Ecological Zones

West Africa has four ecological zones with distinct potentials.

Saharan Zone | Sahel | Soudanian Zone | Forest Zone

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  Saharan Zone

The Saharan zone is a sparsely populated desert that gradually lost its pre-colonial importance; importance attributed to trans-Saharan commerce and the dynamisms of the “desert port” cities such as Timbuktu, Gao and Agadez. However, there seems to be a revival of trans-Saharan trade and human relations.

  Sahel

The Sahel was the cradle of brilliant civilisations and empires which left pockets of ancient, densely populated areas in the southern part, along the line connecting the Sahelian capitals, which is now one of the most populated rural areas of the region. The relatively weak agricultural potentials are somewhat offset by the immense hydro-agricultural works in the Senegal River Valley and the River Niger. This zone paid the highest price for the great droughts of the 1970s and 1980s. It was once the main livestock producing area in West Africa but a large part of the herds have gone farther south where agro-pastoral systems are developing and agriculture is being combined with livestock production. Similarly, during the last few decades the Saharan zone has recorded a net emigration rate.

  Soudanian Zone

The Soudanian zone, which was less affected by climatic problems, has substantial agricultural potential with a strong tendency for crop-stock-farming integration. Cotton has caused significant changes in agriculture. This is the leading region for cereal grain (millet, sorghum but also, increasingly, maize), fruit and vegetables and has also become the main livestock rearing zone. Thanks to an onchocerciasis control programme, hundreds of thousands of hectares of arable land in the valleys in the south of the Sahelian countries and the north of the coastal countries can now be cultivated. Considering its potentials, this zone is still relatively under-populated. The urbanisation rate is still low, but its urban spread is rapidly developing. Although the zone had a net emigration rate during the last few decades, it may become a destination zone in the future.

  Forest Zone

The forest zone in the coastal countries and their nearest hinterland is where urban growth is the fastest. Ecological conditions and proximity to the coast have promoted the development of cash crops, so-called tropical export crops grown either on agro-industrial plantations (rubber, palm oil, banana, pineapple) or on family farms (coffee, cocoa). As a symbol of “extraverted” development, this zone has had the highest population growth and rate of economic development during the last few decades. Previous migratory flows will undoubtedly continue in the future but probably at a slower pace because of land shortages, governance problems, internal conflict with regional repercussions and economic difficulties that will affect the intake capacity of the area. As was shown in the work done by the SWAC Secretariat in 2003, massive involuntary migrations resulting from violent conflict will continue in this zone if the problem of violent conflict is not solved.

Read more: Ecologically Vulnerable Zone of Sahelian Countries (4,5 Mb)