CHINGUETTI, Mauritania — For centuries, Chinguetti has been a cultural and intellectual hub, drawing poets, scholars, and theologians to its rich history as a trans-Saharan trading post. This ancient city is home to over a dozen libraries filled with thousands of manuscripts that encompass a wide range of knowledge. However, the city is now facing an existential threat as fierce desert encroachment looms over its ancient 8th-century foundations. Residents express a deep resignation, believing that the encroaching desert may be their predetermined fate.
As global temperatures rise and the climate shifts, Chinguetti has become more susceptible to damaging sandstorms that blanket the streets and invade homes. Many properties have already been overtaken by the advancing dunes, and although efforts like tree-planting projects have been launched to combat this intrusion, the community’s apprehensions about the future remain unaddressed.
Chinguetti is one of four UNESCO World Heritage sites in Mauritania, a West African nation where only a mere 0.5% of the land is deemed arable. According to data from the World Bank, Mauritania is part of a larger context in Africa— a continent not primarily responsible for fossil fuel emissions—where only Somalia and Eswatini have faced more significant climate changes.
The residents of Chinguetti believe their city is among the holiest in Islam. The traditional dry stone and mud mortar structures, alongside the vast libraries, hold some of the oldest Quranic texts and manuscripts from West Africa, covering subjects ranging from Islamic law to mathematics. Community leader Melainine Med El Wely is deeply troubled by the destructive potential of climate change on both the residents and the historical treasures contained within Chinguetti.
“It feels like witnessing a natural disaster unfold in slow motion,” El Wely, the president of the local Association for Participatory Oasis Management, said. “This city is increasingly surrounded by an ever-encroaching sea of sand.” He recalls instances when dunes piled high enough to cover the roofs of houses, leading to bizarre scenarios where a wandering camel could accidentally fall into a sunken living room.
Research highlights that sand migration significantly contributes to desertification, with deserts like the Sahara expanding at alarming rates. “Sand seas” are becoming revitalized, transforming once lush landscapes into barren wastelands. Andreas Baas, an earth scientist from King’s College London, points out that what was once dismissed as a worst-case scenario has now emerged as a plausible reality.
A United Nations report from 2024 indicates that over three-quarters of the Earth’s land has experienced increased dryness in recent years. This escalating aridity has severely compromised the survival of flora and fauna, leading to crop failures, sandstorms, and wildfires, all exacerbated by human-induced climate change that is warming the planet and rendering lands increasingly dry. The report illustrates how water scarcity linked to aridity can lead to health issues, prompting large-scale migrations.
Though researchers and policymakers predominantly focus on the degradation of soils in once fertile areas becoming wastelands, Chinguetti is directly experiencing the resultant effects of climate change. Local resources are dwindling as wells run dry and livelihoods vanish. Date farmers like 50-year-old Salima Ould Salem are struggling to feed their palm trees and have resorted to transporting water from distant tanks, all while their neighborhoods are slowly claimed by the advancing sands.
Salem remains committed to his community, realizing that each person who leaves not only diminishes the local population but also weakens the collective resistance against the desert’s encroachment. He states, “We prefer to stay here. If I leave, my place will disappear.” Meanwhile, the acacia, gum, and palm trees that once offered protection against the dunes have either perished from lack of water or been chopped down for firewood, further exposing the area to the advancing sands.
While sandstorms have always been a part of life in Chinguetti, their frequency and severity have escalated. Retired teacher Mohamed Lemine Bahane emphasizes that cleaning up the aftermath has become essential. Residents often resort to using mules and carts, as the narrow streets of the old city prohibit vehicles. As the sand accumulates, some are compelled to construct new walls on top of existing homes to shield themselves from the encroaching deserts.
Bahane has diligently monitored the shifting sands and diminishing rainfall, observing an annual average of only 2.5 centimeters (about one inch) over the past decade. The ongoing decline in precipitation leads to a rise in sand encroachment, posing further threats to both the ecosystem and public health. Bahane advocates for a revival of tree planting to combat desertification, supporting initiatives aimed at creating protective “green belts” both locally and as part of a continent-wide effort known as Africa’s “Great Green Wall.” Mauritania’s environment ministries and certain NGOs have proposed projects for afforestation to protect Chinguetti’s libraries and manuscripts from the advancing desert.
Although there have been minimal attempts at reforestation, progress is slow, and many fear that it may take years for newly planted trees to develop the deep root systems necessary to thrive. “We are convinced that desertification is our destiny. However, thankfully, there are still individuals who believe that it can be resisted,” El Wely affirmed, holding onto hope for his community’s survival amid these dire circumstances.
