Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Société et Environnement (Jan 2014)
Optimisation de l'utilisation des ressources communes dans le bassin arachidier du Sénégal : évaluation ex ante de plans et d'alternatives de gestion durable
Abstract
Optimizing the use of common resources in the groundnut basin of Senegal: An ex-ante evaluation of plans and alternatives for sustainable management. The preservation of inter village forestry and pastoral spaces (ESPIVs) is an endogenous initiative, introduced by local communities in the groundnut basin of Senegal, to meet the combined effects of climate change and resource degradation. Located outside crop-growing areas, these community reserves are a source of fodder for livestock and for local transhumance, and they provide additional income for rural populations. The preservation of these ESPIVs is supported by management tools such as the Simple Management Plan (PSG) and the Development and Management Plan (PAG). In some cases, the economic impact of these plans on poverty reduction at the community level is very noticeable. But in other cases, the expectations of the communities are not being met. This article is an ex-ante evaluation of the projected management plans of two ESPIVs in the groundnut basin of Senegal. The results show that simpler management options involving reduced areas would make only a small contribution to local development, even when consolidated with various incitative measures. Management options involving interventions in the infrastructure of vast areas with a high forest-product potential would have a positive impact on the economic surplus of the members of those communities, hence reinforcing possibilities for local development. However, this approach is controversial and simpler management options therefore need to be re-assessed. These simpler options would involve alternatives for revenue generation, such as taxation for access to common land resources by transhumant livestock and the marketing of non-ligneous forest products. This study shows the limits of PSG compared to PAG and proposes alternatives for improved approaches to managing ESPIVs. Thus, the study provides decision-makers with possible negotiating tracks in a situation requiring the sustainable management of common resources within a context of decentralization.
