NDNU African Studies 2019

 Cocaine is one of the most smuggled drugs in the world. On May 2018, 701 kilograms of cocaine were seized in customs in port Oran in frozen meat containers. They traced the shipment all the way back to Brazil, the initial start point heading to Spain where it was seized in Orien. Official say that the narcotics were not intended for local consumption due to the size of the shipment, but rather for it to spread all around Algeria all the way to Europe and the Middle East being its final destination.   The Oran cocaine bust in Algeria shows a similar seizure in Morocco, where 2.4 metric tons of cocaine were confiscated near Rabat in October 2017 and in February 2018, Moroccan authorities confiscated 541 kg of cocaine in a cargo ship coming from Brazil and directed to Casablanca. Is it possible that Algeria and all coastal states are becoming the cocaine coast? https://issafrica.org/iss-today/has-algeria-joined-africas-new-cocaine-coast

Casamance is a region which all forest it covers 30,000 hectares but in recent years this forest is rapidly disappearing. This region is known for its rich vegetation and because rare trees grow there, for example, rosewood is high demanded lumber from China. The forest has lost more than 10,000 hectares to this date, that is nearly 1 million trees being destroyed. The deforestation of Casamance is happening through illegal logging which includes armed groups of Senegalese and Gambian businessmen even locals who are trying to get quick cash. It estimated by Senegalese ecologist and former minister of environment  Haidar el Ali that ‘within two years, there will be no more forests in Casamance’ he stated this in late 2017. Action has been taken in order to reduce the deforestation such as not giving many permits for log cutting but is not monitored at all, also some corruption happens were Senegalese and Gambian officials allowing illegal loggers to continue without any worry. h