Identification of the Problems Induced by the Informal Districts of the Commune of Ziguinchor (Senegal) and Analysis of their Social and Environmental Impacts

Ziguinchor, like the rest of African cities, has experienced rapid urbanization in this last years, determined by a strong demographic increase which is out of step with the urban planning capacities of the public authorities. That creates an expansion of informal districts. The creation and development of these informal districts are left to their own devices by the authorities, who refuse to condone the illegal occupation of the lands. These letters must resort to individual practices to face the problems of basic infrastructure, sanitation ... However, these unsuitable practices are sometimes likely to provide lasting solutions to the problems posed. They neither ensure an improvement of living conditions, but damage the environment of these neighborhoods. This article, based on the literary review, qualitative and quantitative surveys and interviews, aims to highlight the interactions between the problems induced by the informal districts of Ziguinchor city and their social and environmental consequences. The results show that informal districts suffer from a lack of public lighting, drinking water supply and sanitation; second, they reveal that the discharge of wastewater on the ground (90%) and the method of burning (87%) are the main methods for treating solid and liquid waste; and finally, they attest that physical and land insecurity, esthetic and olfactory nuisances as well as pollution of the groundwater are the impacts with which the populations of the informal districts are confronted.