Burkina Faso study shows link between land degradation and migration
Publication year
Resource type
UNCCD Library
Material Type
Web resource
In the Sahel of West Africa – which covers Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad – land degradation has led to migration towards less densely populated and more fertile areas. The land has been made less fertile by demographic pressure, fragmenting agricultural units and rainfall variability.
We did research in Burkina Faso to understand the link between land degradation and migration. The area has seen a high number of Mossi farmers living in the densely populated central plateau and northern regions migrate to the south of the country.
Poor resource management and reduced rainfall have exacerbated land degradation. A rapidly growing population, coupled with high rates of internal rural migration and thirty years of desiccation, have resulted in profound land use and land cover change throughout the country.
In the central plateau and northern regions of Burkina Faso, land degradation has historically stimulated large-scale migration toward more fertile areas in the south. While some northern provinces are being rehabilitated by soil and water conservation projects southern provinces, considered more “pristine”, were neglected.
Our research compared the dynamics between migration and environmental degradation trends in the country. We did this by examining migration trends over several decades as well as land use and land cover data in the Bam and Sissili provinces. Bam is in the centre-north of the country close to Mali while Sissili is in the south, bordering on Ghana.
In the 1970s, land degradation in central and northern Burkina Faso led to large numbers of people leaving. In the 1980s the introduction of the soil and water conservation projects stabilised land degradation in this region.
In the Bam Province, in the north, this transformed the province’s migration patterns to the point there were – marginally – more people moving in than leaving.
These migration trends confirm the success of long-term investments in soil and water conservation. They also reflect dwindling opportunities elsewhere.
We did research in Burkina Faso to understand the link between land degradation and migration. The area has seen a high number of Mossi farmers living in the densely populated central plateau and northern regions migrate to the south of the country.
Poor resource management and reduced rainfall have exacerbated land degradation. A rapidly growing population, coupled with high rates of internal rural migration and thirty years of desiccation, have resulted in profound land use and land cover change throughout the country.
In the central plateau and northern regions of Burkina Faso, land degradation has historically stimulated large-scale migration toward more fertile areas in the south. While some northern provinces are being rehabilitated by soil and water conservation projects southern provinces, considered more “pristine”, were neglected.
Our research compared the dynamics between migration and environmental degradation trends in the country. We did this by examining migration trends over several decades as well as land use and land cover data in the Bam and Sissili provinces. Bam is in the centre-north of the country close to Mali while Sissili is in the south, bordering on Ghana.
In the 1970s, land degradation in central and northern Burkina Faso led to large numbers of people leaving. In the 1980s the introduction of the soil and water conservation projects stabilised land degradation in this region.
In the Bam Province, in the north, this transformed the province’s migration patterns to the point there were – marginally – more people moving in than leaving.
These migration trends confirm the success of long-term investments in soil and water conservation. They also reflect dwindling opportunities elsewhere.
Keywords
land degradation
desertification
The Sahel
Africa
Burkina Faso
Web resource
migration
farming systems
land use
soil health
Documents