Kanak, Niger

Continuing along the 8th meridian, you enter the continent of Africa. A blast of hot air hits your face as you enter a vast expanse of sand. The dry heat of the desert night leaves your throat parched and aching for a sip of water. Ironically carved into the wall of the Kanak, Niger, room are the French words “Je suis une mer.” In English, that means “I am an ocean.”

To a geologist, large deposits of sand are a sign that sometime in the past, the desert was an ocean. Peepholes in the wall beckon you to take a 135 million year climate journey, from the past to the present. Throughout geologic time, tectonic activity and slight changes in Earth’s orientation to the sun affected climate in the Saharan region of Africa. Scientists know from human remains, animal remains, and pollen that only 6,000 years ago, this region was lush with vegetation and water from consistent rainfall. However, that same type of evidence indicates an abrupt change in precipitation happened around 6,000 years ago. The change in climate may be attributable to natural changes in Earth’s orientation to the sun, tectonic activity, changes in climate in Europe, as well as human agricultural activity. Like climate change detectives, scientists are asking questions, collecting evidence, and creating models to explain how the Sahara changed from warm and humid, to hot and dry.

Niger is a landlocked country with 80% of the land over as desert. The coordinates for Kanak are 9º 2' E/ 15º 31' N. At the time Werner and Goldberg visited Kanak, it was an oasis, a place where seasonal rainfall provided underground water and vegetation for nomadic tribes of goat herders. It should not be a surprise that the climate here is classified as Saharan.

You view a video interview of an elderly Tuareg woman (Tuareg nomads, with Berber ethnicity). Her story translated into English tells a tale of climate change in one lifetime. She says, “Many things were different when I was a young girl. I saw things that I no longer see: giraffes, ostriches, different kinds of turtles, antelopes, and various deer species. Back then we had lots of water, and a river between the dunes. Sometimes it rained for an entire week, and afterwards lots of plants and trees would grow. Lots of plants! Not like now.” (Klimahaus)

In the current decade, Tuareg tribesmen dig wells to depths of 70 or more feet to find water in the desert. But temperatures are rising and rainfall is decreasing in the Sahara, making Niger even hotter and drier. The desert boundary threatens to push westward and south into regions of Niger where rainfall is higher and vegetation is more plentiful.

Almost all of Niger’s population has settled into the southern regions along the Niger River. Human agricultural activity and deforestation as an economic activity are contributing to climate change in southern Niger. Wind erosion in areas cleared for agriculture increases the rate of desertification.

Sometimes the change in climate can be explained by overgrazing by goat herds, agricultural practices, and deforestation. However, the rapid rate of climate change led Werner to wonder: Could that light bulb in Bremerhaven be contributing to desertification in Niger?

Leaders of African nations wondered: Could the desertification from climate change be mitigated by restoring vegetation? It is too soon to answer this question with a definite yes or no. However, early results of the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative are promising. Support for the African-led effort to restore 100 million hectares of African forests (AFR100) initially came from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and World Resources Institute (WRI). The AFR100 project is managed by a partnership of African nations, engages local inhabitants in restoration, and has high potential to offset climate change impacts. According to the World Resources Institute, the expected benefits include:

• Increased landscape productivity

• Improvement in food and tater security

• Increased climate change resilience

• Reduced disaster risk

• Reduced rate of desertification

• Conserved biodiversity

• Look for clues to answer the question.

• Examine the photo to identify factors that influence the climate of Kanak.

• Use Google Earth to develop a sense of place.

• Analyze the data and the climograph to observe patterns in rainfall and temperature.

• Use the dig deeper resources to gather information to understand the processes behind climate change.