The Christian and Creation ~ Glorifying the Creator

Poverty and Forest Management

Saving the people and  livelihoods of Niger through reforestation of desertified regions

Niger ranks 174 out of 177 countries on the Human Development Index.  60% of its population lives on under $1 a day.  50% of Niger’s children are undernourished.  Four fifths of its land falls in the Saharan desert and is more affected than most regions by climate change.  Droughts are expected to begin coming with greater frequency.

Niger is in trouble.  The immediate reaction to a need for more food – that is, for greater agricultural productivity – is to plant and grow on every inch of land, at the expense of the natural environment if necessary.  People need to eat.  At times like this a “sustained environment” is a luxury that cannot be afforded.

But as with any other issue, the solution is not so simple.  For Niger, in fact, the solution that seemed the simplest spelled disaster.   

Niger’s story of environmental degradation began in the 1930s, with French colonization.  Eager to profit from their newly acquired lands, the French pushed local farmers to grow export crops and put policies in place that discouraged sustainable treatment of the farmland.  The native trees and shrubs were slashed and burned to make way for the crops, and native animals were driven away.  While the French implemented a health care system that expanded longevity and increased live births, it also placed great stress on the environment. 

Niger’s post-colonial government inherited a land whose natural resources were stretched perilously thin. In the 1960s and 70s the new government’s farming and environmental policies, an explosion of population growth, and a series of devastating droughts turned Niger’s farmland into desert waste. 

Through decades of disregarding environmental stability, policy makers had designed their own national disaster.   Droughts and famines began to sink their teeth into Niger, and without a stable natural environment, without trees, without fertile soil, without native wildlife, and without safe sources of water, Niger and its people could not fight back.

Niger desert

If only someone had cried “save the trees.”

In the 1980s, someone finally did.  A farmer-led movement of natural reforestation aimed to increase agricultural yield, income, food security and self-reliance for impoverished farmers.  Now, thiry years later, they have accomplished just that: harvests have risen, soil fertility and ability to withstand drought has increased, and erosion has decreased.  Nutrition for women and children has increased, the status of women has been elevated, and children have been enabled to attend school. 

Because of trees?  Yes!   Someone realized they needed to save the native trees and restore the natural environment to protect the people.    

Because the people of Niger cannot be separated from their environment. 

With the return of trees came the return of native animal species.  Birds came to nest in the trees and their droppings helped fertilize the crops.  The trees made farming more efficient – the farmers need only to plant seeds once, since the trees prevent loss of seeds and seedlings by protecting them from desert winds.  The trees’ roots improved water infiltration and soil retention.  All of these factors increased soil productivity.  Because of increased soil productivity and raised water tables families are now able to not only produce their staple grains, but also commit extra time to cash crops such as tomatoes, onions, sweet potatoes and watermelon, increasing their own nutrition and also bringing in extra income to pay for school, medicine and improved housing. 

Through this re-greening process, over 5 million hectacres have been transformed, an area about the size of Costa Rica.   

Communities with natural vegetation improving the soil and protecting it from winds are better insulated from the affects of the cyclical droughts, which are expected to increase due to climate change. 

In 2005 a four-year-long drought hit Niger.   In a sad example of the impact of desertification, in the community of Maradi an estimated 15 children died each week of starvation during 2005.  The Aguie District, which had rehabilitated its natural environment and could harvest products from the trees to sell in exchange for grain, did not rely on famine relief and avoided a single death.

The areas in Niger participating in the reforestation program are now living sustainably.  They have fewer worries, fewer deaths, more security, more food, more productivity, and more opportunities to improve their lives.     

People are only as healthy as their environment.  Yes, we love trees because God made them; they glorify Him in their very being.  But when someone finally said, “save the trees” they meant, “save the people who rely on these trees and this environment.  Save Niger.”  So we might cry out “save the ocean,” “save the river,” “save the mountains,” “save the soil,”  “save the prairie.”   God in his wisdom put humans into an environment for a reason: because it provides for them and protects them.  Our responsibility is “to serve and to keep” (Genesis 2:15) that environment, for our own good and for God’s glory. 

All statistics and references are from the UN Poverty-Environment Initiative report  which you can read here.