algerianow

Algeria builds scientific case on colonial damage to its environment

8 November 2026 · Algeria Now

Algeria builds scientific case on colonial damage to its environment — Photo : i.dzs.cloud (adresse collée)

Algeria is assembling a scientific and historical file on the ecological damage caused by French colonial rule, Environment Minister Kaouter Krikou said on Saturday, with the stated aim of establishing the legal responsibility of the former colonial power.

Krikou presented interim findings at a national colloquium on environmental memory, held shortly after the 72nd anniversary of the start of the war of liberation on 1 November 1954. Minister of Mujahideen Abdelmalek Tacherift attended the second session of the joint commission, which was created in November 2025.

The commission combines laboratory analyses of affected sites with historical testimony. It examines napalm, French nuclear tests, landmines, soil pollution and abandoned hazardous waste. France carried out 17 nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara between 1960 and 1966, at Reggane and In Ekker.

The minister said the work relies on international environmental treaties, among them the Stockholm, Basel and Ramsar conventions and the convention on biological diversity. Its tools include a scientific guide published in November 2025 and a national digital map of affected sites launched in July.

Krikou gave figures on the clean-up: more than 10 million mines have been removed from the Challe and Morice lines, the fortified barriers built along the eastern and western borders during the war, and over 62,000 hectares of contaminated land have been rehabilitated. Decontamination continues at In Ekker and Reggane.

She regretted that France has still not handed over maps showing where it buried radioactive waste. Paris says it has already shared some information with Algeria.

Algeria has long held that the nuclear explosions in the Sahara, and the colonial violence that preceded them, are crimes not subject to any statute of limitations.

More from Algeria Now

algeria {{ nowMark }}

{{ l.label }}

{{ srTopicsLbl }}

{{ it.a }}{{ it.m }}{{ it.b }}{{ it.meta }}

{{ t.trend }}

{{ tr.label }}

{{ t.breaking }} {{ brk.title }}

{{ t.live }} {{ tickerTitle }}

{{ ticker.ago }}

{{ SB.title }}

{{ SB.live }}

{{ liveTick }}

{{ art.title }}

{{ art.dateLabel }}

{{ artReadLbl }}

{{ t.loadingArt }}{{ artPctLabel }}

{{ p.text }}

{{ g.t }}

{{ t.noBody }}

{{ t.source }} : {{ art.source }} {{ art.dateLabel }}

{{ nxT.next }}{{ nextArt.title }}{{ nextArt.meta }}{{ nxT.read }}

{{ nxT.same }}

{{ it.title }}{{ it.ago }}

{{ searchTitle }}

{{ sr.countLabel }}

{{ it.title }} {{ it.snip }} {{ it.meta }}

{{ sr.msg }}

algerianow

Your daily window into Algeria

Algeria’s news. In English. Every day.

{{ VT.videos }}

{{ svFeat.plat }}

> {{ svFeat.catLabel }} {{ svFeat.title }} {{ svFeat.meta }}

{{ svFeat.plat }}

> {{ svFeat.catLabel }} {{ svFeat.title }} {{ svFeat.meta }}

{{ VT.latest }}

{{ v.catLabel }} {{ v.title }} {{ v.meta }}

{{ svStTitle }}

{{ g.label }}

{{ v.catLabel }} {{ v.title }} {{ v.meta }}

{{ t.archives }}

{{ ar.countLabel }}

{{ it.title }} {{ it.snip }} {{ it.meta }}

{{ ar.msg }}

{{ t.archOff }}

{{ t.loading }}

{{ hero.catLabel }}

{{ hero.title }}

{{ hero.ago }} · {{ stT.sum }}

{{ it.catLabel }} {{ it.title }} {{ it.ago }}

{{ une2.catLabel }}

{{ une2.title }}

{{ it.catLabel }} {{ it.title }}

{{ stT.k1 }}

{{ VT.videos }}

{{ svAllLabel }} ›

{{ svFeat.plat }}

> {{ svFeat.catLabel }} {{ svFeat.title }} {{ svFeat.meta }}

{{ svFeat.plat }}

> {{ svFeat.catLabel }} {{ svFeat.title }} {{ svFeat.meta }}

{{ VT.latest }}

{{ v.catLabel }} {{ v.title }} {{ v.meta }}

{{ t.scores }}

{{ spUpdated }}

{{ lg.label }}{{ lg.season }}

{{ lg.sourceName }}

{{ mt.whenU }} {{ mt.home.name }}{{ mt.hsL }} {{ mt.away.name }}{{ mt.asL }}

{{ mt.evAll }}

{{ t.table }}

#{{ t.cols.p }}{{ t.cols.gd }}{{ t.cols.pts }}

{{ r.pos }} {{ r.name }} {{ r.played }} {{ r.gdLabel }} {{ r.pts }}

{{ st.scorers }}

{{ s.rank }} {{ s.name }}{{ s.team }} {{ s.goals }}

{{ lg.scorersMsg }}

{{ sportMsg }}

{{ VT.sport }}

{{ v.title }} {{ v.meta }}

{{ sec.label }}

{{ it.title }}

{{ it.title }} {{ it.ago }}

{{ sec.q.who }}

{{ t.feed }}

{{ bk.big.catLabel }} {{ bk.big.title }} {{ bk.big.ago }}

{{ sd.catLabel }} {{ sd.title }} {{ sd.ago }}

{{ it.catLabel }} {{ it.title }} {{ it.ago }}

{{ bk.big.catLabel }} {{ bk.big.title }} {{ bk.big.ago }}

{{ it.catLabel }} {{ it.title }} {{ it.ago }}

{{ it.catLabel }} {{ it.title }} {{ it.ago }}

{{ bk.w.catLabel }} {{ bk.w.title }} {{ bk.w.ago }}

{{ pt.catLabel }} {{ pt.title }} {{ pt.ago }}

{{ du.catLabel }} {{ du.title }} {{ du.ago }}

{{ catListTitle }}

{{ cl.countLabel }}

{{ it.title }} {{ it.snip }} {{ it.meta }}

{{ cl.msg }}

{{ t.empty }}

Dégradé de la une

Intensité{{ L.twForceTxt }}