An overview

Western Sahara is the last colony in Africa. The territory is  divided by a long Berlin-like wall called The Berm. The larger area under the Moroccan occupation lies along the Atlantic coast west of the Berm, while the thin strip known as the ‘liberated zone’, to the east, is under the control of the Saharawi liberation movement.

Whilst the status of the territory remains unresolved this former Spanish colony is officially referred to as Western Sahara by the United Nations. The name is likely to change, though, in the event of  a solution to the territorial dispute. How it is referred to, in the present, is a highly political and contested issue. For those who take a neutral view on the dispute , the territory is usually referred to as Western Sahara. Those who maintain  it is the legitimate country of the Saharawi people call it the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) , and those who believe the territory is an integral part of Morocco refer to the region  as the  Southern Saharan Provinces .

To date no country in the world recognizes Morocco’s sovereignty claims over Western Sahara, whereas more than 80 countries have recognized the SADR. Self-proclaimed on February 27, 1976, the government of this state-in-exile is currently based in the refugee camps of SW Algeria and symbolically governs from Tifarity in the Liberated Zones of Western Sahara.

Western Sahara is located in north-west Africa and covers an area of 266,000 km2, roughly the size of Britain. Apart from a 1,100km-long coastline to the Atlantic Ocean, Western Sahara borders to Morocco in the north (443km), Algeria to the east (42km), and  Mauritania in the south east (1,561km).

Western Sahara’s topography is largely made up of low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in the south and the north east. Temperatures rise high in the summer reaching 60 degrees in the shade, while the winters are cold and dry. Rain is rare and permeates the ground to accumulate to the subsoil to form numerous temporary wells.

Western Sahara is divided into two regions, Saguiet el-Hamra in the north and Wadi ed-Dahab (Rio de Oro) in the south. The northern zone is characterized by dry riverbeds. Saguiet El-Hamra (the ‘Red Canal’—the most important one) lends its name to the region and gathers rain during the brief rainy seasons, generally in the autumn. But because of the high temperatures, the water evaporates before it reaches the sea. Sufficient vegetation for grazing grows along its banks, and at Smara, barley and corn are cultivated. In Wadi ed-Dahab, the ground is too permeable to retain the autumn waters and too flat to allow it to flow; hence water accumulates in the subsoil, forming numerous wells.

Contrary to what some may believe, the territories of Western Sahara are not totally desertic.  A relatively rich flora and fauna in fact exists.

There are more than 500 species of plants distributed throughout the territory according to climatic conditions, the soil composition and the abundance of water. The humid zones like the graras and the dry river valleys are the richest in vegetation. In these places it is easy to find acacias, grains like wheat and oat, woody plants and herbaceous plants like the “donkey melon”. This last one is avoided by many animals and tends to indicate the presence of a watertable at shallow depth.The most resistant plants to the highly saline water, with a capacity to reach undergound layers of sweeter waters, form concentric belts around the saltpans.

In the rocky terrains like the Hamada,  vegetation life is virtually non-existent. In the cliffy regions and the zones with permanent humidity, vegetation is diverse and is denser and more consistent, with an abundance of grains, reeds and fig trees.

In the graras the undersoil is rich in water and its clay base can be cultivated if it is adapted to the seasonality of the rains.Different kinds of trees can grow in the graras. The most common ones tend to be resistant to the scarcity of water like the Ateel, Tarfas, Ignin, tamat, turya, figs, eucalyptus, acacias and date trees.

The Western Sahara is quite rich in birds. One of the main reasosn for this richness is that the territory lies along one of the important migratory bird routes between Europe and sub-Sahara Africa.

The ostrich has always been one of the distinct birds of the Sahara. Before the colonial era the ostrich was very abundant, however in the present the ostrich has sadly become almost extinct with only a few examples to be found in Mauritania. With respect to other animals, the same fate has affected the gazelles, the antelope and the orix. Unregulated hunting and the war has led to their disappearance.

Currently one can find mammals like the fox, the fennec fox , the cheetah, the linx, the hyena or jackal, as well a smaller sized  species such as the rabbit, mice, hedgehogs, shrews and others. One of the animals that are most characteristic of the Saharan fauna are the lizards of which exist two kinds.  Different kinds of snakes are also found, some poisonous like the lefa.  Near the coastline you can also find some turtles.

Western Sahara is considered rich in mineral resources. In addition to its extensive phosphate deposits, it is believed to harbour substantial iron ore. Numerous oil-exploration studies also point to the potential of large offshore oil reserves. The territory is renowned for its rich fishing waters off the long coastline.

Pastoral nomadism, once the mainstay of the Saharawi livelihood, has dwindled greatly. No more than 10 per cent of the population practice it today. Trade, historically an important economic activity, has also been largely undermined by the conflict. Movement across the border with Mauritania from the Moroccan occupied zone has historically been restricted but this has eased up  in recent times as a result of  Morocco looking for ways to increase the volume of trade with Mauritania via Western Sahara. Saharawis living in the Polisario-controlled areas of Western Sahara have always been able to move in and out of Mauritania with little problem.  In 2002, a border-crossing south of Smara was opened, and another one was opened earlier south of Dakhla at the point where the coastal Route 41 runs into Mauritania.

For the most part, Western Sahara’s economic potential has yet to be unlocked. The disputed status of the territory presents an obstacle for the Moroccan government. International law dictates that only a legitimate sovereign state can use and dispose of natural resources. Morocco enjoys neither sovereign legitimacy in Western Sahara nor recognition in the UN list as the administrating power for a Non-Self-Governing Territory. The latter status was not conferred upon Morocco during the Tripartite Madrid Agreement because Spain did not have the unilateral right to authorize such transfer of power. With this status Morocco could exploit resources only if it did not go against the desires and interests of the indigenous Saharawi population.

Regardless, Morocco has persisted with its economic plans for Western Sahara. According to official figures, it has invested at least US$1 billion in the infrastructure since 1976. Over 90 per cent of households have electricity and 80 per cent have drinking water. Both these rates are much higher than the figures given for the Moroccan national average (Shelley 2004).

In recent years, the Moroccan government has been pursuing ambitious plans to develop the fishing industry as part of its overall scheme to boost fish exports. It has invested roughly US$90 million in upgrading existing ports, modernizing the fishing fleets, and building new fishing communities. Seasonally, the fishing industry employs up to 12,000 people, although hardly any of them are Saharawi. The reasons are partly cultural. Saharawis have no experience of fishing as a way of life. Also, most cannot afford the initial capital investments required. In terms of the phosphate industry, a third of Morocco’s exports originate from Western Sahara, and the mines at Bu Craa employ the largest permanent workforce, of some 2,000. Again, of these, the Saharawis represent a minority and increasingly have been restricted to low-paid manual jobs.

In the past ten years, Morocco’s state oil industry, ONAREP, has entered into contract with various foreign companies for oil reconnaissance and evaluation, but Polisario protests and international campaigning have so far discouraged further steps towards actual exploitation. In 2002, the highest-level UN legal counsel deemed such activities would be illegal. The Polisario is seeking a similar opinion in regard to Morocco’s fishing and phosphate-exporting activities. Most recently, in 2004, Morocco signed up with Wessex Oil, a company with offices in both London and Houston, to undertake new oil explorations.

On the whole, the territory is desperately underdeveloped. Its economic activity rate is the lowest for any region under Moroccan control. Due to an almost complete lack of private investment, employment is primarily provided for by the public sector. In 2002, the number employed in the public domain was around 20,000, versus a paltry 2,620 in the private sector. This is very costly, as the salaries paid out are at least 85 per cent higher than in Morocco proper: part of the economic incentive package to lure settlers. Other ‘benefits’ include widespread subsidies for a range of basic goods, and most importantly, large-scale building has been undertaken to provide free new housing for newcomers and to generate new jobs (Shelley 2004).

Job opportunities are very limited. Official unemployment rates are dismal. Hovering at 25 per cent and above, it is well over the national average, which in recent years has stood at around 13 per cent. The figure is even higher for the indigenous Saharawis, according to the Association of the Saharawi Unemployed. It claims that 86–8 per cent of available jobs are occupied by Moroccans, and that employment generation is targeted at the settlers, to keep them in Western Sahara. It appears that Saharawis are all but excluded from state jobs with responsibilities or higher salaries. Such a situation has been the basis for widespread grievances among the Saharawis, and has led to sporadic manifestations and clashes with the Moroccan authorities.

As long as Morocco is unable to reap any significant economic profits from the territory, the costs to maintain its occupation in Western Sahara will remain considerable. The military costs alone amount to US$3–4 million per day. The price for not addressing rampant unemployment among the Saharawis is also likely to generate further social and political costs.

One of the major results of the occupation has been the overall trend of Moroccanization in Western Sahara. Aggressive integrationist policies have ensured that an overwhelming Moroccan presence is installed in the territory and dominates the sociocultural, political, and economic life.

Credible sources estimate that more than 200,000 Moroccans have settled in Western Sahara since 1991. The Moroccan government is adamant in treating Western Sahara as one of its southern Saharan provinces and tries to ensure, with each step it takes, that its de facto annexation is irreversible.

Saharawi human and political activists claim there is a process of gradual cultural genocide taking place. Hassaniya, primarily spoken at home, is dominated by the Moroccan dialect spoken in the streets, workplace, and schools. Cultural output is controlled and defined by the Moroccan authorities in collaboration with the pro-Moroccan Saharawis. The dispersal of Saharawi youth into the interior of Morocco for work opportunities and tertiary education is also perceived as an attempt to dilute and destroy Saharawi identity.

Since the Moroccans built the berm, the region beyond it in Western Sahara has effectively been under the domain of the Polisario forces. The area, corresponding to about one-fifth of the entire territory, is a narrow strip running along the entire eastern and south-eastern border. It is divided into numerous military regions where the Polisario have carried out their training exercises during the cease-fire period. All the main towns in Western Sahara are within the Moroccan-controlled part. There is limited infrastructure within the ‘liberated zone’ and in recent years the Polisario with the support of friendly countries and NGOS are trying to implement projects which would make limited settlement viable.  In the past few years, a number of Spanish organizations have provided financial and material support to build two hospitals in preparation for an eventual referendum and there are sports projects underway with South Africa and more.

The Liberated zone is known to be of great archeological interest, with many cave paintings and Neolithic sites. (learn more on the territory’s archeology from Nick Brook’s Western Sahara Project). Between 10,000 and 30,000 Saharawis continue practising a nomadic pastoral life in the area despite the constant danger presented by landmines and unexploded ordinance (learn more from Landmine Action on their work in Western Sahara).