Strategies for forestry development in the West African Sahel: An overview

A wide variety of forestry projects have been launched across the West African Sahel in recent years, part of the broader development assistance program established in response to the last Sahelian drought. Although many of these efforts are less than five years old, there are already important lessons to be learned, lessons that call for a profound review of strategies adopted thus far, lessons that point the way toward new approaches to forestry development across the region. Only a brief review of forestry strategy and experience to date will be possible in this overview. After defining the region and briefly outlining the multiple role of forests and forestry, the paper will review strategies used in forestry development in the Sahel, examine selected initial results, and outline elements of the reorientation that will be needed to place future sector development on a sounder footing. (author)