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.

http://desertification.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/mali-nov-09-006.jpg

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

rainstorms.

http://prod-images.exhibit-e.com/templates_exhibit-e_com/Dust_Storm1983_Horizontal0.jpg

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.

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/small-girl-child-rubbing-eyes-2733351.jpg

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

Niger River.

The river is getting clogged up from erosion.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Niger_river_at_Koulikoro.jpg

The Niger River is the 3rd 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.

http://wellsbringhope.org/images/uploads/blog_images/Dry_Riverbed.jpg

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.

http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4922823957089959&pid=15.1

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

http://www.fredhoogervorst.com/oni.app/local/upload/02599.jpg

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.

http://desertification.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/1988-07-02-making-plantpits.jpg?w=640 http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5041833196456827&pid=15.1

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.