Natural Resources in Sahara Desert

An enormous wealth of natural resources is hidden beneath the Sahara Desert. The most prominent resources are natural gas in oil, especially in Algeria and Libya. Algeria and Mauritania have large reserves of iron ore, and large quantities of phosphates are in Morocco.

Commercial development of the Sahara Desert's natural resources accelerated  substantially after the end of World War II and the decline of colonial dominion. The Sahara covers parts of many nations besides the previously mentioned Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Morocco, including Tunisia, Egypt, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan. Most benefit from the proceeds of their natural resources in the Sahara. In particular, Libya and Algeria capitalize on oil and gas, while Morocco, Mauritania and Western Sahara developed mines.

Source: United States Energy Information Administration

Future

International scientists believe that the Sahara is getting hotter, and that will make it even drier. Super-heated air over the desert becomes a sort of umbrella, evaporating the raindrops before they can even touch the ground. Clouds may form, and rain may be created but never add to the rainfall totals.

It is possible that there might be no ecosystem exist within few decades and the land turns into a hot plate.

Also there need to be a limitation on tourism and developing natural resources. to save the environment and not destroy the ecosystem, the government of Morocco should not only develop the tourism but also force strict law on preserving its environment.

Why Sahara Desert?

“What makes the desert beautiful,' said the little prince, 'is that somewhere it hides a well...”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

I chose to research Sahara Desert mainly because I always wanted to go there one time after I read the Little Prince when I was young.

Tourism

In the second half of the 1980s and the early 1990s, between 1 and 1.5 million Europeans visited Morocco.Tourism fell by 16.5% in 1990, when the Gulf War began. In 1994, Algeria closed its border with Morocco, and this caused the number of Algerian visitors to fall considerably; 70,000 visitors in 1994 and 13,000 in 1995, compared to 1.66 million in 1992 and 1.28 million in 1993. In 2008 there were 8 million tourist arrivals, compared with about 7.4 million in 2007 i.e. a 7% growth compared to 2007 30% of the tourists in 2008 were one of the 3.8 million Moroccans living abroad.

As of 2006, activity and adventure tourism in the Atlas and Rif Mountains are the fastest growth area in Moroccan tourism. These locations have excellent walking and trekking opportunities from late March to mid-November. The government is investing in trekking circuits.

Though there has been increase in tourism in Morocco, there has been no direct evidence that it impacts environment so far. 

Sources

"Morocco's tourism revenues to increase - MENAFN." Middle East North Africa Financial Network. 
     22 Nov. 2012. <http://www.menafn.com/menafn/1093411723/Moroccos-tourism-revenues-to-increase>.

Category. "Sahara Desert - The Sahara Desert in Africa." Geography Home Page - Geography at About.com. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://geography.about.com/od/locateplacesworldwide/a/saharadesert.htm>. 

National Geographic News. 2006-06-17.
"An Introduction to Morocco." Geographia - World Travel Destinations, Culture and History Guide. 22 Nov. 2012. <http://www.geographia.com/morocco/>.
Swenson, Paula. "What Is the Average Yearly Rainfall in the Sahara Desert? | eHow.com." 6 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/about_5097814_average-yearly-rainfall-sahara-desert.html#ixzz2DTHo1Ymg>.
"water-iStock_5433975Med_jpg." A Compassionate World. 21 Nov. 2012. <http://www.acompassionateworld.org/2011/03/reports-damned-reports-and-statistics/water-istock_5433975med_jpg/>. 

people

It is believed that people have inhabited the Sahara Desert since 6000 BCE and earlier. Since then, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Europeans have been among the peoples in the area. Today the Sahara's population is around 4 million with the majority of the people living in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania and Western Sahara.

Most of the people living in the Sahara today do not live in cities; instead they are nomads who move from region to region throughout the desert. Because of this, there are many different nationalities and languages in the region but Arabic is most widely spoken. For those who do live in cities or villages on fertile oases, crops and the mining of minerals like iron ore (in Algeria and Mauritania) and copper (in Mauritania) are important industries that have allowed population centers to grow.

Morocco's population is about 33.5 million inhabitants. Greater is the concentration in the northern and coastal areas and less in the interior and southern parts of the country. The largest cities are Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Fes, Tangier, Agadir and others. The ethnic composition of the Moroccan population is diverse - Arabs, Berbers, Jews, dark-skinned and so on

Conservation status for the desert is relatively good compared to other regions because of it's harsh conditions. Morocco, however, recently developed their tourist attraction and hosting desert tours. 

History

Although hot and extremely dry today, it is believed that the Sahara Desert has undergone various climatic shifts for the last few hundred thousand years. For example, during the last glaciation, it was bigger than it is today because precipitation in the area was low. But from 8000 BCE to 6000 BCE, precipitation in the desert increased because of the development of low pressure over ice sheets to its north. Once these ice sheets melted however, the low pressure shifted and the northern Sahara dried out but the south continued to receive moisture due to the presence of a monsoon.

• 22,000 to 10,500 years ago: The Sahara was devoid of any human occupation outside the Nile Valley and extended 250 miles further south than it does today.

• 10,500 to 9,000 years ago: Monsoon rains begin sweeping into the Sahara, transforming the region into a habitable area swiftly settled by Nile Valley dwellers.

• 9,000 to 7,300 years ago: Continued rains, vegetation growth, and animal migrations lead to well established human settlements, including the introduction of domesticated livestock such as sheep and goats.

• 7,300 to 5,500 years ago: Retreating monsoonal rains initiate desiccation in the Egyptian Sahara, prompting humans to move to remaining habitable niches in Sudanese Sahara. The end of the rains and return of desert conditions throughout the Sahara after 5,500 coincides with population return to the Nile Valley and the beginning of pharaonic society.

Ecosystem

The Sahara Desert receives the greatest amount of possible sunlight of any place on Earth. The lack of clouds, storms, and pollution mean that this area receives 4,300 hours of sunlight each year, which means it's sunny 97 percent of the time.

The plants and animals of the Sahara are easily recognized. Mammals such as dromedary camels and goats are herded and used for transport, food, or milk. The hyrax, a small relative of the elephant, is found in the Sahara. Most of the plants in this desert are able to withstand droughts and higher than normal levels of salt(halophytes).  Many of these plants have roots that stick deep down into the ground. In some cases, the roots may reach as far down as 80 feet. The roots travel so deep because they are trying to find water. Palm trees, cacti, and acacia trees are well suited for this desert environment.

Geography

The Sahara Desert is in Africa and covers most of the countries of North Africa. This desert stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the west to the Red Sea on the east. It reaches from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to Sudan in the south. Morocco is a country located in Western Sahara desert, adjacent to Mediterranean sea.