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Tuesday, September 15, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Combating Desertification and Drought
ENVIRONMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Political Sins Continue to Scar the Land
While South Africa's "homelands" - areas formerly set aside for blacks - have been relegated to the dustbin of history for more than a decade, their legacy lives on in the form of land degradation, and even desertification in northern and eastern parts of the country.ENERGY-MALI: Wood – The Gift That Can’t Keep on Giving
Year by year, the figures have increased relentlessly. While some 600,000 tonnes of wood were transported to the Malian capital of Bamako in 1994, according to official figures, 750,000 tonnes were sent in 1997. This year, the city is projected to consume 900,000 tonnes - and the country as a whole, seven million tonnes.ENVIRONMENT-BURKINA-FASO: A Pilot Project That Defies Desertification
The village of Guié in central Burkina Faso may not have much name recognition in the grand scheme of things. But for more than a decade, this community has been the site of an initiative that provides hope in the fight against desertification.Q&A: Community Involvement in Conservation a “Big Step Forward”
This year marks the fifth anniversary of Benin's Programme to Manage Forests and Surrounding Areas (Programme de gestion des forêts et terroirs riverains, PGFTR), started to prevent wooded regions of the West African country from succumbing to soil degradation - and ultimately desertification.ENVIRONMENT-SENEGAL: An Ongoing Battle Against Deforestation
Where does a four-fold increase in a country's population over half a century make itself felt most acutely? Concerning Senegal, the answer to this might well be: in the forests.ENERGY-CHAD: A Solution to Deforestation That Some Also View as a Problem
It's affordable, and central to stopping deforestation in Chad. But, butane gas has a long way to go before it becomes a household staple in this Sahelian country: many Chadians have a fixed belief that gas is simply too dangerous to use.ENVIRONMENT-MALI: Forests in Decline
The figures tell the story. In 1990, forests in Mali extended over more than 14 million hectares. But by 2000 they covered 13,117,643 hectares, according to a national report on the state of the environment made public in 2005. This marked a reduction of about seven percent in the West African country's forests, in just a decade.DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Renewable Sources the Key to Energy Crisis?
Biofuel and other renewable energy sources may hold the key to Africa's energy crisis. Without intervention, this crisis is set to grow. Southern African cities such as Lusaka in Zambia, Harare in Zimbabwe, Gaborone in Botswana and Dar-Es-Salaam in Tanzania will be affected.DEVELOPMENT-COTE D’IVOIRE: Traditional Practices Exact a Steep Toll
For Dua Kouadio, it is déjà vu of the worst kind: the destruction of yet another harvest by a bush fire run amuck.WATER DAY-GULF: Forced to Look Beyond Desalination Plants
The holy month of Ramadan is a time when Muslims retreat into fasting and prayer. Last September though, devotees near the Saudi port city of Jeddah had violence on their minds as they broke a day-long fast. Fists flew when told that water brought them in tankers had run out.DEVELOPMENT-BURKINA FASO: Small is Beautiful, But Big Has Its Place
An impressive crop of sweet potatoes, yams, cabbages, cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes has spelt a good season for Burkinabé farmer Amadou Diallo, who attributes his success to a nearby water storage tank.Q&A: “You Clearly Saw the Horrors of Desertification”
Seven years of working in some of the poorest parts of Benin put Euloge Vidégla in the front lines of the battle against desertification. An agricultural economist by training, he managed the Local Development Support Project (Projet d’appui au développement local, PADEL), mostly in the northern Atacora region, from 1997 to 2004.DEVELOPMENT-CAMEROON: Solar Power Starts Muscling Out Kerosene
For Merline Momo Azeufac, a teacher at Balefock village in western Cameroon, the days of fearing nightfall while correcting pupils' work are over. She's no longer hostage to the poor light provided by kerosene lamps.ENVIRONMENT-SENEGAL: Setting Fire to the Future
It's the season for bush fires in Senegal, and there are once again concerns that vast tracts of fertile land could be set alight, and ravaged.ENVIRONMENT-CHAD: Rats, Where There Once Were Elephants
Leaving the Chadian capital, N'Djamena, isn't what it used to be.ENVIRONMENT: The Niger River in Intensive Care
Stretching over more than 4,000 kilometres, the Niger is West Africa's longest river, and greatly threatened in the country of the same name by environmental degradation that is causing the water course to silt up.ENVIRONMENT-ALGERIA: Fighting Desertification Through Conservation
In May, Algeria will inaugurate a reserve around a small oasis in the south-west where plants and animals are to be protected in the service of a broader goal. Hopes are that the Taghit National Park will help stop the advance of the Sahara Desert, which already stretches across almost all of this North African country.WEST AFRICA: Investments Against Desertification Deliver the Goods
Experts from the Inter-State Committee to Fight Drought in the Sahel (Comité inter Etats de lutte contre la sécheresse au Sahel, CILSS) are calling on donors to invest further in the fight against desertification in this region, because of the positive economic effects such investment would have.DEVELOPMENT-NIGER: Land Degradation No Match for Speculators
The term "property speculation" may not be the first that comes to mind concerning Niger, a country which is mostly desert. Nonetheless, this is exactly what is happening in the West African state.DEVELOPMENT-COTE D’IVOIRE: Dwindling Rains, Falling Harvests
Every day as he leaves his house for the fields, Ousmane Soro is plagued by questions: "What will become of my harvests for sweet potatoes, sugar cane and mangoes this year? Will I be able to meet my family's needs?"ENVIRONMENT-NIGER: Projects Aplenty to Halt the Desert
For those taking up arms against desertification in Niger, the task at hand must seem daunting.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Today, some two billion people depend on ecosystems in dryland areas, with 90 percent of them living in developing countries. But the pace of arable land degradation is accelerating – now estimated at 35 times the historical rate -- impacting biodiversity, availability of clean water and food security, as well as exposing vulnerable communities to the harsh impacts of climate change. As the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) works to improve the living conditions of people in the drylands. IPS looks at local solutions being implemented around the world, from restoring soil productivity and mitigating the effects of drought, to projects that empower communities to manage their dryland resources more effectively.
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