Niger the beginning of the 20th century. What is now Niger was created from four distinct cultural areas in the pre-colonial era: the Zarma dominated Niger River valley in the southwest; the northern periphery of Hausaland, made mostly of those states which had resisted the Sokoto Caliphate, and ranged along the long southern border with Nigeria; the Lake Chad basin and Kaouar in the far east, populated by Kanuri farmers and Toubou pastoralists who had once been part of the Kanem-Bornu Empire; and the Tuareg nomads of the Aïr Mountains and Saharan desert in the vast north. Each of these communities,
Niger Basin Authority from the threats of desertification, deforestation and pollution of the rivers by agriculture and industry have become a major theme of their work. Nine nations which include part of the Niger Basin are members: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria. While a small area of Algeria falls within the Niger Basin, it is not a member of the NBA. It is based in Niamey and works in both French and English. Ministers representing the Authority's members meet in yearly session at the headquarters in Niamey, as well as locations in the member states. Additionally,