In Algeria, climate change is threatening the livelihood of small-scale shepherds and a culture that has been passed down from generation to generation. In an effort to keep traditions alive and provide for their families, shepherds dig new wells or purchase water and expensive feed to cope with higher temperatures and decreased rainfall in the region. This rising cost in caring for their herds threatens the financial sustainability of small-scale shepherding, and younger herders are moving away from the industry. One herder, now in his late 60s, explained why his children chose not to follow in his footsteps. "It's not like it was before," he said. "There isn't rain."
November 17, 2017 | Pulitzer Center
Algerian Sheepherders Face Climate Change
Algerian sheepherders Shareef BouAziz and Ahmed Moudjadje both say they can't imagine doing any other work, but unyielding environmental changes have made their jobs much more difficult.
November 03, 2017 | Pulitzer Center
Climate Change Takes a Toll on Algerian Sheepherding
In Algeria, climate change has led to longer cycles of drought, elevated temperatures, and decreased rainfall. Amidst these environmental changes, sheepherders are working to make ends meet.
October 12, 2017 | Thomson Reuters Foundation
For Algeria's Struggling Herders, "Drought Stops Everything"
Less rain and higher temperatures mean herders in Algeria are increasingly struggling to make ends meet.
July 17, 2018 | Meet the Journalist
Meet the Journalist: Yasmin Bendaas
Yasmin Bendaas discusses reporting in Algeria—a 2012 project on the disappearing tradition of facial tattoos among the Chaouia and a current project on the effect of climate change on sheepherders.