Aziz Ballouche

University of Angers | UA · UMR 6590 CNRS ESO

In a global context of climate change, but also of tensions on natural resources, the environmental issues linked to economic integration are particularly evident in Africa through the capacity of actors to overcome territorial partitioning, which is largely inherited. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErI-IIgX0fM

Northwestern Morocco is characterized by highly anthropized landscapes under the combined effect of agricultural intensification, resource overexploitation, urbanization, and tourism, but also local reforestation. Reconstructing the recent changes in vegetation in the region of the lower valley of the Loukkos river near Larache and their relationsh...

This collective work reports on the studies and archaeological work carried out at the megalithic ruined necropolis of Wanar, Senegal, between 2008 and 2017. Along with Sine Ngayene in Senegal, and Wassu and Ker Batch in Gambia, the Wanar sanctuary is one of four sites classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2006. The first part sets out the g...

Bien que l’accès à l’eau potable soit un droit humain fondamental, les populations les plus défavorisées sont contraintes de s’adapter à de multiples pressions socio-économiques et environnementales : arbitrages dans l’allocation de la ressource, équipements disparates, monétarisation du service, dégradation des milieux aquatiques, impacts du chang...

The presentation aims to document, through some examples, the deeply constructed character of the West African savanna’s landsacapes, through a centuries-old, even millennial, confrontation of societies with their environment. The landscape trajectories thus reconstituted make it possible to measure the historical roots which make them specific, as...

This book gives positive examples how humans and rivers have been, and are still in some places, living in harmony. It analyses how this knowledge can be transferred into modern river management schemes and thereby it attempts to mitigate the deplorable trend of the decline of biological and cultural heritages and diversities in and along rivers. A...

The megaliths of Senegal and The Gambia comprise nearly 30,000 erected stones recorded over a surface of around 30,000 km², mainly in the northern basin of the Gambia River. The very first radiocarbon date associated with the megaliths of Senegal and Gambia was published in 1965. Most of the radiocarbon dates obtained since then concern the western...

The north western Atlas Mountains (Béchar region) act as refugia for relict populations of many species which highlights their interest as priority areas for conservation. Further work since the beginning of the last century has been difficult because of restricted access in a military area with long-standing border conflicts. This paper aims to an...

In the Sudano-Sahelian context, where strong seasonal contrasts characterize the climatic and hydrological regimes, palaeoenvironmental studies are faced with a real challenge, because the exacerbated hydro-sedimentary functioning generally limits the conservation of quality records. In the middle valley of the Bao Bolon River (Region of Kaffrine,...

This short article details archaeological investigations carried out on the funerary earthen mound of Soto (Senegal), which was originally materialized in the landscape by a megalithic bifid-stone. This monumental stone was removed in 1966 and is actually exposed in the Musée du Quai-Branly Jacques Chirac in Paris, France.

Senegambian megaliths are characterized by the presence of standing stones, called frontal stones, erected to the east of funerary monuments whose ruins take various forms in the landscape, sometimes sealed beneath a mound, with platforms measuring 3-11 m in diameter and ringed by standing stones or dry-stone walls. Even today, among the Bassari pe...

The island of Madagascar, located in the southern hemisphere between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Indian Ocean, 450 km from the African continent, is particularly affected by wildfires. The vegetation of the phytogeographic Western Domain of the island consists largely of savannas, wooded grassland, and secondary grassland, mainta...

Dans le cadre du programme de recherche sur le mégalithisme sénégambien (Dir. H. Bocoum et L. Laporte), des recherches visent à documenter le cadre environnemental précis dans lequel se sont développées les civilisations contemporaines. Pour cela, il faut faire appel à des données obtenues dans les archives sédimentaires continentales qui permetten...

The Bao Bolon valley, located in a Sudano-Sahelian context and overlapping both the Gambia and Saloum river basins, in western Senegal, is subject to strong seasonal rainfall contrasts. These particular conditions are usually badly appropriate to the good conservation of sedimentary archives. Moreover, this region is well known for his important ar...

Fire regimes are important components of environmental dynamics, but our understanding of them is limited. Despite recent advances in the methodologies used to remotely sense and map fires and burned areas and new case studies that shed light on local fire use and management practices, the scientific community still has much to learn about anthropo...

In the south-west of Mauritania, the present provinces of Brakna and Trarza stem from the history of the pre-colonial emirates of the same names. This paper quotes the few but various data at our disposal concerning the landscape history and vegetation and climate evolution during the last centuries. We propose a diachronic approach of this area, t...

The aim of the research on the mutations of colonial agrarian landscapes has been to provide historical-geographical knowledge on their transformations, their evolutionary tendencies as well as the resulting effects since the sultanas, colonial and postcolonial periods. To achieve its objectives, handwritten archives, multidata images and field dat...

Since 2004, UNESCO has highlighted the theme of river and heritage, which was consolidated by the Africities Summit in 2006 in Nairobi, the Loire / Niger project in 2007-2008 and the Symposium River Heritage and territories as of 2011 in Saint- Louis (Senegal). Since 2014, the UNESCO Chair "Fleuves et Patrimoine / River Culture" (www.unesco-chair-r...

The Moroccan Central High Atlas in the Beni Mellal - Khenifra region (Azilal Province) is characterized by highly anthropized landscapes as in all the medium mountain regions of Morocco. These are tree parks built by the rural Amazigh population in a context of rainfed food agriculture (bour), associated with extensive livestock farming, mainly she...

Le Haut Atlas central marocain dans la région de Beni Mellal-Khenifra (Province d’Azilal) est caractérisé par des paysages fortement anthropisés comme dans toutes les régions de moyenne montagne du Maroc. Il s’agit de parcs arborés construits par la population rurale amazighe dans un contexte d’agriculture vivrière pluviale (bour), associée à l’éle...

The savanna is an ordinary landscape in rural areas of Sudano-Sahelian West Africa resulting from the continuous interaction between indigenous agro-pastoral communities and their environment. This article examines the long history of these interactions to identify the legacies in the current landscapes and to trace their past. This knowledge is th...

Atlantic Africa(s). Between Transition Area and Regional Coherence. Between the Strait of Gibraltar and Cap Vert, between the Mediterranean and the Sahel, the Atlantic coast of the African continent and its hinterlands are a workshop space for understanding the dynamics underway in this part of the World. http://norois.revues.org/8814

Atlantic Africa(s). Between Transition Area and Regional Coherence. The Atlantic coast of the African continent, between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Cap Vert, and its hinterlands are a relevant workshop area to understand the dynamics underway within this part of the world. North West Africa is well-endowed with resources, including maritime,...

The Sudanian savanna in West Africa is clearly one of the most representative examples of a landscape that has been fully transformed by human intervention, specifically by fire. In the savanna landscapes, bush fires are an omnipresent, recurrent and determinant phenomenon. Often considered as a major risk and an environmental constraint for the ve...

Multi-proxy study of the Holocene evolution of an anthropised Sudanese watershed (Megalithic site of Wanar, Bao Bolon Basin, Senegal). The Senegambian megalithism, is classified as World Heritage by UNESCO, including the Wanar site in Senegal, in the Bao Bolon watershed, tributary of the Gambia River, and dated between the 7th and 16th century AD....

SEDIMENTARY RECORDS IN THE MIDDLE VALLEY OF THE BAO BOLON RIVER (SENEGAL). FIRST HOLOCENE CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHIC SKETCH. In West Africa, the determination of chronostratigraphic sequences from fluvial sedimentary records is a crucial issue in the study of Holocene continental palaeoenvironments. The results presented in this first study, carried out...

Presentation of the biogeography and the ethnobotany of the cork oak (Quercus suber) and the history of cork oak forests in North Africa.

Fires detected at earth scale, are mainly located in the intertropical zone (Cochrane, 2009). Madagascar is an interesting study area to analyse this phenomenon, offering large diversity of bioclimates. In Madagascar, fire practice is legally prohibited, since considered as the main agent of vegetation degradation (Kull, 2002). However, there are...

On the Moroccan Atlantic coast, the mouth of Bouregreg’s river, between Rabat and Salé, is a historical site with a great value, registered on UNESCO World Heritage. The patrimonial value of the Bouregreg valley is both: architectural and natural. It is related to its human history as an old political and economic power (the "republic of corsairs"...

The palaeoenvironmental impact of anthropogenic activities in African landscapes is often asserted but relatively little documented, especially by agricultural practices with high environmental pressure. The cross-study of changes in land use and sediment records in the middle valley of Bao Bolon river, in the heart of the Groundnut Basin area in S...

Madagascar is an island located at 400km east of the African coast, between the Indian Ocean and the Channel of Mozambique. This island figures among the 10 hotspots of the world biological diversity and has the richest ecosystems in the world. Madagascar’s littoral ecosystems of 6000 km are formed by coral reefs, maritime and mangrove wamps which...

Assessing vulnerability to flooding using a multi-agent model: case of the villages around Fiherenana River (Madagascar) Natural disasters are frequent in the South West of Madagascar, particularly flooding. Assessing population vulnerability is of major importance. Vulnerability is a theoretical concept; it is not easy to assign it with a numeric...

Madagascar is an island located at 400km east of the African coast, between the Indian Ocean and the Channel of Mozambique. This island figures among the 10 hotspots of the world biological diversity and has the richest ecosystems in the world. Madagascar’s littoral ecosystems of 6000 km are formed by coral reefs, maritime and mangrove swamps which...

Anthropized Nature at the time of the Anthropocene. The chapter deals with anthropization as a dynamic factor in Nature. It examines different scales of anthropization (spatial, temporal and operational), relying in particular on the significant example of an integrating phenomenon of the action of humans on Nature: fire and biomass burning. The h...

Summary of the oral communication presented during the 9th Meeting of Moroccan Quaternarists. Une lacune sédimentaire généralisée affecte les remplissages des grottes de la frange littorale du nord du Maroc, du IXème au VIIème millénaires, soit la période couvrant la néolithisation. Nous avions alors suggéré de développer de nouvelles recherches da...

Senegal and Gambia megaliths in their regional context. Stone architectures of the Senegambian megalithism have long been considered as an autonomous entity in a sector of the African continent where adobe constructions are traditionally favoured. Our knowledge of these monuments has been deeply modified by ten years of archaeological research on...

Summary of the oral communication presented during the 9th Meeting of Moroccan Quaternarists. Une lacune sédimentaire généralisée affecte les remplissages des grottes de la frange littorale du nord du Maroc, du IXème au VIIème millénaires, soit la période couvrant la néolithisation. Nous avions alors suggéré de développer de nouvelles recherches d...

Summary of the oral communication presented during the 9th Meeting of Moroccan Quaternarists. La plus part des stations rupestres du bassin de Ghilen présentent des gravures qui sont attribuées aux phases récentes (bovidien récent, libyco-berbère). Cependant, un des abris nouvellement découvert, Mi Merdaz 1, renferme une frise gravée représentant...

Sahara: barrier or bridge between the Mediterranean and the Sahel? Par ses caractéristiques climatiques et biogéographiques le Sahara est un espace à fortes contraintes pour le peuplement humain, pouvant constituer un réel obstacle à la circulation des hommes et à la diffusion des cultures. Pour autant, cet obstacle n’a pas été toujours étanche. O...

The Senegambian megalithic complex spread over a territory of 250 km from east to west and 120 to 150 km from north to south. It consists of various monumental forms, especially erected stones circles. At the regional Senegambian scale the excavated sites suggest dates between 7th and 16th century AD, maby older. The exceptional concentration of th...

This study aims the identification and mapping of mangrove range in Toliara’s region in the southwest of Madagascar, the diagnosis of the current state of the mangrove and its evolution during the seven recent decades, to determine the factors of evolution. To achieve these objectives, and thus fill the lack of knowledge of these environments in th...

Landscape Archaeology of the Senegambian megalithism (Wanar, Senegal). The Senegambian megalithic complex spread over a territory of 250 km from east to west and 120 to 150 km from north to south. It consists of various monumental forms, especially erected stones circles (between 7th and 16th century AD, maby older). Four sites of Senegal and Gambi...

The semi-arid southwestern Madagascan region is characterized by mangroves part of the Indo-Pacific phytochorie domain, providing numerous ecological, economical, social and cultural functions and values. These mangroves are under great anthropogenic pressures (salt production, shrimp farming, wood collection …), enhanced by climate change driving...

The first results of the paleoenvironmental analyses obtained in the Faleme river valley highlight the potential of this area for palaeoenvironmental investigations form the Late PLeistocene to the Holocene. The results obtained show the succession of three main phases and can be compared with the results from Ounjougou for the same period (Lespez...

The diversity of riverscapes. Scientific, planning and management issues. Établie en 2014 auprès de l’Université François Rabelais de Tours, en partenariat avec l’Université d’Angers et la Mission Val de Loire, la Chaire UNESCO « Fleuves et patrimoine/River Culture », est un dispositif académique qui vise à favoriser les collaborations scientifique...

Pollen analysis of the atmosphere on the Abomey-Calavi university campus in Benin. We conducted palynological studies of the atmosphere on the campus of University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) from January to December 2013.We used a Durham device, based on the gravimetric method, to collect airborne pollen and spores. Microscopic analysis revealed the...

We introduce here the term “River Culture” to delineate an eco-social approach to mitigate the biological and cultural diversity crisis in riverscapes. It is based on the insight that current environmental change endangers both, biological and cultural diversities in rivers and their basins, and those activities to improve ecosystem functions, biod...

Forest versus savanna: the legacy of a colonial forester in tropical ecology and geography of West Africa. En Afrique de l’Ouest, les travaux d’André Aubréville, botaniste et forestier colonial, ont fortement influencé les recherches en phytogéographie et en écologie sur les relations forêts-savanes au XXe siècle. Aubréville a été parmi les premie...

The argan tree and the vegetation landscapes it built in the southwest of Morocco are good examples of species and landscape of heritage value. By querying the natural history of the species and the temporal dimension of the landscapes construction of the argan woodlands, it is proposed to read and interpret, through the palimpsest of different for...

In Sudanian savannas, frequent fires are required to maintain a mix of trees and grasses. After a century of long conflict over fire utilisation and resource management, arising from colonial scientists reacting against traditional practice, fire has become a management tool used to shape tropical vegetation. Many examples show that fire is allowed...

Transport of pesticides in a small vineyard catchment of Layon valley: high contribution of peaks concentrations during runoff. The European Water Framework Directive application requires achieving, in 2015, not only good ecological status but also good chemical status for natural waters in Member States. For pesticides, this means ensuring that c...

La campagne de terrain de 2014 nous a confirmé l’extraordinaire potentiel de la vallée de la Falémé en termes d’histoire du peuplement et de variations climatiques et environnementales, et nous apporte de nombreuses données nouvelles, voire inattendues. Elle nous a aussi permis de découvrir de nombreux sites archéologiques jusqu’ici encore inconnus...