Low (web) Quality - BALTEX

267
Linking climate factors and adaptation strategies in the rural Sahel-Sudan
zone of West Africa
Ole Mertz-1, Cheikh Mbow-2, Jonas Ø. Nielsen-1, Abdou Maiga-3, Alioune Ka-4, rissa Diallo-5,
Pierre Cissé-5, Drissa Coulibaly-5, Bruno Barbier-6, Dapola DA-7, Tanga Pierre Zoungrana-7,
Ibrahim Bouzou Moussa-8, Waziri Mato Maman-8, Boureima Amadou-8, Addo Mahaman-8, Alio
Mahaman-8, Amadou Oumarou-8, Daniel Dabi-9, Vincent Ihemegbulem-9, Awa Diouf-2, Malick
Zoromé-6, Ibrahim Ouattara-7, Mamadou Kabré-7, Anette Reenberg-1, Kjeld Rsamussen-1, Inge
Sandholt-1
1-DGGUC, Denmark, 2-UCAD, Dakar, Senegal, 3-University of Montreal, Canada, 4-CSE, Senegal, 5-
Université de Bamako, Mali, 6-2ie, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 7-Université de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso,
8-UAM, Niamey, Niger, 9-University of Jos, Nigeria
Although there is an increasing realization of the interplay
between different driving forces for rural development and
environmental change in developing countries,
understanding the relative impact of climate factors on land
use change and local livelihoods is still not straight forward.
However, without a better knowledge of these relationships
it becomes difficult to devise specific and well targeted
adaptation strategies to climate change and variability – at
best, adaptation becomes a collection of ‘no regret’ actions,
which in any case would have benefited development; in
worst case scenarios, adaptation could become counterproductive
if based on the wrong assumptions. In this paper
we aim to estimate the relative weight of climate factors in
the decision making process of rural household in the Sahel-
Sudan zone of West Africa during the past 20 years and
compare these with strategies described in National
Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA. We interviewed
1354 households in 16 sites in Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso,
Niger and Nigeria distributed across a rainfall gradient
divided into three zones: 400-500 mm, 500-700 mm, and
700-900 mm. Group interviews were also carried out with 3-
5 groups in each site.
people in villages studied as very few households
mentioned improved irrigation, new crop species and
agro-meteorological information as solutions. This may be
due to ignorance or lack of access to such possibilities.
The study concludes that the while the rainfed agricultural
sector is perceived to be under significant stress, the
livestock sector seems to be a more promising pathway for
developing agriculture in the Sahel.
Keywords: Adaptation to climate change, Land use
change, Society-environment-climate interactions,
Agriculture, Livestock, Household economy, Livelihoods
Household income sources have increasingly become
diversified. A majority states that income from remittances,
irrigated vegetable farming, and various businesses has
increased while a decrease in rainfed agriculture mentioned
by 63% of respondents is perceived to be due to decreased
rainfall. Many different reasons are given for a decrease in
livestock income. Poor rainfall is by far the main cause
mentioned of decreases in millet and maize production,
though soil fertility decline is equally important in the humid
zone. Causes for decreases in livestock holdings were much
more diverse with sale for family needs, diseases, theft and
inadequate pastures being more important than rainfall.
When asked directly about impacts of climate change, the
climate impact on rainfed agriculture was reiterated as were
the more complex and less important impacts on livestock.
Adaptation measures taken in response to decreasing
agricultural production were very diverse – soil fertilization
and alternative income sources were frequent, but the most
often cited was various types of ‘prayer’, indicating that
many farmers do not see a technical solution. Adaptation of
livestock production was more concrete, including
veterinary control, fodder complements and increased
transhumance. The group interviews largely corroborated
the household survey.
The adaptation projects proposed in the NAPAs are
generally not reflected in the adaptation options chosen by