Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Case Study: The Sahel, a dryland area (Physical Threats to Food Security…
Case Study: The Sahel, a dryland area
-
-
In 2006, UNEP and ICRAF (International Centre for Research in Agroforestry) reported on climate change and variability in the Sahel
The stated 'without urgent investment, feeding the Sahel is "mission impossible"'
- High population density
- Severley degraded land
- Over 50% of the land was under cultivation
- Little to no opportunity for a fallow period
- Locally barren expanses of land are known as zipeela
- Rainfall; Decreased and was unreliable with avg. 720mm to 440mm in 20 years to 1989
- 1960s GERES large-scale aid project; used heavy machinery to construct earth bunds over entire catchments
- The bunds were designed to drain rainfall run-off away from fields to protect them from erosion
- However people needed run-off in their fields when the rainfall fell
- Local people were not consulted and bunds were not maintained
- GERES failed
- PAF (Projet Agro-Forestière) began in 1979 and was funded by Oxfam
- Planned to improve tree planting using micro-catchment techniques which collect rainfall run-off and concentrate it around tree seedlings
- Long term aim to improve the vegetation by binding the soil together, slowing down run-off, reduce gullying and soil erosion, break up the duricrust with tree roots and provide a fuelwood supply
- People were not interested in planting trees as their most urgent need was food production
- PAF listened and changed direction
- From 1982, built contour stone lines as saw it as the basis for improving food production
- PAF provided the financial and motivational support, with villagers providing the labour
- PAF provided suggestions on how to improve the lines
# #
Management that has/can be done to reduce/solve the threats
#Burkina Faso, Yatenga Province #