Bureaucracy and Environmental Policy in the Sahel Region of Africa: Strategies for Arresting the March of Desertification

Abstract

This chapter is a study of the problems of desertification in the context of the Sahel region of West Africa. It begins with a concise overview of the Sahel region as a unique socioeconomic and cultural landscape in Africa. Attention is then given to desertification as a dimension of global environmental problems and as a specific policy area in the context of seven nations of the Sahel region of West Africa. This discussion is followed by a review of the various attempts made so far to define desertification and to delineate its causes and consequences. Then comes an analysis of the policies, strategies and institutions designed at international, regional and national levels for the purpose of controlling the spread of desertification. The conclusion of the essay underlines the fact that, despite all the impressive attempts, much more has still to be done, especially by national bureaucracies and village-level organizations if the spread of desertification is to be effectively contained without undermining the strategies for sustainable development.