Villagers in the West African Sahel know what has changed their landscape, but how do they now adapt to the added challenges of climate change?

Altinket reports on a project funded by the International Fund for Agriucltural Development and coordinated by the World Agroforestry Centre with national agriculture research institutes and forestry extension institutes which analyzed vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in the West African Sahelian countries of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

The villagers came up with a range of possible solutions, including practicing farmer assisted natural regeneration, soil and water conservation and controlling free browsing by animals.

Hotter, drier and more variable climate is expected this century across the arid to semi-arid belt which makes up the West African Sahel. Already farmers are experiencing environmental stresses.

Villagers in the study cited the disappearance of natural woodlands for crop and livestock production as contributing to the problems and that trees were being overharvested for fuel, fodder, medicines and foods, preventing them from regenerating naturally. Many native trees have become extinct as have most wild animals from overhunting and habitat conversion. Soils are degraded and there is lower and less predictable rainfall.

The study found that most villagers could not see the link between human activity and a deeper water table, emphasising the need for extension and education programmes to explain crucial ecological relationships to farmers.

”Adaptation plans in the drier regions must put more emphasis on planting trees that are more drought tolerant and practicing soil water conservation techniques in parklands,” says the article.

The limited resources available for adaption plans mean they need to focus on the physical and natural resources that villagers themselves identify as most vulnerable to threats in their particular region. The study also notes the importance of considering the needs of different gender groups in developing adaptation plans.

Read the fulls tory: Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in the West African Sahel