Sahel & Desertification Map Exploration
1. Where is the Sahel located?
2. Estimate: How big is the Sahel?
3. How many countries make up the Sahel region of Africa? List the countries.
4. Describe the topography of the Sahel region.
5. What are the major water sources for the Sahara region? Describe these sources & bodies of water.
6. What is the average rainfall for the Sahel region?
7. What is the average temperature for the Sahel region? Include temperature extremes.
8. What is the population density of the Sahel region?
9. What is desertification?
10. What are some of the causes of desertification?
11. What are some of the effects of desertification on the people and environment of the Sahel?
12. What are some of the ways to prevent desertification?
Sahel
Timbuktu. Djenné. Koumbi Saleh. For centuries, the Sahel boasted some of Africa's most influential civilizations. Anarrow band of semi-arid land south of the Sahara, the Sahel attracted both Arabs looking for gold from Sudan and Europeans looking for slaves from West Africa. The two influences merged with native ones, creating a culturally complex area. The Sahel is widely French-speaking, Islamic and takes its name ("shore") from Arabic.
But the region, one of the poorest and most environmentally damaged places on earth, has deep troubles. In the 1970s, the Sahel captured international attention when drought and famine killed nearly 200,000 people. Though conditions have since improved, it has yet to shake a vicious cycle of soil erosion, insufficient irrigation, deforestation, overpopulation, desertification and drought. Parts of the region -- like Mali's legendary Timbuktu -- are now more Sahara than Sahel. As a desert fringe, the Sahel forms a gradual transition from a dry to a more humid environment, making it more difficult to define the desert border. These transition zones have very fragile, delicately balanced ecosystems. Desert fringes often are a mosaic of microclimates. Small hollows support vegetation that picks up heat from the hot winds and protects the land from the prevailing winds. After rainfall the vegetated areas are distinctly cooler than the surroundings. In these marginal areas, human activity may stress the ecosystem beyond its tolerance limit, resulting in degradation of the land. By pounding the soil with their hooves, livestock compact the substrate, increase the proportion of fine material, and reduce the percolation rate of the soil, thus encouraging erosion by wind and water. Grazing and the collection of firewood reduces or eliminates plants that help to bind the soil.
As the environment has suffered, the scramble for income has intensified. Ethnic lines that divided many traditional occupations -- herders and farmers -- have blurred, often sparking bloodshed. Instead of sticking to the land, rural workers are now heading for the cities. Dakar (Senegal), Ougadougou (Burkina Faso), Niamey (Niger) and Bamako (Mali) now hold about 25 percent of the Sahel's population and each year grow by another five percent. Open sewers are common, and electricity, running water and trash collection all too infrequent.
Water and Culture on the Sahel
by Jonathan Coleman, Pensa, Burkina Faso
In my village, Pensa, which lies on the southern tip of the Sahara, we offer water to all visitors, strangers, foreigners, and elders. While this is partially because water is symbolic of life, it is also due to the fact that water is a precious commodity.
Giving water is an ancient tradition, a sign that you respect and care for people even though you might not know them and have never met before. This also makes water a symbol of friendship and hospitality. So much can be said by offering a calabash bowl of water!
Because I'm new in Pensa, I have many visitors. Everyone wants to meet the Nassara (white person or foreigner) and see what he looks like. Although my French isn't perfect and I don't speak Moore (the local language of the Mossi people in Burkina Faso), I offer each visitor water that is safe to drink. The villagers are learning that I will always welcome them into my home and that I wish to learn their language. All that information, all those messages of friendship and interest and cooperation…all inspired by a cup of water.
Managing Water on the Sahel
by Kim Arth, Balleyara, Niger
Women bring water from the well every day. It is the woman's job to wash clothes, prepare the food, and bathe the children—all of which need water. A mother will pass on this tedious task to her daughters when they are old enough.
Farmers plant millet, sorghum, and beans only during the rainy season (late June to early September). They rely on the rains to give them a good crop that will be the family's food supply for the next year. As an agriculture Volunteer I teach the villagers about Zai-holes and demi-lunes or D-catchments. These provide sunken surfaces for rainwater to collect in the places where crops have been planted.
It is planting season right now, and it is common to see gardeners channeling runoff water from one plant to another. For example, my neighbor, Balka, has started a pepinere (seedling nursery) with four cassava bowls containing lettuce and cabbage seeds. When the water drains from the bowls, it is channeled to nearby potato plants. Even though Balka planted the garden, it is his wife, Tintime, who waters it everyday.
Daily Water Usage on the Sahel
by Kim Arth, Balleyara, Niger
As the sun rises, I too rise out of bed and promptly boil two cups of water for my daily dose of coffee. I go out into the yard and water my garden (one bucket). While I brush my teeth and get dressed, I drink two big glasses of water, since dehydration is a major concern here. I then make "rounds" through the village, often stopping at friends' houses to chat.
Most recently, my work consists of gardening and fence-building. I have a women's pepinere in my yard. Each day, one of the women waters the young seedlings. I make rope out of palm fronds—the shredded fronds must be soaked in water in order to be flexible enough to be braided into rope. Once made, the rope itself must be soaked so that it does not crack when tying the wood stakes to the millet stalks. At lunchtime I boil water for rice or pasta and continue to drink lots of water. I sometimes travel to extension or nearby villages to sell seeds or see about some other project. In these instances, I always carry water with me to drink. When evening comes I again water my garden (one bucket) and trees (two buckets every other day). I bathe with half a bucket of water, and end the day by again using water for cooking dinner and, of course, drinking.
A breakdown of my daily water usage: Drinking/Cooking—one bucket to fill two filters; Bathing—half a bucket every other day; Garden—two buckets daily; Trees—two buckets every other day; Gulla: (dishes, clothes, miscellaneous uses)—two buckets daily; Total: five and a half to seven buckets of water daily
Obviously, I use much less water here than I did back home in the States. I'm much more conscious of my water usage here, because it's not as easy as turning on a faucet. I have to think about where my water will come from, how to get the water, and when to get it. Then, I have to prioritize my water needs. For example, every day I have to decide whether to water my trees or to bathe myself. Most often, I alternate between tree-watering and bathing. But when I've worked hard and it's "tree watering day," it's a hassle! I also hate washing clothes, tend to wear the same jeans and T-shirt for as long as possible!
In Niger, five to seven buckets of water is a lot for one person to use everyday. But my head spins, when I think that five buckets is equal to about one shower or one toilet flush back home!
The Source of Our Water on the Sahel
by David McNally, Takoro, Niger
Our drinking water comes from a hand-dug well roughly one kilometer away from our village. The water wells are about one and a half meters wide, and the water table is reached at two meters. There are wells closer to our village, but the water is not suitable for drinking. Due to the mineralogy of the area, these wells contain dissolved salts. All our villagers use these salty wells for watering their animals and gardens.
Water is available year-round, but sometimes the wells are "pulled" dry, and one must wait an hour or so until the groundwater refills the well. There are no pumps where we live, and all the drinking water is pulled out of the wells by rubber containers on ropes (wasikis, in Hausa) by women and young girls, or by calabash containers (gugas, in Hausa) by men.
Water and Culture on the Sahel
by Kim Arth, Balleyara, Niger
As I write this, the desert winds of the Sahel are blowing fiercely and the sun is blazing, even though it is December. Everything is parched and barren; even my fingers have become dry and cracked. You may ask, What revolves around water in this culture?
The better question is, What doesn't?
In Niger, water is deeply valued. For example, Nigeriens who are practicing Muslims pray five times a day. Before each prayer, a Muslim washes his or her feet, hands, and face. When traveling, a taxi will stop at prayer times. Muslims will file out of the taxi, wash themselves on the side of road (they always carry a teapot full of water for this purpose), and then pray.
Nigeriens bathe newborn babies with a special tea of water and leaves for seven successive days. On the final day, the child is baptized. Although this is a religious tradition, it has practical roots as well. The water is boiled before it cools, providing a sterile wash for the newborn.
In my village, Hayni Simoru, when a person is possessed with a spirit, an elder will rid that person of the spirit by forcing him or her to drink water. Water thus cleanses the body inside and out.
One week ago, the Muslims in my village began Ramadan, a monthlong fast in which they do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. Some are so dedicated to the "suffering" that they will try not to swallow their own saliva—they spit it out throughout the day. During Ramadan, one learns to appreciate water even more. Without it, one suffers greatly.