Keita: the impact on environment and livelihood status of 20 years fight against desertification actions

The Keita Department, in the Republic of Niger, is composed by a complex system of watersheds subject to strong wind and water erosion. The Keita Project (PDRADM) launched in 1984 in a region close to the environmental collapse. The main objective was to increase food security while combating desertification through the reduction of soil erosion and reforestation. More than 20 years of soil conservation and land reclamation interventions make Keita an open air laboratory where is possible to carry out studies on the impacts of fight against desertification actions from the environmental and socio-economic points of view. Between 1984 and 2002 woodlands increased more than 300%, wood production by 49% while leaf biomass by 57% and cereal production by 41%. Keita has proven that desertification control and recovery is demanding projects lasting decades because reclamation needs twice the time necessary for degradation and prevention is extremely less costly than reclamation.