Sahel Cartography

The Sahel is a region that has historically had multiple definitions—climatic-botanical and political—with limits traced in vastly different ways. By rethinking the foundations of cartography and the tools typically "taken for granted" (such as static isohyets or rigid political boundaries), this dataset renders the definition of the Sahel visible and fluid. The research converges fieldwork expertise with the processing of satellite and geo-referenced data to represent the following layers:

• Sahel Breadth: This layer represents the minimum and maximum extension of the Sahel area over the last 30 years. While the region is technically defined as the sub-Saharan area between the isohyetal lines of 150mm and 850mm of annual rainfall, these limits shift depending on the period, season, and drought conditions. This data captures that "breath"—the movement of the climatic strip over three decades.
• Sahel Boundaries: This layer addresses the contested nature of the region's delimitation. It challenges traditional cartographic representation and political jurisdictions, providing a spatial analysis of the shifting botanical and climatic limits that define the transition from the desert to the Sudanese regions.

These layers are part of the Atlas of the Sahel, a project that proposes a cartography capable of mapping the incessant movement of conditions, limits, and possibilities characterizing the strip between the Sahara and the humid Sudanese regions.