est African Studies
West African Studies
At
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel
GeoGrAphy, economicS And Security
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel
GeoGrAphy, economicS And Security
SAHEL AND
WEST AFRICA
Club
Secretariat
a
gl
an
ce
About
The Atlas builds on maps and statistics to analyse, from
a regional perspective, the challenges facing the SaharaSahel. It describes the Sahara-Sahelian space and geography
(Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger
and Tunisia), reveals some socio-economic indicators of
the area and decrypts the various security (terrorism and
trafficking) and development challenges linked to mobility
(trans-Saharan routes and trade, migration, nomadism,
borders and free movement). A strengthened, consolidated
and continuing dialogue among North, West and Central
Africa is an essential element for the long term stabilisation
of the Sahara-Sahel.
Five leading personalities complete the publication by
expressing the region’s key challenges with regard to their
Sahel strategies.
The Atlas is available in English and French, and the analysis
is illustrated with more than 100 maps and 30 figures.
This At a Glance edition:
• introduces the Sahara-Sahelian space and geography;
• presents some socio-economic indicators; and
• highlights the various links between mobility, networks
and security.
The countries analysed in this study
Tunis
Algiers
Atlantic Ocean
Rabat
At
MOROCCO
las
Laghouat
Béchar
râa
uD
d
da
ma
Ha Tindouf
Laayoune
Nouadhibou
Atar
Nouakchott
Dakar
GAMBIA
Banjul
Arlit
Timbuktu
GUINEA- Bissau
BISSAU
GUINEA
Conakry
Freetown
SIERRA
LEONE
Monrovia
LIBERIA
LIBYA
EGYPT
Djanet
Aïr
Mountains
NIGER
Niamey
Al Jawf
TOGO
GHANA
Yamoussoukro
Accra
Faya Largeau
SUDAN
CHAD
N’Djamena
Abuja
NIGERIA
Porto-novo
Lomé
Malabo
CENTRAL AFRICAN REP.
CAMEROON
2
Palm grove limit
Other city
Cram-Cram limit
Adrar
SOUTH SUDAN
Juba
Bangui
Yaoundé
0
EQUATORIAL
GUINEA
National capital
Khartoum
Abéché El Fasher
Zinder
Ouagadougou
BURKINA FASO
BENIN
CÔTE
D’IVOIRE
Libyan Desert
Marzuq
Agadez
Gao
MALI
Mopti
Bamako
Ghat
Tessalit
Tidjikdja
SENEGAL
In Amenas
Tibesti
Ifoghas
Trarza
Tagant
Cairo
Awjilah
Tamanrasset
Taoudenni
Adrar
Benghazi
Ghadames
n Erg
ster
Ea
Hoggar
Mountains
El Djouf
MAURITANIA
Tripoli
In Salah Tassili n
’Aj
jer
Reggane
Tanezrouft
Mediterranean
Tozeur
ALGERIA
rg
ern E
est
W
Tademaït
Adrar
Iguidi
Plateau
Erg
Chech Erg
Zouirat
Fderik
TUNISIA
500 km
Source: Retaillé D., P. Drevet, O. Pissoat, J. Pierson 2014
Principal physical landscapes
International border
Equator/Greenwich Meridian crossing
African country
not included in study
Source: Retaillé D., P. Drevet, O. Pissoat, J. Pierson 2014
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
Chapters
Chapter 1 – Sahara-Sahelian space
and geography
Chapter 4 – Ancient and new mobility
in the Sahara-Sahel
The characteristics of Sahara-Sahelian space and geography
are based on social, economic and spatial mobility. Through
a mapping exercise, this chapter describes the SaharaSahel through its ancestral networks, route empires,
borders and its history, migratory movements, tourism
and conflict and instability.
The different forms of mobility can be understood through
social dynamics, namely networks. These networks began
developing with trade caravans and have continued to
evolve over time. The rationales underlying this activity
are based on pastoral mobility and solidarity rather than
the relations among states in the region. Political power
plays, particularly between Algeria and Libya, interfere in
their relations with countries in the Sahel.
Chapter 2 – Socio-economic indicators
within Sahara-Sahel countries
Chapter 5 – migration and Sahara
The indicators are analysed through population and economic
data. Population data show strong growth in Sahel states
and stable growth in North African states, accompanied by
intense urbanisation. Gross domestic Product (GDP) figures
indicate a contrasting picture, with North African economies
having significantly higher GDP growth rates and income
levels than Sahelian economies.
The shared human space is centred on economies and
migrations, which are both primarily informal. Starting
in the 1960s, the development of the sparsely populated
Algerian and Libyan Sahara has depended on labour from
the North Sahel. This population redistribution, which has
since persisted, served as the basis for diaspora dynamics
and reinforced regional integration.
Chapter 3 – Petroleum and networks of
influence in the Sahara-Sahel
Chapter 6 – Nomadism and mobility
in the Sahara-Sahel
Various oil companies have been established over the years.
This chapter analyses the role of Sahara-Sahelian oil in the
regional and global economy and market. The oil and gas
sector accounted for one quarter of the cumulative GDP of
Sahara-Sahel countries in 2013, with Algeria and Libya as
the third and fourth largest African producers.
Nomadism and its various forms of mobility and pastoralism
connect the Sahara and the Sahel. It has adapted to change
through partial, limited sedentarisation and diversified
means of livelihoods. This chapter describes the continuity
and change of pastoralism, notably social recomposition,
migration and the nomadic space.
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
3
Chapter 7 – Borders, cross-border
co-operation and freedom of movement
in the Sahara-Sahel
Chapter 10 – An institutional point
of view on the challenges of the
Sahara-Sahel
The cross-border functional dynamics in the Sahara-Sahel
are important to understanding borders, cross-border
co-operation and freedom of movement. Border regions
perform a number of functions in an institutional context,
where free movement is subject to the uncertainties of
political developments and, more recently, of security
concerns. Traffickers’ use of border networks and corridors
for various activities that feature differing degrees of violence
is an added complication today.
The insights provided by representatives of the EU, UN,
AU and ECOWAS illustrate the development and security
challenges faced by the Sahara-Sahel. These initiatives call
for the strengthening of dialogue among all actors involved
to achieve lasting peace and security for the West African
population.
Chapter 8 – Security issues, movement
and networks in the Sahara-Sahel
This chapter describes the evolution of regional instability
in the Sahara-Sahel since the 1960s. The analysis emphasises that the nature of conflicts has changed over the past
decade. Less locally contained and often cross-border and
more violent in nature, these modern-day crises require
new institutional responses that can adapt to the flexibility
of terrorist networks.
Chapter 9 – Trafficking economies in the
Sahara-Sahel
The contributors to this chapter are:
• Mr Michel Reveyrand de Menthon, European Union
Special Representative for the Sahel;
Mr. Jérôme Spinoza, Political Adviser to the European
Union Special Representative for the Sahel.
• Ms Hiroute Guebre Sellassie, Special Envoy of the
United Nations Secretary General for the Sahel.
• Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer
of the Secretariat of the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD).
• Mr Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo, President of the Economic
Community of West African States Commission
(ECOWAS).
The nature of trafficking and its geographical scales, as
well as its effect in the Sahara-Sahel, are important to the
understanding of current mobility and instabilities. The role
of trafficking cannot be underestimated both in terms of its
structuring or destructuring effects on politics, territories
or societies. Trafficking connects the Sahara-Sahel to the
world economy, which is an indication of the international
scale of national and cross-border issues.
4
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
spaces and geography
An understanding of the Sahara-Sahel on the basis of its
social, economic and spatial mobility can help bring together
its two sides and reactivate an area of mobility currently
viewed as segmented. The main element of this approach is
moving beyond two contradictory ways of thinking about
space – as production or as movement.
The production perspective indicates that bioclimatic
zones determining production dominate the geographic
understanding of the area. In this view, the 200 mm annual
precipitation isohyet is defined as the cut-off point for aridity,
below which farming and herding are no longer possible.
The annual precipitation isohyet is often used to delimit the
Sahara-Sahel. However, this approach does not fully reflect
the reality of the Sahara-Sahel, which is characterised by
trade, complementarity and movement.
By contrast, the movement perspective indicates that a
spatial understanding based on movement or routes sheds
light on other opportunities for socio-economic ties and on
the vitality of networks.
The “geographic” Sahel
Average annual rainfall (mm/year)
0
50
200
400
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
600
and more
Source: UNEP, Environmental Data Explorer – http://geodata.grid.unep.ch
5
Is the Sahara-Sahel empty, as is often claimed? The answer
is yes if we refer to the population density per square
km. The Atlas suggests another image in calculating the
number of inhabitants per km of road or trail. This illustration shows, in the area thought to be empty, significant
population densities along the routes. For Sahara-Sahel
inhabitants, the territory is bound to the road. Ultimately,
the space between the roads is of very little importance.
Along this network of roads we find a large number of
towns and we have to bear in mind that most Sahara-Sahel
residents are town-dwellers. Often, these towns are oases
whose location is determined not by the presence of water,
but rather by their function as stopovers, or as transit and
trade locations.
Linear density of population
Number of inhabitants by linear km of road
(including Saharan trails)
Algiers
Tunis
0-80
Rabat
80-180
180-600
Tripoli
600-2 500
2 500-6 000
Béchar
6 000-72 000
El Golea
Key cities (more
than 10 000 inhab.)
Hun
Adrar
Tindouf
Laayoune
Sabha
Reggane
Marzuq
Arak
Ghat
Al Jawf
Zouerat
Nouadhibou
Birak
Tamanrasset
Atar
Nouakchott
Timbuktu
Gao
Agadez
Dakar
Abéché
Mopti
Bamako
Niamey
N’Djamena
Source: DIVA, 2013 (www.diva-gis.org/gdata)
6
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
Algiers
Alger
Trans-Saharan commerce according to Monod’s circulation zones
Fès
Mogador
Dr
Tunis
aa
d
an
fi
Ta
fel
Tripoli
t
Benghazi
Ouargla
Ghadames
Touat
Fezzan
Tidikelt
Ghat
I
II
Koufra
III
Al Qatroun
Adrar
Tibesti
Kawar
Tidjikja
Oualata
N
cir
iger
cle
Faya
Aïr
Hausa lands
Bornu
Waddai
Darfour
Cities and rest stops
Sedentary cores
I
Western zone, Moorish
Trans-Saharan routes
Oasis cores
II
Central zone, Tubu
Dry zones
Saharan empty areas
III
Eastern zone, Touareg
Source: Drozdz M. 2005, geoconfluences.ens-lyon.fr, ENS-Lyon / DGESCO
City population
Cities
10 000 - 50 000
50 000 - 100 000
100 000 - 350 000
350 000 - 1 million
1 - 2 million
2 - 4 million
more than 4 million
Other city
Source: Natural Earth 2013 (www.naturalearthdata/downloads/10m-cultural-vectors/10m-populated-places/)
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
7
the population and the economy
The countries of the Sahara-Sahel are classified into two groups: The Sahara-Sahel covers 9.6 million km², more than twice
the area of the European Union and representing nearly
• North Africa (Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), and one-third of the African continent. Since the partition of
Sudan, Algeria is the largest country in Africa in terms of
• the Sahel (Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad).
surface area, with 2.4 million km 2. The four North African
countries have a combined surface area of 4.8 million km 2,
The population
and Algeria accounts for 50% of this.
In 2012, the combined population of the 8 Sahara-Sahel
countries was 136 million. The 4 North African countries Urbanisation has been the most important manifestation of
have a combined population of 88 million, almost double population dynamics observed over the past half century in
the combined population of its four Sahelian neighbours West Africa. Although Sahelian countries still have some
of the lowest levels of urbanisation in the world, the pace of
(48 million).
urbanisation has been astonishing. The level of urbanisation
Between 1990 and 2010, the population in the Sahel grew in the Sahel increased from 2% in 1950 to 25% in 2010.
by an average annual rate of 3.3%, almost doubling from The urban population increased 46-fold, from 250 000 to
23.7 million to 45.2 million inhabitants. By contrast, growth 11.6 million people, at an average annual rate of 6.6% per year.
rates in North Africa slowed down to 1.5% (from 63.3 million
to 85.4 million inhabitants) during the 1990–2010 period.
Population by country, 2012
North Africa (88 million inhabitants)
Algeria
38.5
Morocco
32.5
Tunisia
11
Libya
6
Sahel (48 million inhabitants)
= 1 million
Niger
17
8
Mali
15
Chad
12.5
Mauritania
4
Source: SWAC/OECD based on WDI 2014, World Bank
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
Surface area by country and region (in million km2)
Sahel (4.8 million km2)
North Africa (4.8 million km2)
Libya 1.8
Tunisia 0.2
Mali 1.2
Mauritania 1
Morocco 0.4
Niger 1.3
Algeria 2.4
Chad 1.3
Source: WDI 2014, World Bank
Population growth and total population in North Africa and Sahel, 1950–2012
2.3 Population growth and total populatio in North Africa and Sahel, 1950-2010
%
3.5
38.3
45.2
Sahel
32.3
3.0
29
37.7
48.7
2.5
63.3
23.7
18.6
2.0
14.9
12.3
North Africa
75.2
1.5
85.4
79.7
1.0
0.5
14.9 Total population in million
0
1950–60
1960–70
1970–80
1980–90
1990–00
Source: SWAC/OECD based on DESA UN, World Population Prospects: the 2012 Revision
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
2000–05
2005–10 *
* The population figures correspond
to end of period values.
9
Evolution of country population (in million)
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
Morocco
9
Algeria
38.5
12.3
15.9
19.8
26.2
31.7
Morocco
32.5
Algeria
8.9
11.3
14.7
19.5
24.7
28.7
Niger
17.2
Mali
4.6
5.1
5.7
6.7
8.1
11
Tunisia
3.1
Mali
14.9
3.9
4.4
5.8
8
10.3
Niger
2.6
Chad
12.5
3.3
4.4
5.8
7.8
9.6
Chad
2.5
Tunisia
10.8
3
3.6
4.5
6
8.3
Libya
1.1
Libya
6.2
1.4
Mauritania
0.7
2012
0.9
2.1
1.2
3.1
1.5
4.3
2
5.2
2.7
Mauritania
3.8
Source: DESA UN, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision and WDI 2013, World Bank
10
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
Urban areas in the Sahel, 1950 – 1980 – 2010
1950
Number of inhabitants
10 000 – 15 000
100 000 – 300 000
15 000 – 50 000
300 000 – 1 million
50 000 – 100 000
> 1 million
MAURITANIA
NIGER
MALI
CHAD
1980
2010
Source: Africapolis - SWAC/OECD 2014
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
11
The economy
although its GNI per capita exceeds that of Mauritania by
260% (and those of Chad and Mali by 400%).
The Sahara-Sahel encompasses economies that are of diverse
sizes and levels of development. In 2012, the combined GDP of
Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia surpassed that of its southern
neighbours (Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger) by a factor of
11. Chad, Mali and Niger are low-income countries, whereas
Libya is a high-income country. Morocco is the only North
African country that is still a lower-middle-income country,
Over the last two decades, the real GDP growth rate of
Sahelian countries exceeded that of North Africa. Since
2000, GDP growth has further accelerated in the Sahel
and averaged 5.5%. With the exception of Niger, all Sahel
countries grew faster than their North African neighbours.
The Sahara-Sahelian GDP divide
Sahel (32 billion USD)
North Africa (412 billion USD)
Niger
7
Chad
11
Mali
10
= 5 billion
Algeria
208
Morocco
96
Libya*
62
Tunisia
46
Mauritania
4
* latest data available 2009
Source: SWAC/OECD based on WDI 2013, World Bank
Per capita income
GNI per inhabitant (Atlas method, current USD)
14 000
high income
12 615
12 930
10 000
8 000
6 000
upper middle income
4 150
4 110
4 085
lower middle income
2 950
2 000
low income
1 035
1 110
740
660
Chad
Mali
0
Libya*
Tunisia
Algeria**
Morocco
Mauritania
370
Niger
* 2009 data; ** 2011 data
Source: SWAC/OECD based on WDI 2013, World Bank
12
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
2.18 Per capita real GDP growth rates 1970-2012
Per capita real GDP growth rates over the past four decades (annual average)
%
6
Chad
4
Morocco
Tunisia
3.4 North Africa average**
2.6
Libya*
Mauritania
Algeria
2.1
2
0.6
Mali
0.6
0
Sahel average -0.8
-2
1970-80
1980-90
Niger
-0.3
-1.0
1990-00
2000-12
-4
* Data for Libya 2000–2009
** North Africa average excluding Libya
Source: SWAC/OECD based on WDI 2013, World Bank
Two important challenges
Mobile and flexible criminal networks and
trafficking at the regional scale
For a long time, geographers have identified the complex
relationship between mobility and territory. Social networks
have played a major role in enhancing mobility and
exchanges as well as erasing the very notion of borders.
Historically, the Sahel and the Sahara were linked by
networks of pre-colonial empires founded on movement or,
more accurately, on the control of roads and trade. Today, the
spatial organisation of the Sahara-Sahel captures the new
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
conditions of the globalised world where places primarily
function through the intersection of flows, such as the flow
of goods and people. The development of urban centres,
social networks and traders is at the nexus of all these flows.
Criminal networks – terrorism and the trafficking of arms,
drugs and human beings – are taking advantage of this
spatial and social structure.
13
Trafficking in the Sahara-Sahel has been facilitated by
intense spatial mobility and continuous circulation relying
on old influential networks. In some cases, trafficking has
even enjoyed the support of local communities. The crisis in
Mali has made the effect of trafficking visible, particularly
its link with the financing of Salafi jihadists. Trafficking also
raises questions regarding economic ties on both sides of
the Sahara. The Maghreb is the point of origin and reception
of trafficked products, which take place along traditional
trans-Saharan trade routes.
Adapting policies and strengthening co-operation among
neighbouring states, securing borders, preventing criminal
development and formulating appropriate responses to
flexible and mobile criminal networks to control national
territory are particularly important challenges for the region.
Boko Haram
NIGER
Zinder
Diffa
Maradi
CHAD
Sokoto
Sokoto
Katsina
Katsina
Kano
Zamfara
N’Djamena
Jigawa
Yobe
Maiduguri
Kano
Kebbi
BENIN
Gombe
Kaduna
CAMEROON
Bauchi
Jos
Niger
Adamawa
Plateau
Kwara
Abuja
Nassarawa
Oyo
Taraba
Osun
Kogi
Ekiti
Main area of activity of the
sect 2014
Benue
Ondo
Ogun
Lagos
Ebonyi
Anambra
Imo
Bayelsa Rivers
Arms trafficking
Nigerian states with
Sharia law
Enugu
Edo
Delta
Geographic origin and
diffusion of activities of the
sect since 2009
Ethnolinguistic areas
Abia
Cross
River
Akwa
Ibom
Kanuri
Hausa
Yoruba
Ibo
Source: SWAC/OECD 2014
14
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
The ephemeral Azawad
Area controlled by Ansar Dine
LIBYA
Surge by Ansar Dine
ALGERIA
MNLA progress
Azawad
Touareg
Tamanrasset
Town attacked by the MNLA
since january 2012
Town captured by the MNLA
and Ansar Dine (between
February 8 and April 3, 2012).
Taken over by Ansar Dine after
austing the MNLA (between
March 18 and October 1, 2012)
Attack or kidnapping claimed by
AQIM between 2007 and 2012
Tessalit
Ti-n-Zaouatene
Aguelhok
MAURITANIA
Arlit
Anéfis
Border
Road
Timbuktu
Goundam
Niafounké
Niger
Kidal
Gao
Diré
Léré
Agadez
Bourem
NIGER
Ménaka
Ansongo
Andéramboukane
Towns and cities
MALI
Douentza
Mopti
More than 1 million
Ségou
More than 100 000
50 000 - 100 000
10 000 - 50 000
BURKINA
FASO
Niamey
Other locality
Nguru
Sokoto
Katsina
Koutiala
Bamako
Zinder
Maradi
Birnin-Kebbi
Ouagadougou
Gashua
NIGERIA
Gusau
Kano
Sources: Retaillé D. and O. Walther, New ways of conceptualizing space and mobility 2012; Africapolis - SWAC/OECD 2014; Natural Earth 2013
Transnational nature of instability and the
responses
Identifying responses to the security challenges undermining the stability of the Sahara-Sahel must be done in
a transnational manner through strong regional co-operation and co-ordination. Security challenges affect not only
North, West and Central Africa but also the international
community.
Institutional cross-border and/or regional responses should
be based on a thorough understanding of the nature of
terrorism and trafficking in the Sahara-Sahel.
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
There are numerous initiatives. The United Nations, the
African Union, ECOWAS and the heads of state of 5 Sahelian
countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger
(G5 Sahel) – have formulated regional strategies aimed to
stabilise and develop the Sahara-Sahel. Many multilateral
institutions are committed to working alongside them, with
the European Union at the forefront along with the main
development banks (World Bank, African Development
Bank, Islamic Development Bank, etc.).
15
The bearers of these strategies meet regularly, but operational and co-ordination challenges remain immense. The
difficult question of how to distribute tasks among the institutions has not yet been decided.
Nigeria is taken into account only accessorily. How can the
necessary co-operation between Maghreb and Sub-Saharan
countries be developed? Last, there is the complex issue
regarding the simultaneous implementation of security and
development actions.
Is the geographic scope of responses well suited? How can
Nigeria especially be well considered in these strategies?
Cocaine flows
Transit areas
TUNISIA
Transatlantic flows
Regional flows
MOROCCO
Main coastal transit countries
ALGERIA
LIBYA
EGYPT
WESTERN
SAHARA
MALI
MAURITANIA
NIGER
SUDAN
SENEGAL
CHAD
CAPE-VERDE
Highway Ten
GAMBIA
GUINEA-BISSAU
GUINEA
CÔTE
D’IVOIRE
SIERRA LEONE
Name given by the cartels
to the maritime route along
the 10°N parallel
BURKINA
FASO
LIBERIA
BENIN
NIGERIA
TOGO
C.A.R.
SOUTH
SUDAN
CAMEROON
GHANA
Source: UNODC 2013
16
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
Niger faced with regional threats
LIBYA
ALGERIA
NIGER
Arlit
Kidal
Agadez
MALI
Agadem
CHAD
Niamey
Dosso
Zinder
Maradi
Diffa
Sokoto
Kano
Maïduguri
N’Djamena
BOKO HARAM
Abuja
NIGERIA
Ethnolinguistic groups
U
HAUS A
EG
TUB
TO
R
UA
KA
NU
RI
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
Saharan zone: less than 200 mm
of rainfall per year; approximately
600 000 km² and less than 0.5 million
inhabitants in its Nigerien part.
Uranium mines and oil.
Area regularly food and nutrition
insecure
Sahel’s vulnerable zone: the interannual variation of the length of the rainy
season exceeds 30%. Approximately
5 million rural inhabitants in its Nigerien
part, predominantly agro-pastoralists.
Regional diffusion of instability
Area of conflict / instability
Involuntary migration
17
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18
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel © OECD 2014
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19
West African Studies
An Atlas of the Sahara-Sahel
GeoGrAphy, economicS And Security
While the Sahara-Sahel region has experienced recurrent episodes of instability, the recent crises in Libya
and Mali have increased the level of violence. These two crises have reshaped the region’s geopolitical and
geographical dynamics. The current crises are cross-border and regional, and addressing them requires new
institutional responses. How can the countries that share this space – Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mali, Morocco,
Mauritania, Niger and Tunisia – in collaboration with other countries of the region, such as Nigeria, work
together towards its stabilisation and development?
Historically, the Sahara plays the role of intermediary between North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Even
before Roman times, the area was criss-crossed by roads, principally serving a military use in this period.
Today, commercial and human exchange is vibrant, founded on social networks. These networks have
more recently been used by traffickers. Understanding the nature of this trafficking, the geographic and
organisational mobility of criminal groups, as well as migratory movements is of strategic importance. This
work aims to contribute towards this objective and to help inform the Sahel strategies of the European Union,
United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) in their attempts to
forge a lasting peace.
This Atlas proposes a cartographic and regional analysis of security and development issues. It provides
objective information for the necessary dialogue between regional and international organisations, states,
researchers and local stakeholders.
part i. reactivating a space of fragmented circulation
Chapter 1. Sahara-Sahelian space and geography
Chapter 2. Socio-economic indicators within Sahara-Sahel countries
Chapter 3. Petroleum and networks of influence in the Sahara-Sahel
part ii. Securing the Sahara-Sahel by integrating its social and spatial mobility
Chapter 4. Ancient and new mobility in the Sahara-Sahel
Chapter 5. Migration and the Sahara
Chapter 6. Nomadism and mobility in the Sahara-Sahel
Chapter 7. Borders, cross-border co-operation and freedom of movement in the Sahara-Sahel
Chapter 8. Security issues, movement and networks in the Sahara-Sahel
Chapter 9. Trafficking economies in the Sahara-Sahel
Chapter 10. An institutional point of view on the challenges of the Sahara-Sahel