Releases

Water is essential for life on Earth as groundwater plays a crucial role in the supply of fresh water. Cooperation between nations is necessary to manage transboundary aquifers, particularly in  Africa where overexploitation and contamination threaten these resources. 

Partnership projects have been carried out, but more efforts are needed to establish strong governance frameworks and ensure equitable access to water while protecting the environment for current and future generations. 

North Africa has a naturally predominantly arid climate, characterized by a scarcity of renewable water resources, compromising the sub-region's sustainable development. The sub-region is also experiencing a strong drying-up trend and a reduction of available renewable water resources. At the same time, the total population of the area and the rate of urbanization are rapidly increasing, leading to high demand for water.

The accelerating land degradation in Africa is compromising the economic and social development of the countries and food security of a growing population. It is the result of multiple causes including climate change which brings extreme phenomena such as droughts  and flooding.

In addition, it is aggravated by anthropogenic factors,  such as agricultural practices, urban pressures, pollution, deforestation  and overexploitation of natural resources. According to the United  Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), 90% of land  will bear the mark of Man by 2050.

The year 2023 was marked by the Sahara and Sahel Observatory celebration of the world days of interest thanks to thematic articles written by its experts and disseminated on its website and its social networks. These articles aim to identify environmental issues in relation to the African context, popularize the various subjects covered and come up with recommendations likely to lead to solutions to the various challenges facing the continent. This collection aims to highlight these contributions and draw up an annual report on a wide range of environmental subjects.

Agriculture is a key contributor to food security and the economy in Africa. In a context of climate change and variability, accurate, early and spatially referenced agricultural information, has become vital for decision-making. Their production and dissemination is a real challenge that the  relevant authorities must take on in order to provide the various stakeholders (decision-makers, planners, researchers, producers, exporters, etc.) with reliable agricultural data and information. 

The document presents the GMES&Africa initiative, aimed at strengthening the sustainable management of natural resources in North Africa through Earth Observation data. In response to regional challenges such as drought, land degradation, and water stress, the project provides tools like MISBAR, MISLAND and GUETCROP for agricultural monitoring and water management. These platforms deliver real-time information, help detect anomalies, and support decision-making for agricultural campaigns.

LThe international community is increasingly concerned with the relationship between  global migration flows and environmental disturbances, including the degradation of  ecosystems and the effects of climate change. Indeed, this relationship has been proven  and the links between these two phenomena have become a major political issue on a  planetary scale. With a growing world population and deteriorating environmental  conditions, the challenges related to migration are likely to increase in the years ahead of us.

The present advocacy was developed by the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS), in collaboration with the French Development Agency (AFD), as part of their joint capacity and knowledge building actions, and aims to support decision-makers in understanding the adaptation concept besides its relevance in combating the climate change effects. It precisely focuses on how adaptation measures could impact ecosystem restoration in the Maghreb and Sahel regions.

This work comes after two previous editions of monographs on water resources published by the Sahara and Sahel Observatory in 1995 and 2001. 

It is a summary of useful data and information for decision-makers and managers, but also to every single person interested in water issues.

It also provides avenues for reflection and guidance to the different and relevant operators, in order to improve the management and development of water resources, in the area of intervention of the Sahara and Sahel Observatory.

Given the commitments relating to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the management of ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity have come to the forefront of political concerns. As a result, the international community has declared 2021-2030 the "Decade on Ecosystem  Restoration". 

This Atlas includes land cover maps of Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia. It is intended to decisionmakers, development partners and the general public.

Through some fifty maps and a brief multi-thematic explanation, this Atlas aspires to highlight the linkages between ecosystem services and populations livelihoods in desert areas and their potentialities. 

The reader will also find illustrations about the major ecosystems of the project area and their role in transboundary cooperation and socio-economic development to address global changes.

Africa's diverse and rich ecosystems provide services that are essential to sustaining life. Their management is now at the heart of political issues. The economic, social and environmental value of ecosystems have come to the forefront of the collective consciousness.