The Sahel🌅

• The Sahel is a semi-arid region located in Africa that stretches across the continent from Mauritania in the west to Sudan in the east. It lies between the Sahara desert to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south. The Sahel region is characterized by its hot and dry climate, with a relatively low annual rainfall and a long dry season.
• The Sahel


  • Home to a diverse population of people, including ethnic groups such as the Fulani, Tuareg, and Songhai
  • People rely heavily on agriculture and pastoralism as their main livelihoods
• Environmental challenges facing the Sahel

  • Climate change
  • Desertification
  • Land degradation
• Environmental challenges in the Sahel

  Population growth, poverty, and weak governance have exacerbated the situation and contributed to the deterioration of the natural resources in the region
• International organizations, governments and communities are working to find solutions to the crisis in the Sahel region, through supporting sustainable agricultural practices, reforestation, improving access to water, strengthening governance and supporting resilience of communities.
• The Arabic word ‘sahel’ (shore) denotes the transition zone between the Sahara Desert to the north and the savannah plains to the south. It is a semi arid region with an average rainfall between 12 to 20 inches per year. Since the definition of the Shael is based on climate, it does not abide by strict international boarders.
• The area covered all or part of 12 countries from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea: Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. These countries span an area over 7 million square kilometres 
• Few other places share the same climate variability that characterises this region, even when compared on different time scales. It is characterised by the strong seasonality of the climate with a short rainy seasons and a long intensely dry season. It’s limits are not readily definable. Conditions in the zone vary markedly from north to south with rainfall, and also over short and long periods of time as the rainfall varies. The long term variations in climate have left a strong impress on the landscape and soils of the region. It is a harsh environment 
• Subsistence farmers


  • Crops fail
  • Livestock dies
• Crops failing and livestock dying for subsistence farmers

  Can lead to famine and hunger
• Commercial farms growing cash crops

  • Lose income
  • May cause unemployment
• Less food being grown

  Increase in food prices
• Increased soil erosion


  • Land becomes less fertile
  • Long-term issue for farming community
• Clean water not available for drinking

  • Increased use of contaminated water
  • Diseases such as cholera
• People (usually women and children) travel further to find water

  1. Children miss school

  2. Carrying heavy loads can lead to back problems
• Environmental impacts

  *Seasonal rivers and water holes dry up, so organisms which live in them or rely on them for water may die.

  *Vegetation dies causing animals depending on it for food or shelter to perish or migrate.

  *Increased soil erosion. Eroded material is washed into rivers or water holes resulting in contamination.