Sahel, Africa
Travel Blog • Ben Keene • 02.16.07 | 1:18 PM ET
Coordinates: 16 0 N 5 0 E
Approximate length: 3,125 miles (5,029 km)
With the Earth’s rapidly growing population putting greater pressure on resources, recent news from Niger offers encouragement that an attainable, more sustainable future is possible. The Sahel, a swath of semiarid territory stretching across Africa south of the Sahara has long been plagued by drought and famine, made worse by subsistence farmers who cleared vegetation only to leave the terrain vulnerable to wind erosion and further desertification. In the last few decades, however, a largely grassroots effort has led to the gradual re-greening of areas northeast of Niger’s capital city. For a dry, landlocked and exceedingly poor country where less than one percent of the labor force is salaried, a little extra shade and some hope for the years ahead are reasons to celebrate.
—.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) is the editor of the Oxford Atlas of the World.
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