This report examines the accelerating water security crisis across the Sahel, drawing on ten years of satellite hydrology data and field interviews with agricultural communities in Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Mauritania.
Key findings indicate a 23 percent decline in shallow aquifer recharge since 2015, driven by a combination of reduced rainfall variability and unsustainable extraction for irrigated agriculture. The report recommends a regional groundwater monitoring framework and targeted investment in drip irrigation subsidies.