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The Legacy of Sahelian Management: 1965–1988

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Greenhouse Effect, Sea Level and Drought

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIC,volume 325))

Abstract

The Sahel undergoes episodes of extreme climatic change on timescales ranging from millennia to decades. Following a period of high rainfall in the 1950s, plans were initiated in the 1960s for a number of large-scale irrigation schemes based upon the assumption that climatic conditions of the 1950s and 60s were normal for the region and would persist into the future. Many of these projects were completed in the 1970s and early 1980s during a time of prolonged, intense drought. A review of NASA orbital photography and field reports from the Sahel illustrates the mixed record of attempts to manage regional hydrology in the face of changing environmental conditions. In contemplating the development of new water management projects designed to assuage the problems brought about by drought and the growing regional population, the various fates of these earlier attempts to control the changeable Sahelian environment should be recalled. Small-scale water management schemes may prove to be more resilient to climatic change in the Sahel than traditional large-scale engineering projects sponsored by Western nations and favoured by the central governments of Sahelian nations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, Oxford University, Mansfield Road, Oxford, 0X1 3TB, England

    G. L. Wells

  2. Department of Geosciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, 77204-5503, USA

    K. Burke

Authors
  1. G. L. Wells
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  2. K. Burke
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Earth Technology Institute, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Belgian Geological Survey, Brussels, Belgium

    Roland Paepe

  2. GSFC Institute for Space Studies, NASA, New York, NY, USA

    Rhodes W. Fairbridge

  3. Geological Survey of the Netherlands, Haarlem, The Netherlands

    Saskia Jelgersma

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© 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Wells, G.L., Burke, K. (1990). The Legacy of Sahelian Management: 1965–1988. In: Paepe, R., Fairbridge, R.W., Jelgersma, S. (eds) Greenhouse Effect, Sea Level and Drought. NATO ASI Series, vol 325. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0701-0_36

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0701-0_36

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6801-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-0701-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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