Today all nations are concerned about the phenomenon of desertification.
Policies, strategies, projects and programmes have been formulated and implemented at both world
and country level. At the same time, the role of forests and trees in land use should become more
important in order to restore degraded land, support agriculture, strengthen food security, safeguard
water reserves and enhance the well-being of local people.

Forests have a major role to play in reversing desertification trends. However, tree cultivation is
much more difficult in arid zones: growth is slower, survival rates are lower and plant protection
presents great difficulty. Additional problems include variability in ecological and socio-economic
conditions, making it difficult to classify arid lands for mono-uses; low popular participation in arid
zones in national development owing to the prioritization of favourable areas for development; lack of
investment and elaboration of scientific elements to maintain and develop productivity.

These various constraints mean that forestry activities in arid zones are oriented toward both
production and protection and that they benefit on a large scale from the positive effects of soil and
water conservation generated by plant cover, enabling the environment to be kept stable.
Tree cultivation in arid zones is not only a forestry practice, but also a land use exercise. In Mali, the
main types of forestry activity aimed at combating desertification are afforestation, natural plant
management, silvo-pastoral systems, agroforestry systems, watershed management, and the setting
up of national parks.

Reforestation is an effective method for repairing degraded lands. Above 300 mm, dry reforestation
can be effective when the plantation site is wisely chosen and stream water collection techniques are
applied. Below 300 mm, extra watering is required according to the particular features of the intervention
area.