Mali – Inner Niger Delta

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Our field projects → Project archive → Mali – Inner Niger Delta

Planting trees to eat fish in Mali

Fatoumata Dienta looks proudly at the new grove of young acacia trees that she and her friends have just planted. Soon the flood will come, and all these trees will disappear under the water. That will be good: they will serve as a breeding ground for hundreds of fish. Some will swim all the way down the River Niger to its mouth in Nigeria. But many of them will end up in the nets of fisherfolk – and on the dinner plates of families here in Akka village, in the Inner Niger Delta of Mali.

The trees were planted through the implementation of the BioRights approach, developed by Wetlands International. The women’s group of Mrs. Dienta was provided with micro-credits, but instead of paying interest the women had to plant Acacia trees. If after a year 75% of the trees are still intact, the micro-credit becomes a grant. The return rate of the micro-credit in the project with women was 100%; many women’s groups now use the money as a revolving fund in the village.

Better use of the water of the Inner Niger Delta in a changing climate

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Mali – Inner Niger Delta

One of the Demonstration Projects under the Wetlands and Poverty Reduction Project is located in the central part of the Inner Niger Delta in Mali, a large floodplain at the edge of the Sahara. One million people fully depend on its natural resources and earn their livelihoods from it as fishermen, cattle breeders and farmers. It also forms a vital part of the eco-regional network, with 3 to 4 million water birds from almost all parts of the world.

Problems

As a result of climate change and the pressures of human use (dams and irrigation systems upstream) the natural resources are in bad shape. This causes acute food insecurity for the local communities. The project area has the highest poverty rate (78.5%) of Mali (64% in 2001). Poverty forces the local communities to use unsustainable methods to get food or income, thereby further jeopardizing the balance of the ecosystem in the area.

How the project tackles these problems

The project works with local communities and authorities to improve management and restoration of the natural resources of the area. Through the use of traditional financing systems of the local rural districts and innovative financing systems such as Bio-rights local people will be financially supported when restoring ecosystem services for the benefit of the whole region.

Examples are women groups who get funds to start a vegetable garden. In return for the funds each women takes care of one or two trees in the wetland. Villages get funds to make wells for drinking water. In return they work in the management of the wetland.

Some fishes have become rare, so local communities have developed action plans for these species and their habitat. The project provides boats and other means so that local ranger groups can be organised to check if the species are being fished.

The Wetlands International office in Mali conducts the project. Partners are:

- Care (www.care.org)

- Programme Fonds de Development en Zone Sahelienne (FODESA) [http://www.ifad.org/french/operations/pa/mli/i488ml/index.htm - Poverty Reduction and Environmental Management (PREM) [www.prem-online.org] are project partners.

Earlier activities in the Inner Niger Delta

The project builds on previous work of Wetlands International in the Inner Niger Delta in Mali. We looked at the effect of dams on nature and people in the Inner Niger Delta. With our partners, we calculated the effect of current and planned dams in the Upper Niger River on the wetlands of the Inner Niger Delta.

Improving wetland policies in Mali

What is our goal?

We work towards application of principles of wise use and sustainable management of wetlands in the implementation of the following three national policies / action plans:

1. National Action Plan of Wetlands Policy (NAWP)

2. Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), 2007-2011

3. National Action Plan for Integrated Water Resources Management (NAPIWRM)

What do we do?

We participate in elaboration meetings of the “Master Development Plan of the Inner Niger Delta”

hearing the concerns of the stakeholders at local level (farmers, fishers, livestock owners)

The Wetlands International documentary “the Niger, a lifeline” and publications are used as outreach tools for the agency in charge of elaborating and finalizing the National Action plan for Integrated Water Resources Management (NAPIWRM). The documentary is shown to 30 rural communities, to be able to take into account the concerns of local communities and to serve as tool for local decision makers.

We undertake a literature review about studies showing the socio-economic, ecologic and cultural values of wetlands and associated ecosystems.

We dispatch the brochure “impacts of dams on people in Mali” in 30 rural districts and some primary schools in the Inner Niger Delta.

We organise meetings about the issues of floodplains in relation to existing and future dams.

We organise meetings between the Ministry of Water and the 30 mayors of rural districts where the documentary and the brochure have been spread.

Partners:

Association Malienne pour la Protection et le Développement de l’Environnement au Sahel (AMPRODE), Wetlands International-Mali, the Dutch Embassy of Mali, IUCN, Near East Foundation (NEF)

About the area

The Inner Niger delta in Mali is a 3.000.000 hectare wetland consisting of flood plains, lakes, river branches and small pockets of flood forest. It is part of the 4.200 kilometres Niger river catchment, which flows through 10 countries before discharging in the Atlantic Ocean. Classified as a Ramsar site in 2004, it is of extraordinary importance for a large range of water dependent plant and animal species.

The numerous ecosystem goods and services provided by the delta (most notably fish, pasturelands and water supplies for agriculture) directly support the livelihoods of more than one million inhabitants. The delta’s inhabitants are among the poorest people in Mali, partly as a result of unsustainable management practices and overexploitation of resources (degradation of flood forests, overfishing, and hunting) which as well pose strong threats to the delta's environmental values.

Main ethnic groups in the region include Fulani (which are cattle breeders), Bozo and Somono (both fishermen) and Bambara and Rimaibe (which are farmers).

WPRP Demonstration Project Stories

Demo Project Stories Vol .1

Demo Project Stories Vol. 2

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