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The Sahel
The Sahel is a 3,000-mile strip of semi-arid land in western and north-central Africa. Bounded in the
north by the Sahara Desert and in the south by tropical rainforests, it covers a region stretching from Senegal on
the Atlantic Ocean east to Sudan. The word Sahel means “border” or “coast” in Arabic. It is an area that borders
two different areas in Africa: the Sahara Desert to the north and the more humid savannahs of sub-Saharan
Africa. Because it lies between two different areas, the Sahel is considered a land of transition, or change. The
Sahel is the largest flat surface on Earth and covers portions of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger,
Nigeria, Chad, and Sudan.
The Importance of Water
As an area of transition, the Sahel contains several different geographic landscapes, and each is defined
by the amount of water it contains. The area that immediately borders the Sahara is nearly as dry as the desert.
The area is covered mainly in sand and gravel. There is very little rainfall in this region, only four to 20 inches
each year. Also, most of the rain falls during just a few months, from June to August. This portion of the Sahel
is not good for farming, although many people live in the region and try to survive as farmers.
Further south in the Sahel is a wide savannah. This area gets more rainfall, so it is easier for people who
live here to make their living by farming. Other groups of people, organized into nomadic tribes, have followed
their herds of cattle, sheep, and camels for centuries. Their animals graze on grass that grows in the savannah.
Sections of this region receive enough rainfall to be green and lush. Between 20 and 40 inches of rain
can fall in the area every year. Also, two of the major rivers of sub-Saharan Africa, the Senegal and the Niger,
flow through the region. Farmers have long used water from the rivers to irrigate their crops and to transport
food products.
The borders between the driest and the greenest portions of the Sahel are not fixed. Instead, they are in
flux, moving north or south based on the amount of rainfall. For example, the driest areas of the northern Sahel
can turn into grasslands if there is a great amount of rainfall in a given year. Similarly, areas that are semi-arid
can turn into arid desert if the rains do not occur.
An Area in Transition
The Sahel is not only an area of transition; it is an area in transition. It is an area of transition because it
lies between two different areas (rainforest and desert). It is an area in transition because it is experiencing
changes. Manmade changes to the savannah have caused great damage. In the 1800s, European colonists
imported cattle from their countries, hoping to increase their profits. They ate all the grass, which left the land
overgrazed. This meant that soon the cows had little to eat and were not healthy. In their efforts to raise profits,
the colonists actually ended up losing money.
Over the past 50 years, there have been tremendous changes in climate in the region. In the 1950s and
1960s, the region had rainfalls that were above average. This created more land for farming and herding. It drew
large numbers of farmers and herders into the region, which placed stresses on the resources of the region. It led
to overgrazing by herders and overuse of land by farmers.
Since the 1970s, the area has been plagued by drought. Since then, the droughts have been more
frequent and have lasted longer. In fact, the annual rainfall has decreased so much that the sands of the Sahara
have reached some 60 miles south into the Sahel.
Drought is destructive to the land in many ways. Without adequate water, crops and grasses die. When
that happens, soil erodes and blows away. In this process, called desertification, the land becomes arid and
desert-like. It is almost impossible to reverse. Crops fail because of lack of water, and livestock dependent on
the grasses and natural water sources die, too.
There has also been change in the climate of the Sahel. As the global climate has gradually warmed, the
water temperatures in the Gulf of Guinea have shifted the flow of rain clouds to the south. This shift causes
even less rain to fall in the region and contributes to the lack of water.
A Region of Conflict: Darfur
One of the worst ongoing conflicts in modern Africa is taking place in the Sahel, in a region in Sudan
called Darfur. In many ways, the conflict in Darfur is based on the same issues that confront most of the region.
Different groups live in the same area and do not get along. Since 2003, the conflict has raged between warring
groups of people, and thousands of Sudanese people have faced violence, famine, and forced migration.
Between 2003 and 2013, more than 200,000 Sudanese civilians have died. An estimated two million have
become refugees.
The conflict is between ethnic groups and the government. It also has much to do with the region’s
natural resources. The most important natural resources in Sudan are water and oil. Almost 70 percent of the
people of Sudan make their living as farmers, yet only five percent of the land is used for farming. Most of
Sudan, including Darfur, is arid, and water is scarce.
There are hopeful steps toward peace. The country of South Sudan became independent in 2011. This
has brought some much-needed stability to the region.
The Future of the Sahel
The Sahel is currently an area in crisis. It is home to about 50 million people, and the population is
growing quickly. The Sahel population includes some of the poorest people in the world, and the land cannot
sustain them. Many years of drought have brought widespread famine to the area. The continuing clash over
ever-dwindling resources, as well as political and military conflict, have left millions of people displaced.
According to the United Nations, in 2012, some 16 million people in the Sahel were facing malnutrition and
famine. This ancient land of transition, of frontier between two extremes, is itself in need of change in order to
ensure its ultimate survival. After learning about the Sahel, what do you think needs to happen for this area, and
the people living there, to thrive?
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Questions
After reading the passage, answer the following questions:
Multiple Choice: (2 points each)
1. Where is the Sahel?
3. How is desertification affecting the Sahel?
A. north of the Sahara Desert
A. It causes the land to become easier to
B. south of the Sahara Desert
farm.
C. in the Middle East
B. It causes the land to become more arid.
D. on the Indian Ocean
C. It causes the formation of lakes and
2. What does Sahel mean in Arabic?
ponds.
A. mountain
D. It causes more people to move to the
B. ocean
area.
C. border
D. lowlands
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Short Answer: (8 points)
The Sahel has been slowly changing for a long time. How has the changing climate of the Sahel
influenced the way of life of the people who live there? Use details from the reading passage to support
your answer.