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In fact, the Sahel is a vast, diverse belt across the continent, as much as 1,000 km wide and stretching more than 5,000 km from Sudan to Senegal. It is a region rich in natural resources, extensive agricultural land, a generous mineral endowment and substantial water resources. It boasts of an ancient history and a strong culture, with a high degree of continuity and an overlap in local…

There is a wall appearing across the African continent, dividing north and south. But this wall isn’t to keep migrants out, or to keep smuggled goods in check. It is holding back sand. The scheme is helping to contribute to a far more ambitious project known as the Great Green Wall. It is attempting to grow an 8,000km (4,970 miles) barrier across the entire width of Africa to hold back the spread…

Forests cover 31 percent of the world’s total land area and store an estimated 296 gigatons of carbon in above- and below-ground biomass. About 1.6 billion people around the world depend on forests for their livelihoods, and some 300 million people worldwide live in forests. About 400 million years ago in the Devonian Period, forests are thought to have first emerged from…

Agriculture – the cultivation of plants and livestock – was a key part in the transition from hunting and gathering to sedentism that occurred at the end of the last Ice Age. The domestication of wild plants started in Western Asia around 12,000 to 11,000 years ago, while domesticated animals appeared around 10,000 years ago. Elsewhere in the world, agriculture developed…

Mountain environments cover 27 percent of the Earth’s land surface and are found in 53 countries across every continent. About 1 billion people live in mountain areas globally, making them key centers of biological and cultural diversity and home to a wide variety of languages, ethnic groups, religions and belief systems. However, mountain dwellers are disproportionately likely to…

Wetlands are ecosystems consisting of land covered either permanently or seasonally by water. They can include marshes, ponds, edges of lakes and seas, river deltas, and low-lying areas that are prone to flooding. Wetlands make up an estimated 4 to 6 percent of the Earth’s land area and are found in all ecosystems. Some wetlands, including swamps and marshes, are among…