to Acacia- and Combretum-dominated woodlands in Sahelian savannas. Faunal assemblages include desert-adapted species like the addax, dromedary camel, Sand Cat, and migratory birds following flyways through wetlands like the Inner Niger Delta and Banc d'Arguin. Historically present megafauna include African elephant populations and West African giraffe in Sahel fringes; predators include cheetah and hyena taxa. Key flora and fauna are the focus of sites like Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary and W National Park spanning Niger, Benin, and Burkina Faso.
Human occupation includes Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures with rock art traditions in regions such as the Tadrart Acacus and Tassili n'Ajjer, linked to archaeological sites studied alongside finds from Garamantes and Nile Valley civilizations like Ancient Egypt. Medieval and precolonial polities included the Ghana Empire, Kanem-Bornu Empire, Songhai Empire, and Mali Empire, which fostered urban centers like Timbuktu, Gao, and Agadez. Trans-Saharan networks connected to Mediterranean port cities such as Tunis, Tripoli, Alexandria, and Cairo and to Saharan caravan hubs managed by Tuareg confederations and Hausa city-states like Kano. Colonial-era boundaries were imposed by powers including France, United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain affecting peoples such as the Tuareg, Fulani, Hausa, Toubou, Senufo, Songhai people, and Berber groups.
Cultural landscapes are multilingual and multicultural, featuring languages and scripts like Tifinagh, Arabic, Hausa, Fula, Songhay, Tamasheq, Kanuri, and Mandinka. Religious traditions include Islamic scholarship at centers like Djenne, syncretic practices among Serer and Dogon, and minority Christian communities linked to Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church influences in eastern Sahel zones. Material culture includes caravan trading customs, tented nomadism of Tuareg societies, mudbrick architecture exemplified by Djenné Mosque, and artisanal crafts exchanged along routes tied to institutions such as the Trans-Saharan trade.
Traditional livelihoods combine pastoralism by groups like the Fulani and Toubou, agro-pastoral mixed farming in Sahelian floodplains of the Niger River and Senegal River basins, and oasis agriculture in sites like Fezzan and Siwa Oasis. Extractive industries include hydrocarbons in Algeria and Libya, uranium mining in Niger and Mali, and phosphates in Morocco. Urban economies center on regional hubs such as Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, Khartoum, Niamey, Bamako, and Nouakchott. Markets and transnational corridors link to organisations such as Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and African Development Bank financing infrastructure projects.
The regions face desertification, soil degradation, and water stress exacerbated by climatic variability noted during the Sahel droughts and long-term trends linked to global phenomena studied by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Human pressures from overgrazing, deforestation for fuelwood, and unsustainable irrigation affect systems like the Lake Chad shrinkage and the expansion of sand dunes in areas near Niamey and Agadez. Conflict and displacement in zones involving Darfur conflict, Northern Mali conflict, and Sahelian insurgencies affect conservation and resource governance, implicating responses from United Nations Mission in Mali and regional security initiatives like the G5 Sahel.
Multilateral and local efforts include reforestation and land restoration projects exemplified by the Great Green Wall initiative coordinated with African Union and partners such as the World Bank and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Protected areas and transboundary parks like W National Park, Iona National Park influences, and wetland conservation in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary receive support from NGOs and agencies including WWF and IUCN. Adaptation strategies involve pastoral mobility policies, water harvesting techniques in Sahelian floodplain communities, agroforestry promoted by FAO, and urban resilience planning in capitals like Bamako and Khartoum.
Category:Regions of Africa