Bouza is a department of the

Tahoua Region Tahoua is one of eight Regions of Niger. The capital of the region is the commune of Tahoua. The region covers 106,677 km². Geography Tahoua borders Agadez Region to the northeast, Maradi Region to the southeast, Nigeria's Sokoto State to ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBouza Bouza is a town in southwestern Niger. A town of eight thousand, it is the administrative center of Bouza Department, part of Tahoua Region. Culture and situation Bouza Department is in a largely Hausa-speaking area, which has become in the last ...

, and also includes the town of Déoulé. As of 2011, the department had a total population of 386,093 people.

Culture and situation

Bouza Department is in a largely

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

-speaking area, which has become in the last century an area of marginal agriculture. There are also populations of

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

and

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Alg ...

peoples who traditionally engage in nomadic and semi-nomadic animal husbandry: the Fula Woadabe with cattle and the Tuareg largely with camel. The major highway of the region, completed in the 1970s, bypassed Bouza to the west, heading south from Regional capitol

Tahoua Tahoua is a city in Niger and the administrative centre of the Department of Tahoua and the larger Tahoua Region.Tah ...

to the large southern city of

Birni-N'Konni Birni-N'Konni (also Birnin-Konni or shortened to Konni/Bkonni) is a town in the Tahoua Region of Niger, lying immediately north of the border of Nigeria and west of seasonal Maggia River. It is an important market town and transport hub and as o ...

near the Nigerian border. The major (unpaved) road in the area -- RN16 runs through Bouza town from

Madaoua Madaoua (var. Madoua, Madawa) is a town located in the Tahoua Region of Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

to the south to Keita in the north, before reaching Tahoua in the northwest of the Region.

Soil degradation Soil retrogression and degradation are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to soil erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession reverts the land to ...

, desertification, and poverty have meant that much of the young male population are involved in seasonal work outside the area, either in the south, Niamey, in other areas of West or North Africa. One side effect of this has left areas of Bouza Department vulnerable to HIV transmission.

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

and Care International studies refer to one area of the department as the "Valley of the Widows", so high is the rate of young male mortality from HIV - AIDS. Because of the poverty of the area, Bouza region was especially hard hit in the

2005 Niger food crisis 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

, and has been reported as a center of ongoing Cholera and childhood malnutrition.Niger: International Activity Report, 2007
December 13, 2007,

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. ...

To slow desertification and

soil degradation Soil retrogression and degradation are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to soil erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession reverts the land to ...

, Bouza department during the late 1960s through to the 1980s completed several successful forestry projects, some managed by U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers working in Niger's Waters and Forest Service (Eaux et Forets). The Majjia Valley field windbreak project was a success, the Yegalalan

sand dune stabilization Sand dune stabilization is a coastal management practice designed to prevent erosion of sand dunes. Sand dunes are common features of shoreline and desert environments. Dunes provide habitat for highly specialized plants and animals, including rar ...

project led-to additional dune stabilization projects throughout the country, and currently one can see the fencing for savanna restoration project east of Bouza, near Karofane.

References

{{coord, 14, 25, N, 6, 02, E, region:NE-5_type:adm2nd_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Departments of Niger Tahoua Region