The return of the water - IUCN

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eastern border of the Waza National Park. Their animals graze on the left bank of the Logomatya River. The other group live in the villages of Mindif and Kaélé, southeast of Maroua. They get access to the plain in the south via the Maga dam and use pastures of the eastern bank of the Logomatya River. The groups that are settled are farmers and fishers. The Musgum are of origin also pastoralists but they have turned to farming already quite some time ago. Only recently the Musgum successfully challenged the Kotoko, fishers pur sang, their supremacy to fishing rights. Another sedentary group is the Masa but the largest concentrations are found near Yagoua, outside the project area (See Plate 7.1). 7.3 Man as part of the ecosystem: pastoralism The People of the Floodplain Pastoral groups in the floodplain The Logone floodplain has always been an important grazing area for thousands of pastoralists in the Lake Chad Basin (Barth, 1965; CTA, 1999). When the grasses in the surrounding plains and mountains shrivel, and water holes dry up, pastoralists from Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, and Niger move their livestock to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone rivers. The water-soaked soil allows grasses to continue to grow well into the dry season, so that herdsmen find forage and easily accessible surface water for their animals. The grasslands of the floodplain are unsuitable for anything but grazing; solely pastoralists’ livestock and wild herbivores exploit the available biomass. This makes pastoralism a sustainable and economically viable way to exploit the grassland savannas of the Logone floodplain. Cattle are the key animals for most pastoralists in the floodplain, although many also keep other species. Donkeys are used as pack animals, horses for personal transport, while sheep and a few goats serve as change for small expenses. Some of the Uuda shepherds from Niger use camels as pack animals. During the rainy season, only the cattle of the sedentary Musgum remain in the floodplain but when the water retreats, the situation changes (See Plate 7.2). About three thousand nomadic and seminomadic pastoralists from the Diamaré plains, the area north of Kousseri, Nigeria, and Niger enter the floodplain with their herds for a period of six to eight months (Beauvilain, 1981). In the course of the dry season, the number of cattle increases to over 200,000, which is about one-third of the total number of cattle in the Far North Province (Beauvilain, 1981; Gaston and Dulieu, 1976). Pastoral groups There are several groups of nomadic Fulbe that use the floodplain during the dry season (e.g. Mare, Aljiam, Adanko, Hanagamba, Bibbe Woyla, Uuda). Most of them originally came from Nigeria, but have been in Cameroon for the last twenty to sixty years. Most of the nomadic Fulbe identify themselves as Cameroonians and have Cameroonian identity cards, although their kin network extends across all borders. It reflects the readiness of nomadic Fulbe to move whenever rangeland conditions deteriorate, not only because of ecological but also socio-political conditions (i.e. insecurity). The red cattle breed of the nomadic Fulbe is called bo’deeji; it is larger than the breed of the sedentary Fulbe, gudaali, and is better adapted to the hardships of the transhumance. The bo’deeji have long horns and are an impressive sight. There is considerable interbreeding between these two zebu breeds in the floodplain. The agro-pastoral Fulbe generally keep gudaali cattle, a breed that is more adapted to a sedentary pastoral system. These animals are smaller than the nomadic breed of the bo’deeji, have a wide range of coat colours, and shorter horns. The sedentary Musgum pastoralists keep a livestock breed, which is smaller than that of the Fulbe and Shuwa Arab transhumant pastoralists and better adapted to withstand the rainy and flooding season. 55
The Return of the Water Most of the Shuwa Arabs come either from Borno State in Nigeria or from the Logone-Chari delta north of Kousseri (Hagenburger-Sagripanti, 1977; Tijani, 1986; see Table 7.2). Shuwa pastoralists do not sell milk, but they use it for household consumption or leave it for livestock breeding. The Shuwa are more involved in livestock trading than the other pastoral groups in the floodplain. They increase their herd size by buying additional heads of cattle from their trade profits, and by taking care of entrusted animals from relatives in Nigeria. Both nomadic and agro-pastoral Shuwa Arabs move with their livestock to the Logone floodplain (Schrader, 1986). Table 7.2 Pastoral groups in the Logone floodplain and their wet season grazing areas. The Uuda from Niger and Sokoto State (Nigeria) are nomadic Fulbe who breed sheep as their most important animal. These shepherds come to the floodplain to exploit the woody savannah surrounding the floodplain. By lopping and cutting trees, mainly Acacia seyal and A. sieberiana, the Uuda feed their black and white sheep and leave a degraded environment wherever they pastured their animals (Scholte et al., 1996). Pastoral use of the floodplain ecosystem Mobility is the key strategy of pastoralists who use the seasonally inundated floodplains of the Logone River. The trekking movements of the pastoralists to the floodplain depend on whether they practice transhumance with their family, the breed and number of animals, presence of epizootics, traditions, and the political situation. In the pastoral exploitation of the floodplain several phases can be distinguished. The majority of the nomadic pastoralists arrive in the floodplain in November and December, when the water retreats (see Table 7.1). From November through January, after the recession of the floodwater, the animals feed on the young shoots of grass, especially Echinochloa stagnina and Vossia cuspidata. At the beginning of this phase, pastoralists on transhumance enter the floodplain and split their herds in two; older animals and the majority of the milking animals stay with the families, while young herders take the best and healthy animals on a separate route. The young men follow the retreat of the water in search of ungrazed pastures. During this period, the animals often graze while standing in the water. The mobility and flexibility of these herds is enormous. The young men have no tents or camp, they just carry a mat on their back and sleep wherever they end up at the end of the day. The only food available for these herders for several months is milk (from the one or two milk cows that are in these herds). In January or February, the herds are combined again and the households settle in one or two campsites for the rest of the dry season. In the next phase of exploitation of the floodplain grasslands, lasting from January/February to the beginning of the rainy season in May, the animals feed on the regrowth of perennial grasses that result from fires. Once the water has retreated again to the depressions and rivers in the floodplain, the rangelands are set on fire. Pastoralists burn dry grasses to stimulate the regrowth of perennial grasses. Also hunters set the plains on fire to facilitate game hunting. The moisture that is still 56 Livelihood system Mobility Ethnic group Wet season grazing area Nomadic pastoralists Shuwa Arabs Diamaré Nomadic shepherds Uuda Niger, Nigeria Semi-nomadic pastoralists Transhumant Fulbe Diamaré Semi-settled agro-pastoralists Shuwa Arabs North of Kousseri, Diamaré Fulbe Diamaré Settled agro-pastoralists Sedentary Musgum Logone floodplain
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IUCN - The World Conservation Union
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The designation of geographical ent
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Table of Contents Foreword vii Cont
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Foreword This book tells the story
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Contributors Dr. Mike Acreman, Head
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from the Atlas de la Province de l
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List of Tables 1.1 Major floodplain
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List of Plates 1.1 Different views
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1 1.1 Floodplains Introduction By P
Page 22 and 23: Introduction Rainfall in the Sahel
Page 24 and 25: species of ungulates, such as korri
Page 26 and 27: From its inception, the Waza Logone
Page 28: Part II The Receding Water
Page 31 and 32: The Return of the Water tonnes to 4
Page 33 and 34: The Return of the Water that the re
Page 36 and 37: 3 Consequences of the Dam and the D
Page 38 and 39: eduction in flooding (Drijver and M
Page 40: 3.3 Socio-economic consequences Con
Page 44 and 45: 4 The Wider Context By Sun Yan Evan
Page 46 and 47: Africa. A third migration route to
Page 48 and 49: The Wider Context The geographical
Page 50 and 51: 5 Hydrology of the Waza Logone Area
Page 52 and 53: variable, the extent, depth, durati
Page 54: Hydrology of the Waza Logone Area C
Page 57 and 58: The Return of the Water brought to
Page 59 and 60: The Return of the Water 1997). The
Page 61 and 62: The Return of the Water dam, the pe
Page 63 and 64: The Return of the Water 1948; Ngog
Page 65 and 66: The Return of the Water into the bu
Page 68: Part IV Living with the Seasons
Page 71: The Return of the Water While the f
Page 75 and 76: The Return of the Water which the f
Page 77 and 78: The Return of the Water from € 0.
Page 79 and 80: The Return of the Water The Musgum
Page 81 and 82: The Return of the Water check their
Page 83 and 84: Plate 1.2 Kob antelopes at the Mahe
Page 85 and 86: Plate 7.2 Seasonal movements of pas
Page 87 and 88: Plate 7.4 Fishing cannals in the Lo
Page 89 and 90: Plate 7.7 Big fish are only caught
Page 91 and 92: The Return of the Water staple food
Page 94 and 95: 8 Conflicts and Conflict Management
Page 96 and 97: Conflicts and Conflict Management i
Page 98 and 99: Conflicts and Conflict Management i
Page 100: Part V The Intervention
Page 103 and 104: The Return of the Water for the Exi
Page 105 and 106: The Return of the Water both techni
Page 107 and 108: The Return of the Water (IUCN 2000a
Page 109 and 110: The Return of the Water 9.5 The Waz
Page 111 and 112: The Return of the Water of the part
Page 114 and 115: 10 The Waza Logone Project in Actio
Page 116 and 117: The Waza Logone Project in Action F
Page 118 and 119: The Waza Logone Project in Action F
Page 120 and 121: The Waza Logone Project in Action f
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follow to obtain permits, and also,
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started by painting in red trees or
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The Waza Logone Project in Action
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The project maintained relations wi
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11 11.1 Introduction Economic Justi
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Although it is impossible to effect
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Economic Justification of Additiona
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Figure 11.5 Composition of incremen
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12 Tools and Practices for Floodpla
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of the 1994 and 1997 pilot flood re
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Tools and Practices for Floodplain
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A major output from the study was a
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Step 10. Monitor, evaluate and adap
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5. Assess the impacts of options.
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Introduction 137
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Introduction From this premise the
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Introduction One of the most promis
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Introduction reorganisation of the
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Introduction Improving the effectiv
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Map 6.1 Satellite images showing se
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Map 6.3 Positions of two elephants
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Introduction Beauvilain, A. 1981.
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Introduction Gash, J.H.C., C.A. Nob
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Introduction Moritz, M., P. Scholte
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Introduction communities’ and ind
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