Water and Land in the Sahel

"This is a brave book that collaboratively experiments with methods to look at land and water as essential resources during occurring and past crises. Operating with the notion of 'polycrisis' it criticizes using 'crisis' as spectacle; instead, the authors carefully apply long-term cartography and local experience to reflect on ways of dealing with insecurities caused by climate change, pandemics, famine and war, but also political decision making and international prescriptions. Thorough research and an eye and ear for the complexities around these essential topics make this book an essential read for everyone who wants to deepen their understanding of geographic, social and cultural ways of dealing with changes in the Sahel Region."

Andrea Behrends, Professor of Anthropology, University of Leipzig, Germany.

"Based on solid, in-depth, multi-year field research and a fruitful interdisciplinary dialogue between anthropology, geography and other social sciences, as well as between European and Sahelian researchers, this book offers an up-to-date re-reading of the Sahel and the ecological, economic and social dynamics and tensions that run through it, offering critical cartographic, interpretations and innovative keys to keep the focus on a territory in which we seem to have lost our compass and need to find our way back into a post-colonial pluriverse. A reSahelient read, to find new routes between water and land."

Egidio Dansero, Professor of Political and Economic Geography, University of Turin, Italy.

"An ambitious and original book on the multiple crises of the Sahel, examined from the perspective of the water-land relationship and from a wide range of perspectives: from ecological rhythms to development, from the long-term to current health and security issues, from social representations to public modernisation policies. Drawing on 30 years of research and mixed methods (field surveys, remote sensing, GIS), the 17 chapters, ranging from general overviews to localised case studies, weave the complexity of the material into the unity of Sahelian issues. An impressive achievement."

Géraud Magrin, Professor of Geography, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France.

"Water is an extremely important topic, looking at drylands and particularly the Sahel. This book is a must-read for those who are interested in the backgrounds to the polycrisis in the Sahel and in drylands in general. Based on decade-long engagement with the region, it provides us with in-depth insights from a variety of disciplinary perspectives on the role of water and its connections with the daily lives of the Sahelians, political economy and conflict. It shows that our ‘solutions’ failed and that we need to refresh our look at the region and critically examine our narratives and prejudices about this amazingly complex world."

Han van Dijk, Professor, Sociology of Developmentand Change Group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands.