Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Persistence and success of the Sahel desertification narrative

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Regional Environmental Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The paradigm of Sahelian desertification, whose roots lie in the colonial period, increased in popularity following the droughts of the 1970s and 1980s. This “desertification narrative” was shaped in the international arena by organizations working in the fields of international cooperation, human rights, regional development, economic regulation and environmental questions. This narrative has been deployed to have real-world implications of how risks and responses in the Sahel are understood and prioritised, with particularly tangible implications for civil society and international donor agencies. It is indeed widely used in technical writings, general public media and environmental protection projects, regardless of the fact that the majority of literature in environmental science does not support its underlying rationales. It depicts rural populations as victims and culprits (or villains) partially responsible for the desertification, which in turn justifies external intervention in the Sahelian countries. The desertification narrative has an impact on research and development funding by overemphasizing the role of international development aid to combat desertification, thus favoring research on the subject of Sahelian desertification. Furthermore, we argue that the Sahelian desertification narrative contributes to the political control of rural populations, the latter being stigmatized because of their often-considered excessive use of environmental resources.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The Sahel is defined by the ecologist Le Houérou (1989) as the African land strip limited to the north by the 100-mm isohyet (below these annual accumulations extends the Sahara) and to the south by the 600-mm isohyet.

  2. In French: Comité permanent inter-Etats de lutte contre la sécheresse au Sahel.

  3. The “Special Report on Drought” (UNDRR 2021) was also cautious: the Sahel is mentioned for drought risks not to illustrate desertification.

References

  • Abdulrashid L (2017) Farmers perceptions of drivers of desertification and their impact on food security in Northern Katsina State. Int J Innov Environ Stud Res 5(2):17–27

  • Adger WN, Benjaminsen TA, Brown K, Svarstad H (2001) Advancing a political ecology of global environmental discourses. Dev and Change 32(4):681–715. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7660.00222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almazroui M, Saeed F, Saeed S, Islam NI, Ismail M et al (2021) Projected change in temperature and precipitation over Africa from CMIP6. Earth Syst and Environ 4(3):455–475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-020-00161-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amogu O, Descroix L, Yéro KS, Le Breton E, Mamadou I et al (2010) Increasing River Flows in the Sahel? Water 2(2):170–199. https://doi.org/10.3390/w2020170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anchang JY, Prihodko L, Kaptué AT, Ross CW, Ji W et al (2019) Trends in woody and herbaceous vegetation in the Savannas of West Africa. Remote Sens 11(5):576. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11050576

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anyamba A, Tucker CJ (2005) Analysis of Sahélian vegetation dynamics using NOAA-AVHRR data from 1981-2003. J Arid Environ 63(3):596–614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.03.007

  • Assouma MH, Lecomte P, Hiernaux P, Ickowicz A, Corniaux C et al (2018) How to better account for livestock diversity and fodder seasonality in assessing the fodder intake of livestock grazing semi-arid sub-Saharan Africa rangelands. Livest Sci 216:16–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2018.07.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aubreville A (1936) Les forêts de la colonie du Niger, bull. com. AOF 19, n°1 pp 1–95

  • Ballouche A, Taïbi AN (2013) Le « dessèchement » de l’Afrique sahélienne : un leitmotiv du discours d’expert revisité. Autrepart, No 65:47–66. https://doi.org/10.3917/autr.065.0047

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bassett, T J, Zueli, K B (2004) Environmental discourses and the Ivorian Savanna. Ann. of the Assoc. of American Geographers 90, pp 67–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/0004-5608.00184

  • Batterburry S, Warren A (2001) The African Sahel 25 years after the great drought: assessing progress and moving towards new agendas and approaches. Glob Environ Change 11(1):1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-3780(00)00040-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behnke R, Mortimore M (ed) (2016) The end of desertification? Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16014-1

  • Benjaminsen TA (1997) Is there a Fuelwood Crisis in Rural Mali? Geoj 43(2):163–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benjaminsen TA, Svarstad H (2009) Qu’est-ce que la political ecology ? Nat Sci Et Soc 17:3–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benjaminsen TA, Hiernaux P (2019) From desiccation to global climate change: a history of the desertification narrative in the west African Sahel, 1900–2018. Glob Environ 12:206–236. https://doi.org/10.3197/ge.2019.120109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernus E (1995) Pasteurs face à la sécheresse: rebondir ou disparaître ? Rev De Geogr De Lyon 70(3–4):255–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bichet A, Diedhiou A (2018) West African Sahel has become wetter during the last 30 years, but dry spells are shorter and more frequent. Clim Res 75:155–162. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01515

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanc G (2020) L’invention du colonialisme vert. Flammarion, Pour en finir avec le mythe de l’éden africain

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanc G (2022) La préservation de la nature est-elle (néo)coloniale ? L’invention des parcs nationaux en Afrique. Rev Int et Strateg (124):17–27. https://doi.org/10.3917/ris.124.0017

  • Blundo G (2000) Elus locaux et courtiers en développement au Sénégal. Trajectoires politiques, modes de légitimation et stratégies d’alliance. In: Bierschenk T, Chauveau J P, Olivier de Sardan J P Courtiers en développement. Les villages africains en quête de projets. APAD_Karthala pp 71–100

  • Brandt M, Hiernaux P, Rasmussen K, Mbow C, Kergoat L et al (2016) Assessing woody vegetation trends in Sahelian drylands using MODIS based seasonal metrics. Remote Sens of Environ 183:215–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2016.05.027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brandt M, Rasmussen K, Hiernaux P, Herrmann S, Tucker CJ et al (2018) Reduction of tree cover in West African woodlands and promotion in semi-arid farmlands. Nat Geosci 11:328–333. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0092-x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brandt M, Hiernaux P, Rasmussen K et al (2019) Changes in rainfall distribution promote woody foliage production in the Sahel. Commun Biol 2:133. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-019-0383-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brundtland G H (1987) Report of the World Commission on environment and development: our common future. UN

  • Chudeau R (1916) Le climat de l’Afrique occidentale et équatoriale. Annales De Géographie 25(138):429–462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dardel C, Kergoat L, Hiernaux P, Mougin E, Grippa M et al (2014a) Re-greening Sahel: 30 years of remote sensing data and field observations (Mali, Niger). Remote Sens of Environ 140:350–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.09.011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dardel C, Kergoat L, Hiernaux P, Grippa M, Mougin E et al (2014b) Rain-use-efficiency: what it tells us about the conflicting Sahel greening and Sahelian paradox. Remote Sens 6(4):3446–3474. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6043446

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daoust G, Selby J (2022) Understanding the politics of climate security policy discourse: The Case of the Lake Chad Basin. Geopolitics. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2021.2014821

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis DK (2005) Indigenous knowledge and desertification debate: problematizing expert knowledge in North Africa? Geoforum 36:509–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2004.08.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis DK (2016) The arid lands. History Power, Knowledge, MIT Press Cambridge, MA. https://doi.org/10.1080/2325548X.2019.1546033

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Gironcourt G (1912) Le sommet de la boucle du Niger : géographie physique et botanique Bulletin de la société de géographie (25):153–172

  • Descroix L, Guichard F, Grippa M, Lambert LA, Panthou G et al (2018) Evolution of surface hydrology in the Sahelo-Sudanian strip: an updated review. Water 10(6):748. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10060748

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dia A H, Becerra S, Gangneron F (2008) Crises climatiques, ruptures politiques et transformation de l’action publique environnementale au Mali. VertigO 8(1). https://doi.org/10.4000/vertigo.1468

  • Duval C (2010) Ferricrete, forests, and temporal scale in the production of colonial science in Africa, chap. 6 in: G Goldman M J, Nadasdy P, Turner M D (2010) Knowing Nature. Conversations at the Intersection of Political Ecology and Science Studies. University of Chicago press, pp 113–127

  • Fairhead J, Leach M (1996) Misreading the African landscape: society and ecology in a forest-savanna mosaic. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139164023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Favreau G, Cappelaere B, Massuel S, Leblanc M, Boucher M et al (2009) Land clearing, climate variability, and water resources increase in semiarid southwest Niger: A review. Water Resour Res 45:1–18. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR006785

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Biggs R, Norström AV, Reyers B, Rockström J (2016) Social-ecological resilience and biosphere-based sustainability science. Ecology and Soc 21(3):41. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-08748-210341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth (2003) Critical political ecology: the politics of environmental science. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Gal L, Grippa M, Hiernaux P, Peugeot C, Mougin E et al (2016) (2016) Changes in lakes water volume and runoff over ungauged Sahelian watersheds. J of Hydrol 540:1176–1188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.07.035

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gal L, Grippa M, Hiernaux P, Pons L, Kergoat L (2017) The paradoxical evolution of runoff in the pastoral Sahel. Analysis of the hydrological changes over the Agoufou watershed (Mali) using the KINEROS-2 model. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 21:4591–4613. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4591

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galle S, Grippa M, Peugeot C, Bouzou Moussa I, Cappelaere B et al (2018) A critical zone observatory in West Africa monitoring a region in transition, Vadose Zone J., Special issue on “hydrology Observatories”, pp 1–24 https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2018.03.0062

  • Gangneron F (2013) Ressources pastorales et territorialité chez les agro-éleveurs sahéliens du Gourma des buttes. VertigO 13(3). https://doi.org/10.4000/vertigo.14427

  • Gangneron F, Robert E (2015) Droits au sol et gestion de la fertilité. Deux perspectives différentes : Djougou (Bénin) et Niakhar (Sénégal). In: Sultan B, Lalou R, Sanni A M, Oumarou A, Soumare M A (ed) Les sociétés rurales face aux changements climatiques et environnementaux en Afrique de l’Ouest, chap. 12, IRD Editions

  • Gardelle J, Hiernaux P, Kergoat L, Grippa M (2010) Less rain, more water in ponds: a remote sensing study of the dynamic of waters from 1950 to present in pastoral Sahel (Gourma region, Mali). Hydrol And Earth Syst Sci (14)309-324. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-309-2010

  • Goldman MJ, Nadasdy P, Turner MD (2010) Knowing Nature. University of Chicago press, Conversations at the Intersection of Political Ecology and Science Studies

    Google Scholar 

  • Greve AM, Lampietti J, Falloux F (1995) National environmental action plans in Sub-Saharan Africa. In towards environmentally sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa, Paper 6. World Bank, Washington

  • Guichard F, Kergoat L, Hourdin F, Léauthaud C, Barbier J et al (2015) Le réchauffement climatique observe. In: Sultan B, Lalou R, Sanni A M, Oumarou A, Soumare M A (ed) Les sociétés rurales face aux changements climatiques et environnementaux en Afrique de l’Ouest, chap. 1, IRD Editions, pp 249–267

  • Harroy JP (1944) Afrique terre qui meure. La dégradation des sols africains sous l'influence de la colonisation. Marcel Hayez, Bruxelles, p 556

  • Hiernaux P, Adamou K, Moumouni O, Turner M D, Tong X et al (2019) Expanding network of field hedges in density populated landscapes in the Sahel. For Ecol Manag (440)178–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2019.03.016

  • Hiernaux P, Ayantunde AA, Adamou K, Mougin E, Gérard B et al (2009) Trends in productivity of crops, fallows and rangelands in Southwest Niger: Impact of land use, management and climate changes. J of Hydrol 375(1–2):65–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.01.032

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hiernaux P, Kalilou AA, Kergoat L, Brandt M, Mougin E et al (2022) Woody plant decline in the Sahel of western Niger (1996–2017): is it driven by climate of land use changes? J of Arid Environ 200:104719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2022.104719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hubert H (1917) progression du dessèchement de l’Afrique Occidentale. Bulletin du comité historique et scientifique de l’Afrique Occidentale, pp 401–467

  • IPCC (2020) Summary for policymakers. In: Masson-Delmotte V, Zhai P, Pörtner H-O, Roberts D, Skea J, Shukla PR, Calvo Buendia E, Slade R, Connors S, van Diemen R, Ferrat M, Haughey E, Luz S, Neogi S, Pathak M, Petzold J, Portugal Pereira J, Vyas P, Huntley E, Kissick K, Belkacemi M, Malley J (eds) Climate change and land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems Geneva, Switzerland: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

  • Kaptué AT, Prihodko L, Hanan NP (2015) On Regreening and Degradation in Sahelian Watersheds. PNAS 112(39):12133–12138. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1509645112

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kergoat L, Grippa M, Hiernaux P, Ramarohetra J, Gardelle J et al (2015) Evolutions paradoxales des mares en Sahel non cultivé : diagnostic, causes et conséquences. In: Sultan B, Lalou R, Sanni A M, Oumarou A, Soumare M A (ed) les sociétés rurales face aux changements climatiques et environnementaux en Afrique de l’Ouest, chap. 9, IRD Editions, pp 193–208

  • Lahache MJ (1907) le dessèchement de l’Afrique française est-il démontré ? Bulletin De La Société De Géographie Et D’études Coloniales De Marseille 31:149–185

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavigne Delville P (2017) la fabrique de l’action publique des pays sous régime d’aide. Anthropol. et dev, n°45. https://doi.org/10.4000/anthropodev.529, pp 33–64

  • Leach M, Mearns R (1996) Environmental change and policy: challenging received wisdom in Africa. In: Leach M, Mearns R (eds) The lie of the land: challenging received wisdom in African environment. The Int. African Institute, London, pp 1–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Lebel T, Ali A (2009) Recent trends in the Central and Western Sahel rainfall regime (1990–2007). J of Hydrol 375(1–2):52–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.11.030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Houérou HN (1989) The grazing land ecosystems of African Sahel. Springer-Varlag, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74457-0

  • Magrin G, Mugelé R (2020) La boucle de l’Anthropocène au Sahel : nature et sociétés face aux grands projets environnementaux (Grande Muraille Verte, sauvegarde du lac Tchad). Belgeo 3. https://doi.org/10.4000/belgeo.42872

  • Magrin G, Lemoalle J (2015) Les projets de transfert d’eau vers le lac Tchad : des utopies initiales aux défis contemporains. In: Magrin G, Lemoalle J, Pourtier R, Déby Itno I, Fabius L et al. Atlas du lac Tchad, numéro spécial 183, pp 156–158

  • Mainguet M (1994) Desertification. Natural Background and Human Mismanagement. Springer study edition

  • Mahé G, Paturel J-E (2009) 1896–2006 Sahelian annual rainfall variability and runoff increase of Sahelian rivers. CR Geosci 341(7):538–546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crte.2009.05.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mangin M (1924) Une mission forestière en Afrique Occidentale Française. La Géographie 42:449–483

    Google Scholar 

  • Marty A (1993) LA gestion de terroirs et les éleveurs : un outil d’exclusion ou de négociation ? Tiers-Monde 34(134):327–344. https://doi.org/10.3406/tiers.1993.4756

  • Marteau R, Sultan B, Moron V, Alhassane A, Baron C et al (2011) The onset of the rainy season and farmers’ sowing strategy for pearl millet cultivation in Southwest Niger. Agric and for Meteorol 151:1356–1369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2011.05.018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massazza G, Bacci M, Descroix L, Ibrahim MH, Fiorillo E et al (2021) Recent changes in hydroclimatic patterns over medium Niger River basins at the Origin of the 2020 Flood in Niamey (Niger). Water 13(12):1659. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13121659

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCann JC (1999) Climate and causation in African history. The Int J Afr Stud 32(2/3):261–279. https://doi.org/10.2307/220342

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mirzabaev A, Wu J, Evans J, García-Oliva F, Hussein IAG et al (2019) Desertification. In:  Shukla PR, Calvo Buendia E, Slade R, Connors S, van Diemen R, Ferrat M, Haughey E, Luz S, Neogi S, Pathak M, Petzold J, Portugal Pereira J, Vyas P, Huntley E, Kissick K, Belkacemi M, Malley J (eds) Climate change and land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems, pp 149–343

  • Jones B (1938) Desiccation and the West African Colonies, The Geogr. J. 91 pp 401–423

  • Mugelé R (2018) La Grande Muraille Verte : géographie d’une utopie environnementale au Sahel. Thèse de doctorat de géographie, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, 322 p

  • Nguyen CC (2015) Thèse de doctorat, Université de Toulouse

  • Nicholson SE (2013) The West African Sahel: a review of recent studies on the rainfall regime and its interannual variability. Inter Sch Res Not. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/453521

  • Nicholson SE (2005) On the question of the “recovery” of the rains in the West African Sahel. J Arid Environ 63(3):615–641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.03.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olivier de Sardan J P, Bierschenk T (1993) Les courtiers locaux du développement. Bulletin de l’APAD, n°5

  • Olsson L, Eklundh L, Ardö J (2005) A recent greening of the Sahel-trends, patterns and potential causes. J of Arid Environ 63(3):556–566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.03.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • One Planet Summit (2021) Des engagements pour agir en faveur de la biodiversité. Paris. https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2021/01/12/one-planet-summit-des-engagements-pour-agir-en-faveur-de-la-biodiversite. Accessed 5 July 2022

  • Olwig MF, Rasmussen LV (2015) West African waterworlds: narratives of absence versus narratives of excess. In: K. Hastrup and F. Hastrup (eds) Waterworlds: anthropology in fluid environments. Berghahn Books, pp 110–128

  • Ozer P, Hountondji YC, Niang AJ, Karimoune S, Laminou Manzo O et al (2010) Désertification au Sahel : Historique et perspectives. Bsglg 54:69–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Panthou G, Vischel T, Lebel T (2014) Recent trends in the regime of extreme rainfall in the Central Sahel. Int J of Climatol 34:3998–4006. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3984

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pham-Duc B, Sylvestre F, Papa F, Frappart F, Bouchez C et al (2020) The Lake Chad hydrology under current climate change. Sci Rep 10:5498. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-62417-w

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prince SD, Wessels KJ, Tucker CJ, Nicholson SE (2007) Desertification in the Sahel: a reinterpretation of a reinterpretation. Glob Change Biol 13(7):1308–1313. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01356.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petit O, Romagny R (2009) La reconnaissance de l’eau comme patrimoine commun : quels enjeux pour l’analyse économique ? Mondes En Développement, No 145:29–54. https://doi.org/10.3917/med.145.0029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rangé C, Magnani S, Ancey V (2020) Pastoralisme et insécurité en Afrique de l’Ouest. Du narratif réifiant à la dépossession politique. Rev Int Des Études Du Dev (243)115–150. https://doi.org/10.3917/ried.243.0115

  • Reenberg A (2012) Insistent dryland narratives: portraits of knowledge about human-environmental interactions in Sahelian Environment Policy Documents. J of Appl Ecol 20:97–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, JF, Smith, MS (2002) Global desertification. do humans cause deserts?. Berlin: Dahlem University Press

  • Riegel J (2015) La circulation des normes de l’UICN au Sénégal au prisme des praticiens et du politique. Thèse de doctorat.

  • Robert E, Gangneron F (2015) Un “SIG à dires d’acteurs” : décryptage des vulnérabilités environnementales des agro-éleveurs et pasteurs au Bénin, Cybergéo. Eur J Geogr. https://doi.org/10.4000/cybergeo.27285

  • Roehrig R, Bouniol D, Guichard F, Hourdin F, Redelsperger J-L (2013) The present and future of the West African monsoon: a process-oriented assessment of CMIP5 simulations along the AMMA transect. J Clim 26:6471–6505. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00505.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sayre NF (2017) The politics of scales. University of Chicago press, Chicago, A history of range science

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Scoones I (2018) Review of the end of desertification? Disputing environmental change in the drylands by Roy H. Behnke and Michael Mortimore. Springer-Verlag, Berlin (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13570-018-0133-5

  • Scoones I, Toulmin C (2021) The Sahelian Great Green Wall: start with local solutions. Pastres. https://pastres.org/2021/01/29/the-sahelian-great-green-wall-start-with-local-solutions/. Accessed 5 July 2022

  • Sighomnou D, Descroix L, Genthon P, Mahé G, Bouzou Moussa I et al (2013) (2013) La crue de 2012 à Niamey : un paroxysme du paradoxe du Sahel ? Sécheresse 24:3–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slegers MFW, Stroosnijder L (2008) Beyond the desertification narrative: a framework for agriculture drought in semi-arid East Africa. AMBIO: A J Hum Environ 31(5):372–380. https://doi.org/10.1579/07-A-385.1

  • Sougueh C (2021) La grande muraille verte, vecteur de développement durable au Sahel, The conversat. https://theconversation.com/la-grande-muraille-verte-vecteur-de-developpement-durable-au-sahel-154195. Accessed 04 Sep 2022

  • Stebbing EP (1935) The encroaching Sahara: the threat to the West African Colonies. The Geogr J 85:506–524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stebbing EP (1937) The threat of Sahara. J of the R African Soc 37:3–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Swift J (1996) Desertification: narrative, winners & losers. In: Leach M and Mearns R. The lie of the land: challenging received wisdom on the African environment. James Currey Ltd, Oxford. pp 73–90

  • Taylor CM, Belušić D, Guichard F, Parker DJ, Vischel T et al (2017) Frequency of extreme Sahelian storms tripled since 1982 in satellite observations. Nat 544(7651):475–478. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22069

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas N, Nigam S (2018) Twentieth-century climate change over Africa: seasonal hydroclimate trends and Sahara desert expansion. J Clim 31(9):3349–3370. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0187.1

  • Tiffen M, Mortimore M (2002) Questioning desertification in dryland sub-saharan Africa. Nat Res Forum 26(3):218–233

  • Toulmin C, Brock K (2016) Desertification in the Sahel: local practice meets global narrative, in Behnke R and Mortimore M (ed.) The end of desertification? Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16014-1_2

  • Trichon V, Hiernaux P, Walcker R, Mougin E (2018) The persistent decline of patterned woody vegetation: the tiger bush in the context of the regional Sahel greening trend. Glob Change Biol 24(6):2633–2648. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14059

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner MD (1999) No space for participation: pastoralist narratives and etiology of park-herder conflict in southeastern Niger. Land Degrad Dev 10:345–363. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-145X(199907/08)10:4<345::AID-LDR358>3.0.CO;2-8

  • Turner MD (2004) Political ecology and moral dimension of « resources conflicts »: the case of farmer-herder conflicts in the Sahel. Political Geogr (23)863–889. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2004.05.009

  • Turner MD, Ayantunde AA, Patterson KP, Patterson ED (2011) Livelihood transitions and the changing nature of farmer-herder conflict in Sahelian West Africa. The J of Dev Stud 47(2):183–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220381003599352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNCCD (1994) Convention des Nations unies sur la lutte contre la désertification dans les pays gravement touchés par la sécheresse et/ou la désertification, en particulier en Afrique (texte final de la convention), AG/ONU, 65 p.

  • UNCCD (2020) The Great Green Wall implementation status and way ahead to 2030

  • UNCOD (United Nations Conference on Desertification) (1978) Round up, Plan of Action and Resolutions, August 29 – September 9, 1977, New York, http://www.ciesin.org/docs/002-478/002-478.html. Accessed 20 June 2022

  • UNDRR (2021) Global assessment report on disaster risk reduction. Special report on drought 2021

  • Yeo NR (2018) Diagnostic environnemental de la mise en œuvre du programme Grande Muraille Verte au Sénégal. Mémoire Master 2, AgroParisTech, Montpellier, 119 p

  • Zakinet D (2015) Des pasteurs transhumants entre alliances et conflits au Tchad. Afr Contemp (255)127–143. https://doi.org/10.3917/afco.255.0127

  • Zhang W, Brandt M, Guichard F, Tian Q, Pierre C et al (2017) Using long-term daily satellite-based rainfall data (1983–2015) to analyze spatio-temporal changes in the sahelian rainfall regime. J Hydrolog 550:427–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.05.033

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work is dedicated to Françoise Guichard, who passed away in late 2020. She was an inspiring scientist, colleague and friend. She is deeply missed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. GET, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France

    Fabrice Gangneron, Laurent Kergoat, Manuela Grippa & Pierre Hiernaux

  2. iEES-Paris, Sorbonne Univ., UPMC Univ., CNRS, IRD, INRA, UPD, UPEC, Paris, France

    Caroline Pierre

  3. LETG, CNRS, Nantes Université, Nantes, France

    Elodie Robert

  4. CNRM, CNRS, Météo-France, Toulouse, France

    Françoise Guichard

  5. Pastoralisme Conseil, Caylus, France

    Pierre Hiernaux

  6. G-EAU, AgroParisTech, Cirad, IRD, INRAE, L’Institut Agro Montpellier, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Crystele Leauthaud

Authors
  1. Fabrice Gangneron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Caroline Pierre
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elodie Robert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Laurent Kergoat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Manuela Grippa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Françoise Guichard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Pierre Hiernaux
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Crystele Leauthaud
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fabrice Gangneron.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Communicated by Chandni Singh

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gangneron, F., Pierre, C., Robert, E. et al. Persistence and success of the Sahel desertification narrative. Reg Environ Change 22, 118 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-022-01969-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-022-01969-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation