[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ module_id=”main-content” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#f2fad6″ custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_image=”off” width=”100%” max_width=”913px” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” background_last_edited=”off|desktop” background_image_phone=”https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/La_Plata_Basin_01_1200x672px.jpg” background_enable_image_phone=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/header-Sahel.png” title_text=”header Sahel” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”750px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_heading title=”The Sahel” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_text_align=”center” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”33px||24px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_heading][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”22px” text_line_height=”34px” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||30px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
The vast semi-arid region of the Sahel stretches across Africa, just south of the Sahara Desert. For centuries, native trees and shrubs, including the Baobab, Tamarind, Desert date and Shea tree, could be found scattered across the open savannah and farmers\u2019 fields.<\/p>\n
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But the landscape of the Sahel began to change in the twentieth century. Colonial policies and customs contributed to overgrazing and unsustainable agricultural practices. Removal of trees and shrubs on agricultural land became common practice, disturbing the fragile balance between the region\u2019s ecosystems and its people, and driving land degradation.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, communities in Niger, Burkina Faso and Senegal are now reversing the trend. They are reviving Indigenous knowledge and techniques \u2013 known as Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration<\/a> \u00a0\u2013 to restore the Sahel\u2019s ecosystems and strengthen the resilience of its people.<\/p>\n Home to a growing population of some 400 million people, the Sahel faces major challenges, including poverty, hunger, malnutrition and political unrest. Climate change, which is causing higher temperatures, higher evaporation rates and increased variability of rainfall in the Sahel, is exacerbating the problem of land degradation. Short and erratic rainy seasons and long dry spells are contributing to declining agricultural yields and malnutrition. The loss of productive and fertile land is threatening the well-being and livelihoods of the Sahel\u2019s farming and pastoralist communities.<\/p>\n Pressure on land, migration and political instability are fuelling conflict. The two main agricultural production systems \u2013 small-scale rain-fed agriculture and pastoralism \u2013 often compete for the same land and water resources, contributing to local outbreaks of violence. Armed groups in Niger and Burkina Faso have contributed to the forced displacement of millions of people in the region.<\/p>\n For women and girls in the Sahel, the situation is especially severe. The gender gap in the Sahel is one of the widest in the world. Women play a major role in food production and animal husbandry, as well as provision of basic needs such as water and firewood for their families. They experience first-hand the impacts of land degradation and climate change, yet are excluded from decisions that affect them.<\/p>\n Fortunately, communities across the Sahel are restoring the rich ecosystems beneath their feet through Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration. Based on Indigenous knowledge and practices, FMNR was reintroduced in the 1980s by farmers in Niger, who started regreening their land by reviving native \u2018underground forests\u2019 of roots, stubs, and seeds. Fostering more inclusive<\/a>, peaceful land and resource governance<\/a> is a key component of the approach. Their efforts were hugely successful. Over time, they showed that FMNR restores soil fertility and water retention capacity, leading to increased tree density and higher agricultural yields.<\/p>\n In the Sahel\u2019s challenging environment, FMNR provides an accessible and affordable approach to ecosystem restoration. As a locally-led solution<\/a> to land degradation, it is both more effective, cheaper and more sustainable than top-down tree-planting programmes. With FMNR, communities across the Sahel are now poised to turn the tide. They are restoring the environment, rebuilding trust, and strengthening food security and sustainable livelihoods<\/a>. Thanks to their efforts, a more stable, secure and resilient Sahel is on the horizon.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”750px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The vast semi-arid region of the Sahel stretches across Africa, just south of the Sahara Desert. For centuries, native trees and shrubs, including the Baobab, Tamarind, Desert date and Shea tree, could be found scattered across the open savannah and farmers\u2019 fields.But the landscape of the Sahel began to change in the twentieth century. Colonial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2807,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum ornare velit erat, quis bibendum lectus eleifend sit amet. Cras molestie magna nunc, in volutpat justo rutrum ut. Aenean vehicula turpis ante, id commodo arcu fringilla eu. Sed laoreet nec metus ut congue. Fusce quis libero at dolor luctus lobortis nec eget orci. Pellentesque viverra ex odio, mollis commodo nisl feugiat a. Suspendisse mattis aliquam facilisis. Proin sit amet massa ut lorem eleifend iaculis ut in risus. Proin porttitor lorem tortor, consequat tempor est dapibus eu. Maecenas commodo, quam id hendrerit pharetra, augue augue suscipit orci, eget maximus lacus justo in nisl. Praesent fringilla pretium enim, ut eleifend nisi pharetra id. Morbi ac finibus ligula, et dignissim nisl. 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Pellentesque rhoncus nunc ex, ut condimentum nisl semper vel.<\/p>\r\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":53,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3316,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions\/3316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitiesregreenthesahel.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Land degradation and climate change<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Insecurity and gender inequality<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Underground forests<\/strong><\/h4>\n