Notes From the Field
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"The Other Green Revolution": Farmer-Managed, Agro-Environmental Transformation in the Sahel
On October 29, 2009 Oxfam America hosted an event in Washington, DC to bring together farmers, researchers, NGOs and policy makers from the Sahel to discuss how local action has regenerated forest growth, increased access to food security, empowered women, and combated desertification. Panelists included two local farmers who have had REAL impacts on their communities' abilities to adapt to drought conditions, civil society leaders from CILSS (Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in Sahel), and government officials from USAID and the United States Geological Survey. The three main stories lines that emerged from the event: 1)The Crisis event itself - re-current drought and desertification; 2) The Response - Massive migrations of people or those who had to stay and survive; and 3) Resilience - all of the amazing adaptive capacity strategies that developed or were rediscovered at the grassroots level as a result, and made possible through sweeping policy changes allowing for local ownership and accountability to the land. The message emerged that systems are linked - human and natural. This resiliency comes in the form of social capital, innovating governance, and management of ecosystems services.
Voices from the Field: Local Farmers Share their Success Stories of Agro-Forestry in the Sahel
 Yacouba Sawadogo -He is a farmer from Burkina Faso who stayed when others fled the droughts of the 70's and experimented with digging pits to improve soil fertility and helping regenerate the growth of trees on barren farmland. Other farmers began to learn from him, and he is now famous for leading trainings on his farm and on other farms to teach farmers his successful techniques. Yacouba's success has made him something of a celebrity in the region and there is even a documentary being filmed about his life called "The man who stopped a desert" (watch the preview trailer below). He succeeded when other top down approaches were failing. His advice was that people need to continue to care for the trees that they have on their farms.
 Sakina Mati - Is a woman farmer and head of village agro-forestry committee in Niger. She is an advocate in her community and surrounding villages promoting women's engagement in agro-forestry allowing them to get wood more easily. She has also founded a group of cooperatives to spread the message of forest re-generation. They organized themselves with NGOs to collectively carryout tasks at the territory level. The impacts have been - less food problems, natural regeneration and larger yields, more firewood closer to home, can sell extra to purchase cereals. Leaves from trees fertilize soils so they can produce more food and have fodder from animals. Next steps - increasing their children's education!
Read FRAMEweb's Carmen Tedesco's event summary.
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Watch it Now!
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 Community manage natural regeneration of trees in the Sahel, Africa
In the Mopti region of Mali which lies in the Sahel region of West Africa villages are faced with problems resulting from deforestation and land degradation. In response to this several NGOs have been working together to raise awareness of a proven method which regenerates the land to be productive and full of resources.
This 15 minute film has been made with local framers to illustrate the issues and give practical advice on "how to do" farmer managed natural regeneration. Click here to watch this film.
 The Man Who Stopped the Desert
As early as the 1970's the word 'Sahel', a word that describes that bleak land between the Sahara desert and the wet forest of tropical Africa, had become synonymous with famine and poverty.
As year by year desert conditions continued to creep southwards. By the 1980's the area suffered from regular droughts. One farmer, Yacouba Sawadogo, began reviving and adapting an ancient farming technique known as 'Zai.' Yacouba began to grow crops successfully on previously abandoned land and used the traditional communications, the local market, to spread word of his innovative agricultural techniques.
This film is the story of Yacouba Sawadogo, the man who stopped the desert, what inspired him and what drove him on. Click here to watch the preview of this film still in production!
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 Earth Report: Down to Earth
For
centuries, these farming families have seen trees as a source of life.
But trees in this region are now few and far between. This report
explores arguemnets by local farmers that planting trees is the way to
transform the harsh, degraded land of the Sahel. TVE's Earth Report
was original brodcast on BBC earlier this year. Click here to watch! |
| Take A Look
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Expand your knowledge on natural resource management in the Sahel with these diverse resources.  Aid Groups, Farmers Collaborate to Re-Green SahelFarmers in West Africa are planting tree species among row crops to
improve soil quality, helping to help lower malnutrition, especially in
drought-prone Niger.This article by the Worldwatch Institute looks at the contributing factors to this as discussed at the Oxfam America event, "The Other Green Revoution." Read the full article here.
Monitoring On-Farm Re-Greening in Niger and Burkina
This presentation by Gray Tappen was given at the Oxfam "The Other Green Revolution" event. The presentation uses satellite imagery and aerial photography for mapping land cover changes in the Sahel and specifically in Niger to demonstrate successful community based land management. Click here to view this presentation and images. A History of Fear: Imagining Deforestation in the West African Dryland Forests
Urban
demand for fuel-wood in Sudanian and Sahelian West Africa has long been
assumed to contribute to permanent deforestation in dryland forests and
wooded savannas. While deforestation has many causes, data does not support crisis scenarios concerning fuel-wood. Nonetheless,
crisis scenarios and inappropriate policies persist. While there may yet be
deforestation due to urban fuel-wood extraction, and shortages may be
lurking on the horizon, the article explores some possible alternative causes of these fears related to deforestation and fuel-wood shortages. Click here to read this paper.
Does it Pay to Invest in Africa's Drylands This working paper by
David Steeds and Chris Reij documents successful cases of drylands
development in a number of countries in West, East and Southern Africa,
and draws conclusions about lessons learned, best practices to enhance
success, and next steps. Click here to read this paper. |
Discussion Spotlight
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Here are some of the issues FRAMEweb members are talking about: How can the water management measures and approaches be improved in African drylands? 
The 9th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP9) highlighted the increasing challenges and threats of water scarcity in the face of desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) imperatives. In spite of the considerable progress made to date, one third of the global population still lives under water stress conditions. Given the prevailing climate change scenario, almost half the world's population is expected to face high water stress by 2030, including between 75-250 million people in Africa. Click here to participate in this discussion.
How have household adapted to food shortages and what roles have NRM investments played in preventing the impact of drought?
This discussion is relevant and timely. Even as this discussion is being held, decision makers are making plans or taking steps that will impact on the numbers and impacts of future famines. Discussions like this allow a broader group of people to bring their experiences, knowledge, and thoughts to bear on those critical decisions. I would like to cover four topics in this contribution: Poverty, Famine, and Despair; A Historical Context: NRM as a Vehicle for Combating Poverty, Famine, and Despair; and A Process of Capitalizing on lessons. Click here to participate and read the rest of the discussion.
 Who are the two current MRU Country Presidents actually proving they have the political will to conserve biodiversity?These two heads of state are working closely together with their countries respective environmental conservation structures, partners, and stakeholders, to realize a trans-boundary Peace Park. Click here to add your opinion.
Do you have a question or comment you want to post on FRAMEweb? Sign-in, click on a Community Topic or Partner Page and click on the Ask icon. Need help, send us an e-mail and we will walk you through it! |
| New on FRAMEweb
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FRAMEweb is now on Twitter!Twitter is a way to communicate short messages (140 characters or less), as well as weblinks and pictures. Through following us you'll stay up-to-date on the latest documents, questions and new items on FRAMEweb and related to NRM, such as the recent Oxfam America event where the FRAMEweb team "tweeted" the day's discussion. To set up Twitter account and Follow us , click here!
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