The Senegal River, a Disturbed Lifeline in the Sahel

Dryland Rivers and Wadis are important landscape archetypes in dry environments as they provided an oasis in the hostile desert; a refugia to settle in. They embody a significant and important role in shaping human-nature interactions. The dryland rivers are placed on the convergence of where the cultural and ecological processes interlock; where landscape, place, heritage, identity, tradition, modernity and cities converge. Due to extensive urbanization and overpopulation along these landscapes the culture-nature link has been modified or completely lost.

The Niger River is the third-largest African river. Its valley in West Africa is situated between the drier Sahel zone in the North and the equatorial rain forest to the South, forming a climatological, biogeographical and cultural transition zone, which is one of the cradles of humanity. Climatic phases of wetter and drier years have caused migrations and cultural exchanges. Its valley is characterized by the existence of several socio-cultural groups distributed among specific geographical and cultural areas. This chapter focuses on specific cultural use forms of the river that the Niger basin is famous for, with a strong focus on navigation, but also about fisheries and transhumance pastoralism. All these traditional use forms undergo a recent transformation and a loss of biocultural diversity. The Niger has still maintained its characteristic flow regime, although the existing dams, combined with intensive water withdrawal for agriculture, strongly influence the low water season. The dynamics of its delta are still active, but oil spills and other impacts threaten the high biological diversity. Recently, diverse initiatives have gathered perspectives and information to face the challenges of resource management and development potential of this unique river. with full board, or spreading widely throughout the alive delta, furrowed by the heavy convoys of ships or the imposing armada of canoes of all dimensions, cannot help but to think of the essential asset that this vast communication channel, the country's central artery, constitutes for a country so vast and still poorly equipped". Champaud (1961) has given a review on the geophysical setting of the river, and some of the information presented here has been taken from this early work. A detailed revision on the Niger, presenting a comprehensive overview of the physical environment and hydrological functions of the watershed, as a background for studying the challenges of resource management and development potential, has been delivered by the Shared Vision Project by the World Bank. The ecological setting has been summarized in Welcomme (1986), Lévêque (1995) and by Maiga et al. (2007), and fisheries were studied

International Journal of Environmental Studies, 2006

In the construction of the Diama and Manantali Dams, Senegal, constraints to large scale irrigation were not adequately taken into account, while to date planned artificial floods to assure the continuation of traditional production systems (e.g. recession agriculture, freshwater fish production, estuarine/marine fishery nursery grounds and dry season forage) have been inadequate in both magnitude and duration.

Much of 20th century river basin development has been based on a vision that nature and river systems constituted a malleable, yet often threatening, physical environment which had to be reshaped to both protect and allow for increasing human activities. Large rivers were expected to be 'harnessed' or 'domesticated' and large infrastructures such as high dams and irrigation schemes were unquestioned synonymous of "development". With the passing of time, it became evident that the mastering, or the 'marshalling', of water resources had strong impacts on the environment in general and aquatic ecosystems in particular. The deep human made alteration of the natural hydrological system also generated varied and often unexpected negative externalities on particular segments of society. It thus became apparent that water resource development had to be seen and understood through a much more elaborate framework, one that would better account for the complex two-way interactions between societies and their waterscapes. The concept of river basin development trajectory is used to represent the way these interactions evolve over time, to understand what are the implications of particular human interventions (efforts to assess, capture, convey, store, share, use, treat, save and dispose of available water resources) and, in particular, how situations of utter resource degradation or overexploitation come about. But beyond material transformations, perceptions and ideologies about nature also change with time, in part as a consequence of environmental changes, affecting the kind of responses made and therefore the trajectory of the basin.

2003

The growth, development, evolution and su tenance of our civilization arc dependent on river. The river basin system pro idc the ba ic resources for economic growth and development. This includes land for agriculture and urbanization, water for residential and commercial use. water for irrigation and generation of hydropower energy, .co-tourism activities in upstream basins, and the mining of ri er alluvium such as riv •r sand for the construction industry. However, limited understanding and the disruptions of ri .r busin processresponse systems arc also usso .iutcd v ith th• cmer cue, of 11 ., proc •sst•s and int 'nsifying existing pn • .sses thut posed serious chullcuu •s to 1101 only the continued sustenance of th• 'C momi • acti itics hut an: h th nnscl cs environmental hazards that threatens the ' cllurc and .om fort of the basin dwell er, Mismanag nn •nt of ri er r .sou: •cs have led to in •1 •asin' fr .qu-uci •s and magnitudes (intensities) of environment 11 hazards su .h ns Iloods, rapid slope failures, river bank erosion and slumping, ace ilcratcd soil .rosiou. and problems associated with. cdimcnturion. It an also be argued that even urban pollution is also as, ociated v ith mismanagement of the ri er basins st •111. This lecture is :111 attempt to dcscrib the importan e and contribution nf]711l'iril g1•cn11m1ihologirnl studies in understanding ri er basin pro .css-r .spons • s 1st •111s and its contribution to a su tained development of riv 'r basin 1 isourccs. The discussion of thi lecture would be based on th• r .search, pres ntntions. consultancy work and publication, that 1 ha e carried out sin 'C th• la 't 15 years.

Agricultural Water Management, 2010

Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2009

The Central Niger Delta is made up of a network of rivers and creeks that constitute the inland surface waters. These surface waters have historically influenced settlement patterns and are of diverse use to residents of the Central Niger Delta. Surface water like many ecological system are complex, whose complexity has been associated with seasonal variability. Traditional knowledge (TK), traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and the traditional eco-livelihood knowledge (TELK) of residents of four rural communities in the Central Niger Delta have been explored in developing a river use profile of rural communities of the Central Niger Delta. A questionnaire survey has been carried out in four communities, two each from the Otuoke and Kolo Creeks. The result shows that river use varies across seasons and affected by: physico-chemical water quality and characteristics of surface water; the hydrological characteristics; the biological/ecological characteristics; cultural use and demand; need for development projects; and access to this vital resource. Fishing constitute one of the major livelihood source in the Central Niger Delta and the TELK of fishers in the sample communities have specifically been explored to understanding fishing patterns across seasons. The five seasons identified from this study are: flood season; flood recession season; dry season; early rainy season; and rainy season. Therefore, the thesis of this paper is that there is the need to balance the current usage of surface water in the developing world such as the Central Niger Delta with the demand for development as well as future use if development is to meet the criteria for Readers should send their comments on this paper to: [email protected] within 3 months of publication of this issue. equitable development. The river use profile could be a promising tool in planning for equitable development.

Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Architectura

The economic growth of lowland areas is closely related to water management, with the development of valley areas limited by local hydrological conditions. The water retention shaped by hydro-technical structures enables the subsequent use of water for flood protection, agricultural, industrial, fire-fighting, energy, or recreational purposes, conditioning the potential development opportunities of the region. Over the years, there have been different approaches to the exploitation of water resources – from total subordination of nature by man to the development of sustainable solutions. However, to utilise the potential of rivers, channels and valleys were subjected to regulation, which in some cases provided immediate economic benefits, but in the long-term, deprived the river of its natural qualities, inhibiting its ability to self-purification morphodynamic processes. The water runoff acceleration as a result of channel straightening and concreting, combined with the narrowing o...

African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology

Senegal has a rich and diversified hydrological potential. The bulk of surface water reserves are located in the basin's rivers Senegal and Gambia, whose waters originate from the Fouta Djallon massif. Alongside these large rivers, there are smaller rivers (Casamance and Kayanga) and small watersheds with temporary flows. Groundwater resources are also an important part of Senegal's water heritage. Unfortunately, water resources are now threatened by anthropogenic actions of diverse origins (extensive agriculture, mining, illegal fishing, bushfires, domestic use along watercourses, etc.) and the adverse effects of climate change. Also, inadequate water management policies increase the water scarcity and are often not conducive to sustainable water resources management. The impact of water shortages is felt on all socioeconomic activities (particularly in the agriculture sector, which is the main user of water in the country), but also in the supply sector water. Thus, for several decades, the Senegalese government has pursued a water control policy aimed at providing water users in sufficient quantities and of appropriate quality according to their usage. In order to correct the heavy trends in water resources sector and to satisfy various demands, Senegal has for some years been committed to a national policy for integrated water resources management (IWRM) and an action plan focusing on taking into account cooperation on shared watersheds.

2009

Conflicting demands for food and water, exacerbated by increasing population, increase the risks of food insecurity, poverty and environmental damage in major river systems. Agriculture remains the predominant water user, but the linkage between water, agriculture and livelihoods is more complex than “water scarcity increases poverty”. The response of both agricultural and non-agricultural systems to increased pressure will affect livelihoods. Development will be constrained in closed basins if increased demand for irrigation deprives other users or if existing agricultural use constrains non-agricultural activities and in open basins if agriculture cannot feed an expanding or changing population or if the river system loses capacity due to degradation or over-exploitation.