SOS Sahel International (UK)
Full Publications List

Books

Changing Places? Women, Resource Management and Migration in the Sahel, [principal researcher: R. David 1995, SOS Sahel/ESRC/IFAD/IIED] considers the relationship between male out-migration and women's management of natural resources in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Sudan. The research discovered a variety of conditions, responses and perceptions throughout the Sahel. (169 pp)
ISBN No 1 901459 14 4  Price: £7.99

A Field Worker’s Guide to the Identification, Propagation and Uses of Common Trees and Shrubs of Dryland Sudan, [Kees Vogt 1995, SOS Sahel International (UK)] (Also available in Arabic). This manual compiled for the use of project extensionists in the SOS Sahel El Ain Natural Forest Management Project, El Obeid, Sudan. It has been used extensively and updated continuously through knowledge garnered from local people, project staff and text books. The original manual has been completely revised for distribution outside the project and will be useful for field officers and extensionists as well as researchers of natural resources in Sudan and many other semi arid regions. (167 pp)
ISBN No 1 901459 15 2  Price: £15.00

A Social and Technical Guide to Irrigated Shelterbelt Establishment: Including Traditional Water Extraction from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer, [Stephen Bristow 1996, SOS Sahel International (UK)] (Also available in Arabic). The need for shelterbelts in the semi arid areas of Northern Sudan is now firmly established. The destruction of natural vegetation coupled with the increase in population and the decrease in rainfall has ensured that the effects of desertification have been felt over large areas of Northern Sudan. In these areas the livelihoods of much of the population are being threatened. This manual sets out to explain how trees and people can work together to combat the many problems caused by desertification. (42 pp)
ISBN No 1 901459 16 0  Price: £5.00

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Women’s Extension Forestry Manual: A Methodology from Northern Sudan, [Stephen Bristow 1996, SOS Sahel International (UK)] (Also available in Arabic). This manual has been written for those involved in planning and implementing social forestry programmes for women in dryland areas. It will be particularly relevant to those working in Northern and Western Sudan and provides practical guidance and training material to enable women to become involved in the effort to increase tree cover in arid and semi arid areas. The manual also covers the social and cultural aspects of women’s involvement in Sudan. (24 pp)
ISBN No 1 901459 17 9  Price: £5.00

At The Deserts Edge, Oral Histories from the Sahel [N. Cross, R. Barker & SOS Sahel, Panos Institute] explores the culture, history and environment of the Sahel through the memoirs and recollections of its people. The book draws on interviews conducted by SOS Sahel with over 500 men and women from eight Sahelian countries, and is a unique collection of knowledge about changing ecological conditions, conservation and agricultural practices, traditional medicines and social relationships. A valuable source of reference for development workers, teachers and journalists, with a fascinating blend of stories, anecdotes, opinions and information. (241 pp)
ISBN No 1 870670 26 4  Price: £12.95

Desert Voices returns to the Sahel
We are delighted to announce that the project will return to these areas to see how life has changed for those still living at the desert's edge. 
Please visit www.panos.org.uk/desertvoices for more information.

Cash for Work and Food Insecurity in Koisha, Southern Ethiopia [P. Jenden, 1996, ODI Relief and Rehabilitation Network Paper 11, ODI] is a description of the Food Security Project implemented by SOS Sahel in Wellaita in the southern region of Ethiopia. The ultimate objective of the project was to provide a sound basis for informing future responses to addressing the problem of seasonal food insecurity and a more effective integration of relief and development initiatives. This paper provides a summary of the research carried out by the project. The full report with annexes is entitled Cash for Work and Food Insecurity, Koisha Woreda - Wellaita, Ethiopia - see below. (A5, 45 pp).
Price: £5.00

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Local Forest Management in the Sahel: Towards a new social contract. (P. Kerkhof, 2000, SOS Sahel International UK) The result of three years of research with SOS Sahel and other projects in several Sahelian countries, this book assesses the current trend towards management shared between state and local users, drawing lessons for policy and an inventory of appropriate methods. Also available in French; La Gestion Locale des Forets au Sahel : Vers un Nouveau Contrat Social.

Who's Managing the Commons? Inclusive management for a sustainable future. Securing the Commons No. 1
(C. Hesse & P. Trench, 2000, SOS Sahel International UK, IIED(International Institute for Environment and Development)
This paper sets the scene, presenting the key issues identified by the partners of the programme, providing a benchmark of our current thinking, while placing it within the broader debate on decentralised management of natural resources in dryland Africa. (39 pp)
ISBN No. 1 90403 572 8
 Download English (359 kB), French (376 kB)

Hannu Biyu Ke Tchuda Juna - Strength in Unity. Shared Management of common Property Resources. A Case Study From Takieta, Niger. Securing the Commons No. 2
(G. & K. Vogt, 2000, SOS Sahel International UK, IIED.)  
This paper traces the sequence of events from the project's inception in 1995 to the establishment of a joint forest management plan in 1999. The process in on-going as communities prepare to implement their management system. (44 pp)
ISBN No. 1 90403 574 4
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From Conflict To Consensus. Towards joint management of natural resources by pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in the zone of Kishi Beiga, Burkina Faso. Securing the Commons No. 3
(M. Banzhaf, B. Drabo, H. Grell, 2000, SOS Sahel International UK, IIED)
This paper traces the process that has led to the emergence of a development platform in the zone of Kishi Beiga, situated in the extreme north of Burkina Faso. Home to many different ethnic groups, the complex history of this pastoral zone has at times threatened to derail development initiatives such as the GTZ component of Burkina Sahel programme (PSB), which was launched in 1991 as part of a programme of German development aid to the country.
After an initially shaky start, the PSB has facilitated a shift towards consultation rather than confrontation, and now involves a wide variety of interest groups at supra-village level: pastoralists and agro-pastoralists, former slaves and their masters, local people and transhumant herders. This report is based on a case study presented at the World Bank International Workshop on Community-Based Natural Resource Management, held in Washington in May 1998. (38 pp)
ISBN No. 1 90403 576 0
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Traditional institutions, multiple stakeholders and modern perspectives in common property: Accompanying change within Borana pastoral systems. Securing the Commons No. 4
(Boku Tachem and Ben Irwin, 2003, SOS Sahel International UK, IIED)
Forests and pastoralism are in a state of crisis in the Borana lowlands in southern Ethiopia. State management has failed to control forest exploitation and past and present development interventions continue to undermine pastoral production systems. This paper shows how a fundamental misunderstanding of pastoral land management, and in particular pastoral tenure systems, has undermined traditional institutions and the environment for which they were once responsible. It describes the diversity of people and institutions that use or manage the Borana forests today and the challenges that this presents in attempting to develop a new system. It looks in particular at the relationships between customary institutions and more modern actors. It also presents the process by which these challenges are being addressed in order to establish a collaborative system of management for local forest areas, with a focus on socio-political solutions, in order to slow the rapid decline of pastoral livelihoods and systems. (54 pp)
ISBN No. 1 84369 448 4
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Towards a local peace: SOS Sahel’s experience of conflict transformation between pastoralists and farmers at El Ain, North Kordofan State, Sudan. Securing the Commons No. 5
(Egeimi, O; Mahmoud, MAM; Abdella, A. 2003, SOS Sahel International UK, IIED)
Development agencies of all kinds are becoming increasingly aware of conflict as an integral part of natural resource management in the Sahel. This paper examines the question of what roles development agencies could or should play in the context of supporting natural resource management systems, where conflict between different resource user groups is an integral part of resource use. It considers how development agencies can work with existing customary institutions in the current context of institutional uncertainty and complexity. The paper looks at a natural forest management project at El Ain in North Kordofan, Sudan. (52 pp)
ISBN No. 1 84369 459 X
 Download English (257 kB), French (274 kB)

Local Networks as a tool for influencing policy: Experiences of the GDRN5 Network in Mali. Securing the Commons No. 6
(Konate, AB. 2003, SOS Sahel International UK, IIED)
Lobbying on development policies has become standard strategic procedure for many civil society organisations, NGOs and even certain development projects in Mali. Despite this trend, very few Malian organisations have any proven experience in lobbying. This paper documents the experience of the GDRN5 network in lobbying in respect of the bill on the Pastoral Charter. It focuses on the approach and procedure used to influence the authorities and bring them to change several aspects of the bill. The aim of the paper is to share the network’s experience and the lessons learned with those who support sustainable natural resource management in Mali and elsewhere.(46 pp)
ISBN No. 1 84369 461 1
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Social Inclusion: a pre-requisite for equitable and sustainable natural resource management: two experiences in Mali.
Securing the Commons No. 7
(Bocoum, A; Cochrane, K; Diakite, M; Kane, O. 2003, SOS Sahel International UK, IIED)
The early 1990s saw the launch of two programmes supporting decentralised natural resource management (NRM) in Mali: NEF in Douentza, and SOS Sahel in Bankass. The aim of both programmes was to help create the conditions for sustainable community development, by setting up local NRM structures and revitalising customary resource management institutions. In 1999 both programmes conducted self-evaluations which revealed that while they had worked closely with sedentary agro-pastoralists and residents, they had taken little account of the interests of incoming transhumant herders and involved few women. As a result, local NRM rules were ignored by non-residents, and conflicts over the use of natural resources were worsening. In order to address this situation, SOS Sahel UK and NEF participated in a regional action-research programme on shared management of common property resources in the Sahel (SMCPR), to try out approaches based on ‘social inclusion’ ie. informed participation by all actors in the definition and implementation of regulations governing NRM. The aim of this paper is to make decision-makers, support services and development partners aware of the importance of involving all stakeholders in the management of common resources. Focusing on the institutional aspects of NRM, the paper describes the context of the interventions, presents several case studies and outlines the lessons learned from the experiences. (42 pp)
ISBN No. 1 84369 463 8
 Download English (522 kB), French (531 kB)

These pamphlets are a series produced by the Shared Management of Common Property Resources Project. The project's aim is to research and inform ways in which common property resources can be managed in an equitable, peaceful and sustainable way. This working paper series provides practitioners with up to date examples of experiences from the field. The series describes work in progress and is intended to promote lesson sharing and exchange between people interested in practice and policy influencing common property resource management.

  Download the full publications list [Word document, 126 kB]

Please contact us to request any of the above publications.

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