IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v11y2022i12p2117-d982732.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From Wooded Savannah to Farmland and Settlement: Population Growth, Drought, Energy Needs and Cotton Price Incentives Driving Changes in Wacoro, Mali

Author

Listed:
  • Nagalé Dit Mahamadou Sanogo

    (WASCAL Program, University of the Gambia, MDI Road, Serrekunda P.O. Box 3530, The Gambia)

  • Sidzabda Djibril Dayamba

    (African Forest Forum (AFF), United Nations Avenue, Nairobi P.O. Box 30677-00100, Kenya
    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique (CNRST), Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), Ouagadougou 03 BP 7047, Burkina Faso)

  • Fabrice G. Renaud

    (School of Interdisciplinary Studies, The University of Glasgow, Dumfries Campus, Rutherford/McCowan Building, Dumfries DG1 4ZL, UK)

  • Melanie Feurer

    (Chair of Silviculture, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr. 4, 79098 Freiburg, Germany
    School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Länggasse 85, 3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland)

Abstract

Land includes vegetation and water bodies and provides the basis for human livelihoods through primary production, food and freshwater supply, and multiple other ecosystem services. The last three decades have recorded frequent drought events as well as rapid population growth, which has often resulted in adverse land use and land cover change (LULCC) in the Sahel of Sub-Saharan Africa. In order to propose sustainable land management strategies, it is a prerequisite to investigate the rate of LULCC and its driving factors in specific locations. This study investigated the case of Wacoro municipality in Mali using a combined approach of remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems, and focus group discussions. Satellite images and local people’s perceptions on LULCC and drivers were collected and analyzed for the years 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. We found that the study area faced a rapid decrease in wooded savannah that was degraded and converted to shrub savannah and later to farmland and settlement. Changes were directly or indirectly related to the rapid population growth, high cotton price (which encouraged cropland expansion), drought, firewood extraction, and charcoal production, which was exacerbated by poverty. We suggest promoting integrated land management strategies that consider current and future livelihood needs and preserve the environment for the benefits of future generations. New agricultural policies, such as cotton price incentives, should always be accompanied by an assessment of their potential environmental impacts and design of adequate mitigation measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Nagalé Dit Mahamadou Sanogo & Sidzabda Djibril Dayamba & Fabrice G. Renaud & Melanie Feurer, 2022. "From Wooded Savannah to Farmland and Settlement: Population Growth, Drought, Energy Needs and Cotton Price Incentives Driving Changes in Wacoro, Mali," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-16, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:12:p:2117-:d:982732
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/12/2117/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/12/2117/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Colin Thor West & Sarah Benecky & Cassandra Karlsson & Bella Reiss & Aaron J. Moody, 2020. "Bottom-Up Perspectives on the Re-Greening of the Sahel: An Evaluation of the Spatial Relationship between Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) and Tree-Cover in Burkina Faso," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-22, June.
    2. Falconnier, Gatien N. & Descheemaeker, Katrien & Traore, Bouba & Bayoko, Arouna & Giller, Ken E., 2018. "Agricultural intensification and policy interventions: Exploring plausible futures for smallholder farmers in Southern Mali," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 623-634.
    3. Karamoko Sanogo & Birhanu Zemadim Birhanu & Souleymane Sanogo & Abdulkadir Aishetu & Abdramane Ba, 2021. "Spatiotemporal Response of Vegetation to Rainfall and Air Temperature Fluctuations in the Sahel: Case Study in the Forest Reserve of Fina, Mali," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Ezenwa E. Olumba & Bernard U. Nwosu & Francis N. Okpaleke & Rowland Chukwuma Okoli, 2022. "Conceptualising eco-violence: moving beyond the multiple labelling of water and agricultural resource conflicts in the Sahel," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(9), pages 2075-2090, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Savka Mariia & Cherneviy Yurii & Yatsiv Ihor & Balaniuk Ivan & Shelenko Diana & Yatsiv Svitlana, 2022. "Forecasting Parameters of Farm Development At the Regional Level Using the STELLA Program," Management Theory and Studies for Rural Business and Infrastructure Development, Sciendo, vol. 44(2), pages 209-222, June.
    2. Adam Płachciak & Jakub Marcinkowski, 2022. "Humanitarian Assistance in G5 Sahel: Social Sustainability Context of Macrologistics Potential," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-25, July.
    3. Kandel, Matt & Anghileri, Daniela & Alare, Rahinatu S. & Lovett, Peter N. & Agaba, Genevieve & Addoah, Thomas & Schreckenberg, Kate, 2022. "Farmers’ perspectives and context are key for the success and sustainability of farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) in northeastern Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. Huet, E.K. & Adam, M. & Giller, K.E. & Descheemaeker, K., 2020. "Diversity in perception and management of farming risks in southern Mali," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    5. Ronner, E. & van de Ven, G.J. & Nowakunda, K. & Tugumisirize, J. & Kayiita, J. & Taulya, G. & Uckert, G. & Descheemaeker, K.K.E., 2023. "What future for banana-based farming systems in Uganda? A participatory scenario analysis," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    6. Berre, David & Adam, Myriam & Koffi, Christophe K. & Vigne, Mathieu & Gautier, Denis, 2022. "Tailoring management practices to the structure of smallholder households in Sudano-Sahelian Burkina Faso: Evidence from current practices," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    7. Assogba, Gildas G.C. & Adam, Myriam & Berre, David & Descheemaeker, Katrien, 2022. "Managing biomass in semi-arid Burkina Faso: Strategies and levers for better crop and livestock production in contrasted farm systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    8. Agúndez, Dolores & Lawali, Sitou & Mahamane, Ali & Alía, Ricardo & Soliño, Mario, 2022. "Development of agroforestry food resources in Niger: Are farmers’ preferences context specific?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    9. Bouba Traore & Birhanu Zemadim Birhanu & Seydou Sangaré & Murali Krishna Gumma & Ramadjita Tabo & Anthony Michael Whitbread, 2021. "Contribution of Climate-Smart Agriculture Technologies to Food Self-Sufficiency of Smallholder Households in Mali," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-17, July.
    10. Adam, Myriam & MacCarthy, Dilys Sefakor & Traoré, Pierre C. Sibiry & Nenkam, Andree & Freduah, Bright Salah & Ly, Mouhamed & Adiku, Samuel G.K., 2020. "Which is more important to sorghum production systems in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of West Africa: Climate change or improved management practices?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    11. Marinus, Wytze & Descheemaeker, Katrien K.E. & van de Ven, Gerrie W.J. & Waswa, Wycliffe & Mukalama, John & Vanlauwe, Bernard & Giller, Ken E., 2021. "“That is my farm” – An integrated co-learning approach for whole-farm sustainable intensification in smallholder farming," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:12:p:2117-:d:982732. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.