Survival in the Sahel

Foreword
The seriousness of the environmental and socioeconomic
crises in Africa has been the subject of numerous meetings, conferences,
and publications. The case of the Sahel, plagued by civil
strife, poverty, and hunger and natural calamities such as desertification
and droughts, has become a major challenge facing
humankind today. The environment and the living conditions
have continued to deteriorate in spite of heavy investments, innumerable
plans of action, and new organizations and institutions-a
baffling puzzle, considering that worldwide our generation
has experienced more technoiogicaJ breakthroughs than ever
before.
It may seem to those interested in the development of the
Sahel that there has been only bad news about the region over the
past two decades. This has led some to believe that there have
been no success stories. Obviously, in spite of the overall gloomy
picture, there have been successes. The question is why these
cases, rare though they may be, have not been reported and
shared among the African countries and the international community.
Today's situation, the result of a combination of human
behavior, poverty, illiteracy, rapid growth in populations, ecological
phenomena, historical baggage, economic policies, and the
political environment, is extremely complex. Consequently, there
can be no simple solutions "borrowed" from elsewhere to resolve
these problems. The solutions must come from within the region
and must necessarily include some degree of trial and error. The
challenge is how to avoid errors that may contribute to further
deteriorating a situation that is already so precarious.
Survival in tle Sahel presents no remedies for these ills;
instead, it suggests alternative ways of dealing with the situation.
It shows with practical examples and sound data how socioeconomic
conditions and the environment continue to deteriorate
because of the failure of past strategies. New approaches are
ix