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90-610: The bridge, made from reinforced concrete, opened to light vehicles on 21 January 2019. At 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) in length it is one of West Africa 's longest bridges and includes a 100-metre-wide (110 yd) central span to facilitate continued use of the river by boats. The Senegambia bridge forms part of the Trans-Gambia Highway and the Trans–West African Coastal Highway . The bridge lies approximately 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Farafenni ,

180-577: A Creative Commons license to help IntraHealth International in their IntraHealth Open campaign to bring open source health applications to Africa. The song was remixed by a variety of artists including Nas , Peter Buck of R.E.M. , and Duncan Sheik to help raise money for the campaign. N'Dour is a supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly , an organisation which advocates for democratic reformation of

270-594: A fertility statuette, created in the region of Senegambia , and may be associated with the emergence of complexly organized pastoral societies in West Africa between 4000 BCE and 1000 BCE. Though possibly developed as early as 5000 BCE, Nsibidi may have also developed in 2000 BCE, as evidenced by depictions of the West African script on Ikom monoliths at Ikom , in Nigeria . Migration of Saharan peoples south of

360-507: A Dutch writer, describing Benin in his book Description of Africa (1668) ". Its craft was the most adored and treasured bronze casting in the history of Africa. It was annexed by the British Empire in 1897 during the invasion and scramble of Africa. Portuguese traders began establishing settlements along the coast in 1445, followed by the French , English , Spanish , Danish and Dutch ;

450-489: A Gambian town on the border with Senegal, and carries the Trans-Gambia Highway across the Gambia River , which runs east-west through The Gambia and splits the country in two. The river also prevents easy movement of people from the main portion of Senegal, which lies north of The Gambia, to its southern province of Casamance which is south of the river. Travellers had previously used a ferry crossing at this location, but it

540-551: A consequence, it is inappropriate to perform in the US at this juncture. He performed in three of the Live 8 concerts (in Live 8 concert, London , Live 8 concert, Paris and at the Live 8 concert, Eden Project in Cornwall) on 2 July 2005, with Dido . He covered John Lennon 's " Jealous Guy " for the 2007 CD Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur . N'Dour appeared in

630-411: A few months and eventually evolved into N'Dour's backing band. By 1991, he had opened his own recording studio, and, by 1995, his own record label, Jololi. N'Dour is one of the most celebrated African musicians in history. His mix of traditional Senegalese mbalax with eclectic influences ranging from Cuban rumba to hip hop , jazz , and soul has won him an international fan base of millions. In

720-630: A fisheries regulations Act in 2010 and installed a satellite-based monitoring system and Senegal enacted a fisheries code in 2015. In Cape Verde, the fishermen communities of Palmiera and Santa Maria have organized themselves to protect fishing zones. Mozambique finally created a conservation area, including a coastline. West Africa, broadly defined to include the western portion of the Maghreb ( Western Sahara , Morocco , Algeria , and Tunisia ), occupies an area in excess of 6,140,000 km , or approximately one-fifth of Africa. The vast majority of this land

810-660: A joint Spain-Senegal ad campaign to inform the African public about the dramatic consequences of illegal immigration. He participated in the Stock Exchange of Visions project in 2007. In 2008, he joined the Fondation Chirac 's honour committee. The same year, Youssou N'Dour's microfinance organization named Birima ("Birima" is also a song's title) was launched with the collaboration of United Colors of Benetton . In 2009, he released his song "Wake Up (It's Africa Calling)" under

900-590: A public statement explaining his decision, N'Dour said: It is my strong conviction that the responsibility for disarming Iraq should rest with the United Nations. As a matter of conscience I question the United States government's apparent intention to commence war in Iraq. I believe that coming to America at this time would be perceived in many parts of the world--rightly or wrongly--as support for this policy, and that, as

990-590: A result of increasing aridification of the Green Sahara , Central Saharan hunter-gatherers and cattle herders may have used seasonal waterways as the migratory route taken to the Niger River and Chad Basin of West Africa. In 2000 BCE, " Thiaroye Woman", also known as the " Venus of Thiaroye", may have been the earliest statuette created in Sub-Saharan West Africa; it may have particularly been

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1080-611: A rich array of biomes , from biodiversity-rich tropical forests to drylands supporting rare and endangered fauna such as pangolins , rhinoceros , and elephants . Because of the pressure for economic development, many of these ecologies are threatened by processes like deforestation , biodiversity loss , overfishing , pollution from mining , plastics and other industries, and extreme changes resulting from climate change in West Africa . The history of West Africa can be divided into five major periods: first, its prehistory, in which

1170-531: A style of popular Senegalese music known by all Senegambians (including the Wolof ) as mbalax , a genre that has sacred origins in the Serer music njuup tradition and ndut initiation ceremonies . He is the subject of the award-winning films Return to Gorée (2007) directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud and Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love (2008) directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi , which were released around

1260-547: A subgroup of the Igbo people. The Kingdom of Nri was unusual in the history of world government in that its leader exercised no military power over his subjects. The kingdom existed as a sphere of religious and political influence over a third of Igboland and was administered by a priest-king called an Eze Nri . The Eze Nri managed trade and diplomacy on behalf of the Nri people and possessed divine authority in religious matters. The Oyo Empire

1350-433: A total length of 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) – of which the section that crosses the river is 942 metres (1,030 yd) long. It has piled foundations but unexpectedly thick layers of mud (up to 20 metres (66 ft) in depth) on the river banks caused delays in construction. It is one of the longest bridges in West Africa and incorporates a 100-metre-wide (110 yd) central span to allow for passage of boats along

1440-478: Is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, "perhaps the most famous singer alive" in Senegal and much of Africa and in 2023, the same publication ranked him at number 69 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. From April 2012 to September 2013, he was Senegal's Minister of Tourism. N'Dour helped develop

1530-497: Is a transnational highway project to link 12 West African coastal states, from Mauritania in the north-west of the region to Nigeria in the east, with feeder roads already existing to two landlocked countries, Mali and Burkina Faso . The eastern end of the highway terminates at Lagos , Nigeria . Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) consider its western end to be Nouakchott , Mauritania , or to be Dakar , Senegal , giving rise to these alternative names for

1620-403: Is estimated at 419 million people as of 2021, and at 381,981,000 as of 2017, of which 189,672,000 were female and 192,309,000 male. The region is demographically and economically one of the fastest growing on the African continent. Early history in West Africa includes a number of prominent regional powers that dominated different parts of both the coastal and internal trade networks, such as

1710-579: Is plains lying less than 300 meters above sea level, though isolated high points exist in numerous states along the southern shore of West Africa. Benin Burkina Faso The Gambia Ghana Guinea-Bissau Guinea Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Nigeria Niger Senegal Sierra Leone Togo The northern section of West Africa (narrowly defined to exclude

1800-457: Is rather majestic and looks like a huge phallus and a deformed animal or thing is protruding from it. It is said to be the dwelling place of a pangool . Ngoye njuli is protected by the Senegalese authorities and attracts visitors. In West Africa, as in other parts of Africa where the baobab tree is found, the leaves are mixed with couscous and eaten, the bark of the tree is used to make ropes, and

1890-622: The African slave trade began not long after, which over the following centuries would debilitate the region's economy and population. The slave trade also encouraged the formation of states such as the Bono State , Bambara Empire and Dahomey , whose economic activities include but not limited to exchanging slaves for European firearms . In the early 19th century, a series of Fulani reformist jihads swept across Western Africa. The most notable include Usman dan Fodio 's Fulani Empire , which replaced

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1980-554: The Benue Trough , and others on a line running from Mount Cameroon to Lake Chad . Colonial boundaries are reflected in the modern boundaries between contemporary West African states, cutting across ethnic and cultural lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more states. In contrast to most of Central, Southern, and Southeast Africa, West Africa is not populated by Bantu -speaking peoples. The West African region can be divided into four climatic sub-regions namely

2070-454: The British Empire . In 2008, N'Dour offered one of his compositions, Bébé , for the French singer Cynthia Brown . In 2011, N'Dour was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in music from Yale University . In 2013, N'Dour won a share of Sweden's $ 150,000 Polar music prize for promoting understanding between faiths as well as for his music. N'Dour was nominated as Goodwill Ambassador of

2160-532: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 16 October 2000. In Senegal, N'Dour became a powerful cultural icon, actively involved in social issues. In 1985, he organized a concert for the release of Nelson Mandela . He was a featured performer in the 1988 worldwide Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour collaborating with Lou Reed on a version of the Peter Gabriel song " Biko " which

2250-708: The Hausa city-states, Seku Amadu 's Massina Empire , which defeated the Bambara, and El Hadj Umar Tall 's Toucouleur Empire , which briefly conquered much of modern-day Mali. However, the French and British continued to advance in the Scramble for Africa , subjugating kingdom after kingdom. With the fall of Samory Ture's established Wassoulou Empire in 1898 and the Ashanti queen Yaa Asantewaa in 1902, most West African military resistance to colonial rule resulted in failure. Part of

2340-513: The Mali and Gao Empires . West Africa sat at the intersection of trade routes between Arab -dominated North Africa and further south on the continent, the source of specialized goods such as gold , advanced iron-working , and ivory . After European exploration encountered rich local economies and kingdoms, the Atlantic slave trade built on already existing slave systems to provide labor for colonies in

2430-677: The Senegambia region (Senegal and the Gambia) used to have a diverse wildlife including lions , hippopotamus , elephants , antelopes , leopards etc. However, during colonization, the European colonizers such as the French and British killed most of the wildlife particularly the lions, using their body parts as trophies. By the turn of the 20th century, the Senegambia region had lost most of its lion population and other exotic animals due to poaching . By

2520-459: The forest-savanna region, were ultimately acculturated and admixed into the larger groups of West African agriculturalists , akin to the migratory Bantu -speaking agriculturalists and their encounters with Central African hunter-gatherers . The development of the region's economy allowed more centralized states and civilizations to form, beginning with Dhar Tichitt that began in 1600 B.C. followed by Djenné-Djenno beginning in 300 B.C. This

2610-565: The 10th-century Kingdom of Nri , which helped birth the arts and customs of the Igbo people , Bono State in the 11th century, which gave birth to the numerous Akan States, while Ife rose to prominence around the 12th century. Further east, Oyo arose as the dominant Yoruba state and the Aro Confederacy as a dominant Igbo state in modern-day Nigeria. The Kingdom of Nri was a West African medieval state in present-day southeastern Nigeria and

2700-489: The 1930s, the Gambian elephant population became extinct. That phenomenon was not only limited to the Senegambia region but affected much of West Africa as the region lost much of its "natural resources once tied so closely to its cultural identity. Poaching has stolen most of its wildlife." The British issued poaching licenses, and although they would later try to reverse the damage that had been done by attempting to preserve what

2790-418: The 1950s. Some have identified the two recent decades as a recovery period. Others refer to this as a period of "hydrological intensification" with much of the annual rainfall increase coming from more severe rain events and sometimes flooding rather than more frequent rainfall, or similarly other works underline the continuity of the drought even though the rainfall has increased. Since 1985, 54 percent of

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2880-596: The Americas. After the end of the slave trade in the early 19th century , European nations, especially France and Britain , continued to exploit the region through colonial relationships . For example, they continued exporting a number of extractive goods , including labor-intensive agricultural crops like cocoa and coffee , forestry products like tropical timber , and mineral resources like gold. Since independence, many West African countries, like Ivory Coast , Ghana , Nigeria and Senegal , have played important roles in

2970-645: The Atlantic. Due to Mauritania's increasingly close ties to the Arab World and its 1999 withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in modern times it is often considered, especially in Africa, as now part of western North Africa . Major and principal cities in West Africa include, geographically eastward: Before European colonisation , West African countries such as those from

3060-458: The Guinea Coast associated with a reduction of the wet spells under both 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming level. A Trans-ECOWAS project, established in 2007, plans to upgrade railways in this zone. One of the goals of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is the development of an integrated railroad network. Aims include the extension of railways in member countries,

3150-662: The Guinea Coast, Soudano-Sahel, Sahel (extending eastward to the Ethiopian border) and the Sahara, each with different climatic conditions. The seasonal cycle of rainfall is mainly driven by the south-north movement of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) which is characterised by the confluence between moist southwesterly monsoon winds and the dry northeasterly Harmattan. Based on the inter-annual rainfall variability, three main climatic periods have been observed over

3240-505: The Ivory Coast, have lost large areas of their rainforest . In 2005, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ranked Nigeria as the state with the worst deforestation rate in the entire world. Causes include logging, subsistence agriculture , and the collection of fuelwoods. According to a ThoughtCo publication authored Steve Nix (2018), almost 90 percent of West Africa's original rainforest has been destroyed, and

3330-517: The Niger River basin between eastern Ghana and western Nigeria (northern Benin), rice ( oryza glaberrima ) in the Inner Niger Delta region of Mali, pearl millet ( cenchrus americanus ) in northern Mali and Mauritania, and cowpeas in northern Ghana. After having persisted as late as 1000 BP, or some period of time after 1500 CE, remaining West African hunter-gatherers, many of whom dwelt in

3420-589: The Sahel: the wet period from 1950 to the early 1960s followed by a dry period from 1972 to 1990 and then the period from 1991 onwards which has seen a partial rainfall recovery. During the dry period, the Sahel experienced a number of particularly severe drought events, with devastating effects. The recent decades, have also witnessed a moderate increment in annual rainfall since the beginning of 1990s. However, total annual rainfall remains significantly below that observed during

3510-562: The Sahelian region resulted in seasonal interaction with and gradual absorption of West African hunter-gatherers, who primarily dwelt in the savannas and forests of West Africa. In West Africa, which may have been a major regional cradle in Africa for the domestication of crops and animals, Niger-Congo speakers domesticated the helmeted guineafowl between 5500 BP and 1300 BP; domestication of field crops occurred throughout various locations in West Africa, such as yams (d. praehensilis) in

3600-751: The Star Band left to form Étoile de Dakar , a band that made important contributions to Senegal's newly evolving musical style called mbalax which incorporated traditional Senegalese music into the Latin styles that had dominated Senegalese popular music. Although they quickly became one of the city's most popular bands, the group was short-lived due to internal problems. Étoile de Dakar split into two groups: Étoile 2000 and Super Étoile de Dakar. The latter group included N'Dour, guitarist Jimi Mbaye , bassist Habib Faye , and tama (talking drum) player Assane Thiam. Super Étoile de Dakar produced four albums on cassette in just

3690-461: The United Nations. N'Dour is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism. At the beginning of 2012, he announced plans to stand as a candidate in the 2012 Senegalese presidential election , competing against President Abdoulaye Wade . However, he was disqualified from running in the election over the legitimacy of the signatures he had collected to endorse his campaign. N'Dour backed

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3780-508: The West African regions underwent an increase in the numeracy level throughout the 19th century. The reason for such a growth was predetermined by a number of factors. Namely, the peanut production and trade, which was boosted by the demand of the colonial states . Importantly, the rise of numeracy was higher in the regions which were less hierarchical and had less dependence on the slavery trade (e.g. Sine and Salum). Whereas areas with

3870-508: The West, N'Dour has collaborated with Peter Gabriel , Axelle Red , Sting , Alan Stivell , Bran Van 3000 , Neneh Cherry , Wyclef Jean , Paul Simon , Bruce Springsteen , Tracy Chapman , James Newton Howard , Branford Marsalis , Ryuichi Sakamoto , Dido , Lou Reed , Bruce Cockburn , and others. The New York Times described his voice as an "arresting tenor, a supple weapon deployed with prophetic authority". N'Dour's work absorbed

3960-579: The archaeology of the city of Kumbi Saleh in modern-day Mauritania, the Mali empire came to dominate much of the region until its defeat by Almoravid invaders in 1052. Three great kingdoms were identified in Bilad al-Sudan by the ninth century. They included Ghana, Gao and Kanem . The Sosso Empire sought to fill the void but was defeated ( c.  1240 ) by the Mandinka forces of Sundiata Keita , founder of

4050-596: The basis of the current design which has a 100-year design life . Funding was finally secured through the African Development Fund (ADF) of the African Development Bank (ADB), which contributed US$ 65 million as lead lender for the project. The remaining funding was approved for the project by the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction government of Gambia; who state that no contribution

4140-566: The bridge. There is a dispute between the Gambia Ferries Service and the National Roads Authority over which government agency is entitled to the revenue from the bridge. The Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure has negotiated a temporary arrangement whereby the revenue is split between the two. The Gambian press has criticised the government for failing to set up a public–private partnership to ensure tolls fund

4230-511: The colony of Guinea-Bissau , while Germany claimed Togoland , but was forced to divide it between France and Britain following First World War due to the Treaty of Versailles . Only Liberia retained its independence, at the price of major territorial concessions. Following World War II , nationalist movements arose across West Africa. In 1957, Ghana, under Kwame Nkrumah , became the first West African colony to achieve its independence, followed

4320-458: The earliest pottery in Africa – by at least 9400 BCE, and along with their pottery, as well as wielding independently invented bows and arrows , migrated into the Central Sahara, which became their primary region of residence by 10,000 BP. The emergence and expansion of ceramics in the Sahara may be linked with the origin of Round Head and Kel Essuf rock art, which occupy rockshelters in

4410-587: The end of colonialism, the region has been the stage for some brutal conflicts, including: Geopolitically , the United Nations definition of subregion Western Africa includes the preceding states with the addition of Mauritania (which withdrew from ECOWAS in 1999), comprising an area of approximately 6.1 million square km. The UN region also includes the United Kingdom Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in

4500-541: The entire Senegalese musical spectrum, often filtered through the lens of genre-defying rock or pop music from outside Senegalese culture. In July 1993, Africa Opera composed by N'Dour premiered at the Opéra Garnier for the French Festival Paris quartier d'été. In 1994, N'Dour released his biggest international hit single, the trilingual " 7 Seconds ", a duet sung with Neneh Cherry . He wrote and performed

4590-748: The entire region; and fifth, the post-independence era, in which the current nations were formed. West African populations were considerably mobile and interacted with one another throughout the population history of West Africa . Acheulean tool-using archaic humans may have dwelled throughout West Africa since at least between 780,000 BP and 126,000 BP ( Middle Pleistocene ). During the Pleistocene , Middle Stone Age peoples (e.g., Iwo Eleru people , possibly Aterians ), who dwelled throughout West Africa between MIS 4 and MIS 2 , were gradually replaced by incoming Late Stone Age peoples , who migrated into West Africa as an increase in humid conditions resulted in

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4680-473: The first human settlers arrived, developed agriculture , and made contact with peoples to the north; the second, the Iron Age empires that consolidated both intra-Africa, and extra-Africa trade, and developed centralized states; third, major polities flourished, which would undergo an extensive history of contact with non-Africans; fourth, the colonial period, in which Great Britain and France controlled nearly

4770-579: The fruit and seeds are used for drinks and oils. West Africa is greatly affected by deforestation and has one of the worst deforestation rate. Even "the beloved baobab tree" which is viewed as sacred by some West African cultures are under threat due to climate change , urbanization and population growth. "Huge swaths of forest are being razed to clear space for palm oil and cocoa plantations. Mangroves are being killed off by pollution. Even wispy acacias are hacked away for use in cooking fires to feed growing families." Nigeria, Liberia, Guinea, Ghana and

4860-543: The future maintenance of the structure. West Africa West Africa , also called Western Africa , is the westernmost region of Africa . The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin , Burkina Faso , Cape Verde , The Gambia , Ghana , Guinea , Guinea-Bissau , Ivory Coast , Liberia , Mali , Mauritania , Niger , Nigeria , Senegal , Sierra Leone , and Togo , as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ( United Kingdom Overseas Territory ). The population of West Africa

4950-520: The human population relies. West Africa is west of an imagined north-south axis lying close to 10° east longitude . The Atlantic Ocean forms the western as well as the southern borders of the West African region. The northern border is the Sahara Desert , with the Ranishanu Bend generally considered the northernmost part of the region. The eastern border is less precise, with some placing it at

5040-649: The interconnection of previously isolated railways and the standardization of gauge, brakes, couplings, and other parameters. The first line would connect the cities and ports of Lagos , Cotonou , Lomé and Accra and would allow the largest container ships to focus on a smaller number of large ports, while efficiently serving a larger hinterland . This line connects 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge and 1,000 mm ( 3 ft  3 + 3 ⁄ 8  in ) metre gauge systems, which would require four rail dual gauge , which can also provide standard gauge . The Trans–West African Coastal Highway

5130-509: The large four Sufi orders in Senegambia , he often incorporated aspects of Islamic music and chants into his work. At the age of 15, Youssou N'Dour joined a band called Diamono and, in 1975, toured with the band in West Africa . In 1976 when N'Dour was 16 years old, he signed a contract to sing with Ibra Kasse's Star Band at Kasse's Miami club in Dakar where he would become a sensation. In 1978, N'Dour would follow as several members of

5220-609: The mid-17th to the late 18th century, holding sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in Yorubaland , but also over nearby African states, notably the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in the modern Republic of Benin to the west. The Benin Empire was a post-classical empire located in what is now southern Nigeria . Its capital was Edo, now known as Benin City , Edo . It should not be confused with

5310-474: The modern-day country called Benin , formerly called Dahomey . The Benin Empire was "one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa, dating perhaps to the eleventh century CE". The Benin Empire was governed by a sovereign Emperor with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and a powerful council rich in resources, wealth, ancient science and technology with cities described as beautiful and large as Haarlem . " Olfert Dapper ,

5400-638: The new Mali Empire. The Mali Empire continued to flourish for several centuries, most particularly under Sundiata's grandnephew Musa I , before a succession of weak rulers led to its collapse under Mossi , Tuareg and Songhai invaders. In the 15th century, the Songhai would form a new dominant state based on Gao , in the Songhai Empire , under the leadership of Sonni Ali and Askia Mohammed . Meanwhile, south of Sudan, strong city-states arose in Igboland , such as

5490-505: The next year by France's colonies (Guinea in 1958 under the leadership of President Ahmed Sekou Touré); by 1974, West Africa's nations were entirely autonomous. Since independence, many West African nations have been submerged under political instability, with notable civil wars in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast, and a succession of military coups in Ghana and Burkina Faso . Since

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5580-484: The number of registered trawlers operating in African waters, increase the monitoring and control and set up regional fisheries organizations. Some steps have already been taken in the form of WARFP (the World Bank's West Africa Regional Fisheries Program which empowers west-African countries (i.e. Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cape Verde, and Senegal) with information, training and monitoring systems. Furthermore, Liberia enacted

5670-506: The official anthem of the 1998 FIFA World Cup with Axelle Red " La Cour des Grands (Do You Mind If I Play) ". Folk Roots magazine described him as the African Artist of the Century. He toured internationally for thirty years. He won his first American Grammy Award ( best contemporary world music album ) for his CD Egypt in 2005. He is the proprietor of L'Observateur , one of

5760-407: The opening ceremony. The bridge forms part of a link on the proposed Trans–West African Coastal Highway , part of the Trans-African Highway network . This project, spearheaded by the New Partnership for Africa's Development seeks to link Nouakchott in Mauritania with Lagos in Nigeria via a 15-country, 4,560-kilometre (2,830 mi) highway in the hope of boosting trade and co-operation in

5850-400: The opposite trends illustrated opposite tendencies (e.g. central and northern Senegal). Those patterns were further even more stimulated by the French colonial campaign. Britain controlled the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria throughout the colonial era, while France unified Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast, and Niger into French West Africa . Portugal founded

5940-446: The opposition candidate Macky Sall , who defeated Wade in a second round of voting in March 2012. N'Dour was appointed as Minister of Culture and Tourism in April 2012 as part of the cabinet of new Prime Minister Abdoul Mbaye . The story of N'Dour's presidential campaign was filmed for the PBS TV program Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders . Later his portfolio was modified and he was appointed as Minister of Tourism and Leisure. He

6030-400: The population has been affected by five or more floods in the 17 Sahel region countries. In 2012, severe drought conditions in the Sahel were reported. Governments in the region responded quickly, launching strategies to address the issue. The region is projected to experience changes in rainfall regime, with climate models suggesting that decreases in wet season rainfall are more likely in

6120-415: The region's wildlife populations, there are still some protected nature reserves within the region. Some of these include: West Africa is also home to several baobab trees and other plant life . Some baobab trees are several centuries old and form part of the local folklore, for example, a mythical baobab tree named Ngoye njuli in Senegal which is regarded as a sacred site by the Serer . The tree itself

6210-416: The region. It is hoped that the road will improve co-operation between Gambia and Senegal and facilitate trade in minerals, fuels and foodstuffs. It has had a marked effect on journey times; a trip by road from Dakar to Ziguinchor which previously took a day can now be completed within five hours. Local ferry operators and roadside vendors have complained about the loss of revenue following construction of

6300-405: The regional and global economies. West Africa has a rich ecology , with strong biodiversity and several distinct regions. The area's climate and ecology are heavily influenced by the dry Sahara to the north and east, which provides dry winds during the Harmattan , as well as the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west, which provides seasonal monsoons. This mixture of climates gives West Africa

6390-453: The rest is "heavily fragmented and in a degraded state, being poorly used." Overfishing is a major issue in West Africa. Besides reducing fish stocks in the region, it also threatens food security and the livelihoods of many coastal communities that largely depend on artisanal fishing . The overfishing generally comes from foreign trawlers operating in the region. To combat the overfishing, Greenpeace has recommended countries reduce

6480-527: The river. The bridge deck is 12 metres (39 ft) wide and carries a 7.5-metre-wide (25 ft) single-carriageway road. The bridge's official name is a portmanteau of the names of Senegal and Gambia and is intended to reflect the bonds of friendship between the two countries, but it is also known as the Trans-Gambia Bridge. Total project costs were $ 93 million. A large portion of the workforce were local: 58 % were Gambians and 20 % were from

6570-413: The road: The capitals' airports include: Of the sixteen, the most important hub and entry point to West Africa are Kotoka International Airport , and Murtala Muhammed International Airport , offering many international connections. Youssou Ndour Youssou N'Dour ( French: [jusu (ɛ)nduʁ] , Wolof : Yuusu Nduur ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour ; born 1 October 1959)

6660-651: The same regions (e.g., Djado , Acacus , Tadrart ). Hunters in the Central Sahara farmed, stored, and cooked undomesticated central Saharan flora , underwent domestication of antelope , and domesticated and shepherded Barbary sheep . After the Kel Essuf Period and Round Head Period of the Central Sahara, the Pastoral Period followed. Some of the hunter-gatherers who created the Round Head rock art may have adopted pastoral culture, and others may have not. As

6750-728: The south Atlantic Ocean . In the United Nations scheme of African regions , the region of Western Africa includes 16 states and the United Kingdom Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha : Mali , Burkina Faso , Senegal and the Niger are mostly in the Sahel , a transition zone between the Sahara desert and the Sudanian Savanna ; Benin , Ivory Coast , The Gambia , Ghana , Guinea , Guinea-Bissau , Liberia , Sierra Leone , Togo and Nigeria compose most of Guinea ,

6840-458: The start of works was delayed by periods of strained tensions between Gambia and Senegal. The project was formerly led by the Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Gambie (OMVG) which commissioned engineering feasibility studies of the scheme from French firm BCEOM and Tunisian firm SCET Tunisie in the 1990s. These studies were updated by the same companies between 2007 and 2009 and form

6930-528: The subsequent expansion of the West African forest . West African hunter-gatherers occupied western Central Africa (e.g., Shum Laka ) earlier than 32,000 BP, dwelled throughout coastal West Africa by 12,000 BP, and migrated northward between 12,000 BP and 8000 BP as far as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania. During the Holocene , Niger-Congo speakers independently created pottery in Ounjougou , Mali –

7020-496: The traditional griot caste, he was not raised in that tradition, which he learned instead from his sibling. Although patrilineally from the noble N'Dour family, his parents' world-view encouraged a modern outlook, leaving him open to two cultures and thereby inspiring N'Dour's identity as a modern griot. As a Mouride disciple , taalibé in Wolof, a Muslim of the Mouride brotherhood, one of

7110-705: The traditional name for the area near the Gulf of Guinea ; Mauritania lies in the Maghreb , the northwestern region of Africa that has historically been inhabited by West African groups such as the Fulani , Soninke , Wolof , Serer and Toucouleur people , along with Arab-Berber Maghrebi people such as the Tuareg ; Cape Verde is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean ; and Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha consists of eight main islands located in four different parts of

7200-463: The western Maghreb) is composed of semi-arid terrain known as Sahel , a transitional zone between the Sahara and the West Sudanian savanna . Forests form a belt between the savannas and the southern coast, ranging from 160 km to 240 km in width. The northwest African region of Mauritania periodically suffers country-wide plagues of locusts which consume water, salt and crops on which

7290-545: The western Sahel, and increases more likely in the central to east Sahel, although opposite trends cannot yet be ruled out. These trends will affect the frequency and severity of floods, droughts, desertification , sand and dust storms, desert locust plagues and water shortages. However, irrespective of the changes in seasonal mean rain, the most intense storms are expected to become more intense, amplifying flood frequency. Enhanced carbon emissions and global warming may also lead to an increase in dry spells especially across

7380-661: The wider ECOWAS countries. The bridge's opening ceremony took place on 21 January 2019 and was led by Gambia's President Adama Barrow and Senegal's President Macky Sall who made the first official crossing of the bridge together shortly after 4:30 p.m. local time. Gambian Vice President Fatoumata Tambajang , the minister of works Bai Lamin Jobe and his Senegalese counterpart Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo were also in attendance. Zinguinchor mayor Abdoulaye Baldé and Senegalese national football team coach Aliou Cissé were also present and Senegalese musician Youssou Ndour performed music at

7470-543: The widest-circulation newspapers in Senegal, the radio station RFM (Radio Future Medias) and the TV channel TFM. In 2002, N'Dour was honoured with a Prince Claus Award , under that year's theme "Languages and transcultural forms of expression". In 2006, N'Dour played the role of the African-British abolitionist Olaudah Equiano in the movie Amazing Grace , which chronicled the efforts of William Wilberforce to end slavery in

7560-515: The world. In 2006, N'Dour was cast as Olaudah Equiano in the film Amazing Grace . Ethnically, N'Dour is Serer , born to a Serer father and a Toucouleur mother. However, culturally, N'Dour is Wolof . He was born in Dakar . He started performing at age 12 and would later perform regularly with the Star Band , Dakar's most popular group during the 1970s. Despite N'Dour's maternal connection to

7650-507: Was a Yoruba empire of what is today Western, North Central Nigeria and Southern Republic of Benin . Established in the 14th century, the Oyo Empire grew to become one of the largest West African states. It rose through the outstanding organizational skills of the Yoruba, wealth gained from trade and its powerful cavalry . The Oyo Empire was the most politically important state in the region from

7740-493: Was left of the local wildlife, but by that time, it was too late. During the 1930s, the elephant population in the Gold Coast was about 300, and Sierra Leone between 500 and 600. Although a small number of elephants survived in Nigeria, hunting, agricultural expansion and clearing of forest in that country drastically affected its wildlife population, particularly elephants. Despite the historical damage that has been done to

7830-466: Was made by Senegal. Approval to proceed was granted by the government of Gambia in 2011. Final design and planning work commenced in 2012 and construction began in 2015. Construction was led by a joint-venture of Spanish company Isolux Corsán and the Senegalese Arezki Group . The construction contract had a value of 51.7 million euros. The structure is made of reinforced concrete and has

7920-501: Was produced by Richard James Burgess and featured on the Amnesty International benefit album The Secret Policeman's Third Ball . He worked with the United Nations and UNICEF , and he started Project Joko to open internet cafés in Africa and to connect Senegalese communities around the world. In 2003, N'Dour cancelled an upcoming American tour in order to publicly deny support for the upcoming American invasion of Iraq . In

8010-604: Was then succeeded by the Ghana Empire that first flourished roughly between the 2nd and 12th centuries C.E., which later gave way to the Mali Empire . In current-day Mauritania, there exist archaeological sites in the towns of Tichit and Oualata that were initially constructed around 2000 B.C., and were found to have originated from the Soninke branch of the Mandé peoples . Also, based on

8100-508: Was unreliable and delays of 10–20 days waiting for a ferry were not uncommon. The alternative was a 400-kilometre (250 mi) detour eastwards to the next available crossing of the Gambia River. Development in Casamance had been hindered by the poor access to the rest of the country. The bridge was first mooted in 1956 and the French government committed funds for its construction in 1971 but

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