The Sahel region of Africa, a belt of savanna ecoregion south of the Sahara desert, stretched from coast to coast. This region is not only known for long spells of drought (and desertification), but also from housing some of the World's poorest countries. Recent trends show good signs on the recovery of the region, and the relative vegetation index (NDVI) presented for the country of Niger in this map shows increases in the period from 1982 to 1999. (percent changes in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) seasonal integral 1982-1999).

Year: 2006

From collection: World Resources 2008: Roots of Resilience - Growing the Wealth of the Poor

Cartographer: Hugo Ahlenius, UNEP/GRID-Arendal