Rebuilding Resilience in the Sahel: Regreening in the Maradi and Zinder Regions of Niger

Abstract

The societies and ecosystems of the Nigerien Sahel appeared increasingly vulnerable to climatic and economic uncertainty in the late twentieth century. Severe episodes of drought and famine drove massive livestock losses and human migration and mortality. Soil erosion and tree loss reduced a woodland to a scrub steppe and fed a myth of the Sahara desert relentlessly advancing southward. Over the past two decades this myth has been shattered by the dramatic reforestation of more than 5 million hectares in the Maradi and Zinder Regions of Niger. No single actor, policy, or practice appears behind this successful regreening of the Sahel. Multiple actors, institutions and processes operated at different levels, times, and scales to initiate and sustain this reforestation trend. We used systems analysis to examine the patterns of interaction as biophysical, livelihood, and governance indicators changed relative to one another during forest decline and rebound. It appears that forest decline was reversed when critical interventions helped to shift the direction of reinforcing feedbacks, e.g., vicious cycles changed to virtuous ones. Reversals toward de-forestation or reforestation were preceded by institutional changes in governance, then livelihoods and eventually in the biophysical environment. Biophysical change sustained change in the other two domains until interventions introduced new ideas and institutions that slowed and then reversed the pattern of feedbacks. However, while society seems better at coping with economic or climatic shock or stress, the resilience of society and nature in the Maradi/Zinder region to global sources of uncertainty remains a pressing question in a society with one of the highest population growth rates on Earth

Linking Resilience and Good Governance: A Literature Review

“…Gender, community organization, and community building through dialogue forums are key concepts that have stood out from the literature on this subject. Jan Sendzimir et al (2011) note that good governance and resilience go hand in hand, you cannot have resilience measures in place unless you also have structures of good governance. If a country already has a structure of good governance in place, then it is highly likely that there will also be a good program of resilience already in place (Sendzimir et al, 2011).…”

“…An example of a negative interference effect of government interference is the weakening of the storytellers, which would otherwise continue to have a significant impact in dialogue creation (Bauman, 2013, p. 10). If the different levels of government wish to be included and involved in good governance and resilience initiatives, then they must make a positive good faith effort to assist and provide their many localities with access to the required agencies and resources (Sendzimir, 2011).…”

“…In order for meaningful community organization and community building through dialogue to take place, the different levels of government in the countries that are being targeted for improved good governance and resilience programming, need to at the very least not to interfere with the local level initiatives for good governance and resilience initiatives (Sendzimir, 2011). An example of a negative interference effect of government interference is the weakening of the storytellers, which would otherwise continue to have a significant impact in dialogue creation (Bauman, 2013, p. 10).…”

Integrated Landscape Approaches for Africa’s Drylands

“…Rather, success was achieved through a combination of efforts that collectively contributed to a positive enabling environment (Sendzimir, Reij, and Magnuszewski 2011). Specific barriers that were overcome included:…”

Influence of Re-Greening on the Infiltrability of Soils in South-Central Niger

“…The re-greening identified as an increase in the normalized difference of the index of vegetation (NDVI) [5]- [7] is explained by the changes in the use of lands, some practices of the management of natural resources and some agricultural practices, notably some techniques of protecting trees by Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration [8] [9].…”