Abstract

Poverty and land degradation are severe and interrelated problems in the Sahel. Land degradation reduces current agricultural productivity and is a form of "dissaving" natural capital that will affect future production and income. But while there is widespread interest in the linkages between poverty and land degradation in Africa, there has been little rigorous investigation of the factors that help some households escape the poverty-degradation trap and others to fall into it. This project will attempt to breach this knowledge gap. Researchers in Burkina Faso and Niger will endeavor to understand the dynamics of poverty and land degradation, identify promising options for reducing poverty and land degradation, and promote pathways suited to different development contexts in the Sahel.

Recipient Institution(s)