Desert Environments of Republic of Chad - Combating Desertification in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - page 179

Box 9.4: Reforestation Using Acacia albida

Reforestation using Acacia albida (syn. Faidherbia albida ), a fast-growing
leguminous savanna tree, has been proposed to combat desertification in the
Sahel. The tree provides valuable livestock fodder, hardwood, and enhances
soil fertility. An initial 3-year (1976-1979) rural development project fo-
cussed on the establishment of A.albida plantations in southwest Chad. The
final goal was an ecologically-oriented integrated land management program
(Kirmse and Norton 1984 ). A community-based planting program of Acacia
albida to enhance local livelihoods and for desertification control was carried
out in southwest Chad.

13 Conclusions

Chad has demonstrated how the approach embodied in a participatory process was
able to contribute to the formation and training of village committees who help
organize their communities to fight bushfires and riverbank erosion and get involved
in forest management. It helped communities create partnerships with technical
service organizations who were able to provide land users with materials they
needed for their development projects such as seedling production. It had positive
outcomes for women's empowerment. These successes depended on a variety
of different contextually appropriate communication tools ranging from video, to
traditional musicians to theatre, to community meetings etc. A major achievement
is the fact that when the results were shared with national coordinating bodies
for the CCD, national committees of the PDLCD as well as NGOs who sponsor
projects fighting desertification, those present were convinced to adopt and expand
the experience as a useful tool for implementing the aims of the national action plans
in combating desertification.
Some policies and regulations have already put in place and to have them fully
implemented as part of a long-term national policy that will cover all the areas
concerned is a continuing challenge. But there are measures that the government
can take now:

• Educate people about the construction of Green belts

• Channel rivers manually to strategic locations

• Ensure that the areas severely affected by land degradation have enough water

supply

• Ensure that the people of those areas have a proper diet and their diet is not

affected by desertification-induced crop failure

• Channel a river to Lake Chad to act as major water source

• Plant more trees to enhance local transpiration