Water Shocks: Wetlands and Human Migration in the Sahel
Channel: Wetlands Int'l
Date: 07/06/2017

The Sahel Region is a semi-arid belt extending across Africa for some 5500km. Wetlands cover more than 10 per cent of the Sahel, while this only becomes visible when they are in full flood. Six major floodplain systems account for most of this area. These wetlands are the main sources of the region’s productivity outside the short wet season. Their degradation, mainly due to ill-informed developments, leads to severe water scarcity and loss of peoples livelihoods. This affects the social, economic and political stability of the region and is one of the drivers of out-migration - people are obliged to look elsewhere to seek alternative livelihoods, temporarily or permanently.
The EU, as one of the major partners of Africa and donor of development programs, can play a greater role in ensuring that the value of wetlands ecosystems is recognised and addressed in development, climate and DRR