Years ago on this blog I argued in defense of Earth's huge human population; I observed that given looming threats to living things and Earth itself, humans needed all the brain power we could get. And I pointed out that there was no telling where great solutions would emerge; they could come from the least likely places and the least among us -- the poorest, the unschooled, those living in 'underdeveloped' regions.
I remembered my words when I read The Smithsonian Magazine's August 2016 The “Great Green Wall” Didn’t Stop Desertification, but it Evolved Into Something That Might. The title gives no indication of the amazing turnaround wrought by many African small farmers but while the report details their successes, the story seems to have landed in a news media Black Hole. This, despite the fact that it got attention at the United Nations and African Union and of course the World Bank.
At any rate Jim Morrison's report for the venerable Smithsonian Magazine does the story justice. I invite you to read the whole thing in case you have doubts about the human ability to adapt.
But is it too little, too late, in this case?
Well, one should also not doubt the World Bank's ability to muck up a great idea. The farmers' success at land reclamation in the early part of this century happened under the radar (see the report). This meant the Bank didn't know was going on for years.
However, in this era so many specialists outside the Bank are aware of its penchant for overkill that with any luck they will be effective at running interference for the farmers while helping them make the best use of Bank loans.
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2 comments:
The Sahal is a transition zone between the Sahara and the savannah. Its condition fluctuates from drying to sorta fertile as the climate fluctuates. It has been doing this for hundreds of years. Humans don’t affect the changes. Apparently we are in a wet cycle.
Fifty years ago the news was full of stories about Sahal desertification, and how evil the peasants goats were.
"and how evil the peasants goats were" [smiling] Yes. But the farmers discussed in the report aren't trying to affect the Sahel's climate. They're trying to save their farms -- and falling back on ancient water conservation practices in the effort. I suspect at least one reason the story hasn't gotten the attention it deserves is that the success of the practices flies in the face of the Climate Change crowd and 'modern' capital-intensive farming methods.
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