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| Sahel savanna | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sahel savanna |
| Biome | Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands |
| Countries | Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Nigeria |
Sahel savanna The Sahel savanna is a transitional belt of Africa between the Sahara and the Sudanian savanna, forming an ecotone across western and central Sub-Saharan Africa. The region spans multiple states including Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan and lies south of the Tibesti Mountains and north of the Guinean Forests of West Africa. It interconnects with landscapes referenced in treaties and studies involving institutions like the United Nations Environment Programme and the African Union.
The Sahel savanna stretches from the Atlantic coast near Senegal and Mauritania eastward through Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and into Sudan and Eritrea, bordering regions such as the Sahara Desert and the Sudanian savanna. Major river systems and basins that influence its extent include the Niger River, Lake Chad Basin, and the Blue Nile headwaters, with cities and towns such as Bamako, Niamey, N'Djamena, and Khartoum located at its margins. The Sahel savanna intersects with administrative regions managed under frameworks like the Economic Community of West African States and is traversed by transport corridors linked to ports like Dakar and Port Sudan.
The climate of the Sahel savanna is governed by shifts in the Intertropical Convergence Zone and seasonal monsoonal patterns that affect rainfall, temperature, and evapotranspiration across the belt. Rainfall gradients decline northward from the Guinea Highlands toward the Sahara, producing a mosaic of semi-arid to subhumid zones referenced in analyses by the World Meteorological Organization and the International Panel on Climate Change. Ecological regimes reflect interactions documented by conservation agencies such as the IUCN and research institutions including the International Livestock Research Institute and the World Resources Institute.
Vegetation in the Sahel savanna includes drought-tolerant grasses and scattered trees such as Acacia senegal (gum arabic sources), species of Balanites aegyptiaca, and members of the Combretaceae family, with associations studied by botanical gardens and herbaria like the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. Faunal assemblages once included large ungulates and carnivores cited in accounts by the African Wildlife Foundation and museums like the Natural History Museum, London: species such as the Addax, Scimitar-horned Oryx, African elephant, West African giraffe, Saiga?-related migratory taxa, and predators like the lion and cheetah where remnant populations persist. Avifauna link the Sahel savanna to flyways used by migrants documented by groups like BirdLife International and markets and research at institutions such as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Ethnolinguistic groups inhabiting the Sahel savanna include the Fulani, Tuareg, Songhai, Hausa, Toubou, Mande peoples, and Kanuri, with settlement patterns ranging from mobile camps recorded in ethnographies at universities like SOAS University of London to urban concentrations in regional capitals. Historical and contemporary interactions involve states and movements such as the French colonial empire legacies, postcolonial administrations like Mali and Niger governments, and humanitarian operations by organizations including the International Committee of the Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières. Social institutions including mosques centered in cities like Nioro and markets in towns such as Zinder frame daily life and trade networks linked to regional blocs like the G5 Sahel.
Land use combines extensive pastoralism, rainfed cereals, and agro-pastoral systems with crops such as sorghum, millet, and cowpea referenced in reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization and research by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. Transhumant herding by Fulani and Tuareg communities moves livestock including cattle, goats, and sheep between wet and dry season ranges, while rainfed farming uses tools and practices promoted by projects funded by donors like the World Bank and African Development Bank. Irrigation schemes and water infrastructure linked to the Niger River Authority and projects named in development plans affect cropping in riverine and oasis zones.
The Sahel savanna faces challenges such as desertification, drought cycles, soil erosion, and recurrent famines documented by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and historical famines noted in the archives of the International Red Cross. Drivers include climatic variability associated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation and anthropogenic pressures tied to population growth in countries like Nigeria and Ethiopia. Conflicts over resources have involved armed actors and interventions associated with entities such as the Boko Haram insurgency, United Nations peacekeeping missions like MINUSMA, and regional security initiatives engaged by the Economic Community of West African States.
Conservation and management responses mix community-based approaches, protected areas, and large-scale initiatives coordinated by the UNEP and NGOs such as the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International. Restoration programs include the Great Green Wall initiative endorsed by the African Union and donor partnerships with the European Union and Green Climate Fund, while scientific monitoring involves collaborations with universities like University of Oxford and research centers including the Sahel and West Africa Club. Policies range from national land tenure reforms in countries such as Burkina Faso to cross-border resource management facilitated by river basin organizations like the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
Category:Savannas of Africa