DEVELOPMENT-BURKINA FASO: A Province Too Popular For Its Own Good

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Brahima Ouédraogo and Michée Boko

OUAGADOUGOU, Aug 2 2007 (IPS) - Kompienga, in eastern Burkina Faso, is the country&#39s most verdant province – but for how long?

Research conducted over the past three years has shown that forests there have receded by 1,600 square kilometres in 15 years, while shrublands extended their reach by some 31 percent between 1984 and 2007.

"We have found that the degradation of soils is significant in the Kompienga region because of human activity, notably migration (and) agriculture…" says Ardjouma Ouattara, co-ordinator of a team that studied the situation in the province from 2004 to 2007.

Results of the research were made public recently. It was conducted by the Department of Population Sciences at the National Centre for Scientific and Technological Research, with funding from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and the United Nations Population Fund. Similar studies took place at the same time in about 20 countries of the South.

Kompienga, which borders on Benin, contains so many natural resources in comparison to the rest of Burkina Faso that it has become a magnet for people from the other parts of the state, notably the arid central plateau, says Ouattara.

From the start of the long dry season until the first rains, many stock farmers travel to the province to take advantage of its pasture.

Sidiki Ganaba, who interned there in 1991, and who is now environmental director for Kompienga, recalls that it was a very leafy area at that time: "There was thick vegetation around waterways. (But) this vegetation has now disappeared. Only small plants remain."

The sole dam of the region, situated on the river of the same name, the Kompienga, has also been affected. "Concerning the level of the water, it&#39s a catastrophe at the moment. The dam is not receiving enough water any more because of the lack of rain, but also because of human activity," says Ganaba.

In 1991, the river was located less than 200 metres from the regional fishing camp; but the watercourse has now receded to the point where it is more than a kilometre away.

According to the researchers, the provinces of Poni and Noumbiel, in the south-west of the country, have been similarly affected by migration – losing more than 60 percent of their wooded land, now shrubland.

The fertile expanses of Noumbiel were once under-populated because of the presence there of the tsetse fly, a carrier of river blindness. Today, they are experiencing an influx of stock and crop farmers.

"Because of the proximity (of the province) to the border with Côte d’Ivoire, certain Burkinabé en route to this country settled there temporarily at the beginning, but (ultimately) never left," says Hallahidi Diallo, high commissioner of Noumbiel province.

In recent years, political instability in Côte d’Ivoire has forced many Burkinabé who did make their way over the border to come back to Noumbiel. Some returned with chainsaws that have wreaked havoc in the region&#39s forests, notes the high commissioner.

Authorities aren&#39t sitting on their hands, however.

According to Diallo, steps have been taken to make those who are settling in and clearing forests go elsewhere.

Stock farming in Kompienga, one of the main causes of land degradation in the area, is being regulated. "We have tried to create paths and have negotiated with communities for corridors to herd animals," explains Ganaba. Paths to water points are marked "to ensure that animals do not wander in fields, or in areas where they should not be."

Efforts are also underway to reforest the banks of the river, and to encourage crop diversification. Farmers are, for instance, urged to plant rice instead of yams, which typically take a toll on natural resources. Large stretches of land are cleared for the cultivation of yams.

The researchers noted that the influx into Kompienga had boosted the province&#39s economy, with new crops – notably cotton – bringing substantial benefits to producers who cultivated them.

The hope, doubtless, is that a balance can be struck between Kompienga&#39s precious natural resources, and its economic progress.