ADAPTATION TO DESERTIFICATION AMONG RURAL HOUSEHOLDS: LOCAL INSIGHT TO ENHANCE COEXISTENCE IN THE REGION OF MARADI, NIGER REPUBLIC

Abstract

People in the dry land environment whose livelihoods are often tied to subsistence agriculture and natural resource base have been known to adopt adaptation measures to build resilience and decrease vulnerability to multiple threats. Given the enmity and conflicts that do occur between and within settlements in an attempt to adapt to desertification and other environmental problems, it is essential to identify successful adaptation to attain development and intercommunity co-existence. In view of this, attempt is made in this paper to highlight household and community-level adaptations that can help to achieve coexistence among settlements in the region of Maradi of Niger Republic. It is recommended that a more holistic approach which situates Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques at the centre of policy formulation and implementation should be adopted to ensure sustainability of rural livelihoods. There is need for strong livelihood diversification in order to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience. Similarly, there is need for mutual reinforcement of local and national policy to address the issue of desertification. In doing this, much emphasis should be placed on autonomous (bottom-up) adaptation to strengthen the linkages between stakeholders and thereby reinforce peaceful co-existence among the people.