As a result of changes in global climate, the Algerian Sahara is gradually expanding into the green fringes of the Tell Atlas and Saharan Atlas ranges. Only 3 per cent of Algeria’s territory is arable land, and about the same proportion is covered by unbroken forests. Droughts in recent decades have forced many desert herders and agriculturists to abandon their traditional livelihoods and look for work in the cities. Severe drought in 1999 led to widespread forest fires in north-eastern Algeria.

During the 1954-1962 War of Independence, French bombing with napalm (a burning chemical jelly) decimated Algeria’s northern forests. Since then there has been extensive re-planting of cork oaks in particular. Farming practices have also caused soil erosion in arable areas.

The coastal Mediterranean has been badly polluted by industrial waste, especially from the petrochemical industry, and by sewage dumping. Petrochemical pollution can sometimes be seen along the beaches near the major oil refinery at Bejaia, on the northern coast.

Coastal, mountainous, and grassy desert areas of Algeria support a rich variety of wildlife, including jackals, wild boars, gazelles, panthers, leopards, cheetahs, Barbary macaques, and many species of birds. Rodents, snakes, monitor lizards, and other reptiles also live in semi-arid areas.

Algeria’s most endangered animal is the serval. Servals are graceful, light-bodied big cats with leopard-like markings (a few are completely black) and long, ultra-sensitive ears. The name serval means ‘wolf-deer’, aptly describing the animal’s small, deer-like head and long legs – the longest of any member of the cat family. Following scattered sightings during the 1980s and ‘90s, a small number of servals is thought to survive in remote parts of northern Algeria, preying on small mammals, reptiles, and nesting birds.

The Mediterranean monk seal, which lives in caves and rocky outcrops along the Algerian coast, is also endangered. Female monk seals give birth infrequently, and have only one pup at a time. Over-fishing has affected their food supply, and coastal pollution has been blamed for disease and premature death among the seals.

Algerian wild dogs and several species of bats are endangered. The scimitar oryx (a long-horned antelope) and the dama gazelle were both declared to be extinct in Algeria in 1996.

Finding and conserving water is a priority for people living in arid places, such as the Sahara. Oases and waterholes are few and far between – and they can dry up very quickly.

Over the centuries, desert nomads and settlers have used various methods for obtaining and distributing water. The most spectacular of these are the networks of underground water-channels, called fouggaras, which were once used to moisten dry soil with water from distant sources. Air-currents drawn in through vertical shafts created enough flow to deliver a trickle of precious water to scattered outlets. The remains of one such network, around the Algerian oasis of Adrar, show that its channels totalled an astonishing 2,000km in length.

A much smaller-scale (but effective) way of irrigating dry places is to look for any surface sign of water – even a single green shoot – and dig a large pit in the same place. Palm fronds are used to shore up the rim of the pit and to stop sand blowing back in. Finally, young palms are planted at the deepest point of the pit and their roots ‘suck’ moisture to the surface.

Photo by Sean Sprague/Panos

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