Algeria launches digital map to document French colonial environmental damage
New platform aims to preserve historical memory by identifying sites affected by nuclear tests, chemical weapons, napalm attacks and other colonial-era environmental destruction
ALGIERS, Algeria (MNTV) — Algeria has introduced a preliminary national digital map to record environmental damage linked to French colonial rule, with officials saying the initiative will preserve historical memory and strengthen efforts to establish France’s responsibility for environmental harm caused during the colonial period.
The digital platform was unveiled on July 7 during the inaugural meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on Environmental Memory under the supervision of Algeria’s Ministry of Environment, coinciding with the 64th anniversary of the country’s independence, according to The New Arab.
The project will gradually catalogue locations affected by French military activities, including areas subjected to napalm attacks, toxic chemical agents and nuclear radiation.
Authorities said the database will rely on scientific research, field investigations and historical evidence, with new sites to be added as further studies are completed.
Environment Minister Kawther Krikou said the platform would continue expanding as researchers identify additional locations linked to colonial-era environmental destruction.
Mohamed Lahcen Zeghidi, coordinator of the Algerian Committee for History and Memory, described the initiative as an important step toward documenting the long-term environmental consequences of colonial policies and their impact on public health, wildlife, vegetation and ecosystems.
Hussein Abdel Sattar, director of the National Centre for Studies and Research on Popular Resistance, said reassessing environmental damage caused during colonial rule would help measure its lasting effects while promoting a scientific approach that connects historical memory with environmental protection and justice.
He said the review includes French nuclear tests, the use of chemical weapons and napalm, landmine deployment and the exploitation of Algeria’s natural resources.
French nuclear testing in Algeria’s Sahara remains one of the country’s most sensitive historical issues, with Algerian authorities continuing to seek recognition of the lasting environmental and health consequences decades after the tests.
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