Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
the project. As a result of numerous public-awareness campaigns in recent years,
women often find themselves as frontline players in terms of their contribution
to agricultural production activities and to the rehabilitation of deforested areas
in outlying villages (establishing plant nurseries, constructing fences, planting and
maintaining trees, etc.).
12.4
Socio-economic Impacts of the Kanem Project
As well as the immediate ecological and technical impacts achieved by the agro-
forestry pastoral development project in Kanem (19 villages have been stabilized,
42
wadis
have been protected by constructing brush fences, planting live fences and
setting up windbreaks, and vegetation has been successfully introduced on 71.5 ha
of bare land and moving dunes), the socio-economic impacts of the project have
been encouraging. Among these impacts are the recuperation of agricultural and
pasturelands in villages and
wadis
that were otherwise abandoned to sand dunes
and which are now being farmed. Small mammal (hares and other rodents) long
since disappeared from the landscape are returning to these regions.
The development project has then contributed significantly to the local econ-
omy. The seasonal rural exodus towards large urban centres such as N'djamena,
Moundou and Sarh, or neighbouring countries (Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Libya)
has diminished significantly as local people have become increasingly involved in
constructing fences and rehabilitating dunes. Actions to combat sand encroachment
are often instigated in Kanem either in response to a state of urgency (e.g. in Tarfey)
or through short-term projects with often very limited funds. In the absence of a
global program integrating the whole of the ecosystem, these actions have generally
been localized one-off projects with limited goals, essentially aimed at combating
the encroaching dune fronts. Future studies should be orientated towards elaborating
(replication and scaling-up) as part of the PDLCD and combat sand encroachment
and integrating a national scheme of land planning and development projects at the
regional level, based on a systematic approach and careful analysis of the economic
feasibility of projects. The participation of local populations through the provision
of incentive measures and the involvement of local authorities is essential to the
success of these projects (see also Box
9.1
).
Box 9.1: Wind Erosion Control in Bokoro
Wind erosion is a problem and each year seedlings are abraded and arable
land is lost to encroachment by sand. The creation of boscages — barriers
made up of hedging and trees — using species that are resistant to or adapted
to drought conditions and aridity is a potential and feasible action for local
farmers to take.
(continued)
Search WWH ::
Custom Search