removed each year by strong winds. The bare and barren soil left behind is now similar to the Sahara Desert and is abandoned for more fertile soil further south. In this way, the Sahara spreads further into the Sahel region. This increased level of desertification has a devastating effect on the lives of people in the Sahel, with less food security and increased likelihood of famine and starvation.


Water resources are also greatly affected as less rainfall leads to a decreasing water table. More frequent drought and increased water usage for cattle now mean that people are forced to drink from contaminated water sources or walk for several miles each day to secure drinking water. The best-known example of this is the disappearance of Lake Chad, which has shrunk to 5 per cent of its original size in just 40 years. The lake borders Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon. It has been a vital source of fresh water for these countries and is especially important for irrigation schemes. The shrinking of the lake has contributed to a local lack of water, crop failures, livestock deaths, the destruction of the local fishing industry and increased poverty throughout the region. It is understood that 50 per cent of the decrease in the lake’s volume can been attributed to human mismanagement, while the other 50 per cent has been as a result of changing climate patterns.


Migration and Conflict


Climate change, drought and desertification have made life in the Sahel one of hardship. As a result, outward migration from Sahel’s rural areas has increased significantly. Many migrants move to urban areas both within and outside of the Sahel. This has led to the rapid growth of these cities. For example, Bamako (the capital of Mali) increased from 160,000 in 1960 to 1.3 million in 2016.


As most of the refugees entering these cities are ecological refugees escaping extreme poverty, they have little or no personal belongings. This has led to the rapid growth of mass, unplanned and overcrowded


Tunisia Morocco Lebanon Israel Jordan Algeria


Western Sahara


Mauritania Senegal


Guinea-Bissau The Gambia


Guinea Cote Sierra Leone Liberia Cameroon Key Conflict zone


Major arms source Arms smuggling route


Angola


Equatorial Guinea


Gabon Congo DR Congo


Burundi Rwanda


Tanzania Uganda Kenya d'Ivoire e Ghana


Burkina Faso


Benin Nigeria Togo


Central African Republic


Ethiopia Somalia Mali Niger Chad Sudan Eritrea Djibouti Libya Egypt


Saudi Arabia


Syria Iraq


( Fig. 2.14 Conflict in the Sahel


OVERPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT


47


Elective 5: Human CHAPTER 2


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