Mali a country surviving in the Sahel

Mali was a powerful African kingdom during the 1300s.

The center of the kingdom was Timbuktu. It was famous as a center of business, religion, and education.

Mali lost power in the 1500s. It still exists today, but without the glory of the past.

Timbuktu today is still very traditional. Water comes from wells. Shared water faucets (like this one) are more modern.

Bread is still baked in traditional ovens.

Open-air markets are common.

Islam is still the main religion. Adobe-style mosques in Mali can be simple...

...or very fancy.

Mali is in the Sahel - a dry grassland area south of the Sahara Desert.

The Sahel doesn’t have a lot of trees or grass, and rainfall is unpredictable.

And since the 1970s, rainfall has decreased. That means harvests are reduced and people are struggling to survive. It’s a tough place to live. The rainy season is short (June to September), so it’s hard to farm.

The Sahara Desert grows when drought comes. It takes over Sahel land.

Land that was dry grassland slowly becomes desert - “desertification.”

Drought is not the only reason desertification happens. There is a HIGH birth rate in the Sahel. 45% of the population is younger than 15 years old. More people means the land is overworked.

More people need more things: -- more firewood -- more wood for housing So they over-harvest the small trees they have.

Slash- and- burn methods are used to clear more farmland to grow more food for more people.

Land is overgrazed by herders. When the animals tear up most the plants and eat even the roots, it’s hard for the plants to grow back.

Overharvesting trees, increased slash-and-burn farming, and overgrazing lead to naked land -- and that leads to erosion.

Exposed topsoil can be blown away by the wind or washed away in rainstorms.

This is a Sahel farmer’s millet field. He has finished his harvest for this season. How fertile does this soil look?

Blowing dirt and sand damages the plants and trees that are still there, covering some and exposing the roots of others.

These dust storms damage machinery. Wind-blown dust can also worsen health problems, including eye infections, respiratory illnesses, and allergies.

The erosion is also damaging the Sahel’s main water source – the Niger River.

The river is getting clogged up from erosion.

The Niger River is the 3 rd largest river in Africa, and several Sahel countries depend on it for water. It is also a major transportation route.

Forty years ago, the Niger River was navigable from July through January. But today, you can’t get through in July, August, September, or most of October. By the end of October, you can finally sail the river.

And between drought and erosion run- off, the tributaries of the Niger are also disappearing.

This means there is less water for crop irrigation, for herds, and for people.

“Green Belts” – strips of grassland – help protect the Sahel from the growing Sahara Desert. Some of these grow naturally; others are being planted.

Satellite photographs show that the Sahara has shrunk some in the last 15 years. Trees and farmland are GROWING.

This farm in the Sahel was bare less than 20 years ago.

Example: Stones lined up across fields slow erosion. Reasons: -- more rainfall -- better farming practices

Another example: Dig a small “valley” and plant your garden there. It will protect your field from wind erosion and catch more water.

Local reforestation programs are helping protect the Sahel from desertification. But much more needs to be done. plantpits.jpg?w=640

Desertification is happening all over the world. But it is most serious in Africa, where 2/3 of the continent is already dry grasslands or desert.