The struggle against

Desertification

MALI: Amongst POOREST nations in the world

while being, with Niger, the African nation most impacted by

DESERTIFICATION

WHAT IS DESERTIFICATION?

The change from once fertile land... into desert

WHAT CAUSES DESERTIFICATION?

Climate Change -

Global Warming

Deforestation –

Resource exploitation

IMPACTS OF DESERTIFICATIONEconomic PovertyEnvironmental

• Desertification makes areas more flood-prone. It also causes the salt level in soil to rise, results in

deteriorating quality of water, and silting of rivers, streams and reservoirs.

• World Bank estimates that at the global level, the annual income foregone in the areas affected by desertification amounts to US$ 42 billion each year, while the annual cost of fighting land degradation would cost only US$ 2.4 billion a year

• People living in areas threatened by desertification are forced to move elsewhere to find other

means of livelihood. Usually they migrate towards urban areas or go abroad. Mass migration is a

major consequence of desertification. From 1997 to 2020, some 60 million people are expected to move from the desertified areas in Sub-Saharan Africa towards Northern Africa and Europe.

THE MALI STRUGGLE

Will we be able to save the Niger river, Mali’s

bloodline, from instinction due to desertification?

THE MALI STRUGGLEThe Niger river in Mali has been the life source of its population since 4000 BC!

Fishing

Primary source of waterStrategic Commercial Route

Vital for cattle grazing & Agriculture

THE MALI STRUGGLE

Relics, cultures and traditions of great civilizations that have flourished through the ages by the

Niger river in Mali can still be admired today...

THE MALI STRUGGLE

Its all well on its way to being lost

forever, reduced to this...

Today’s realities of desertification on the banks of the Niger river in Mali

• Its becoming more and more difficult for boats to move along the river due to its record low levels. Commerce has never been so bad for the region

• The river has never been so polluted as vegetation around its banks dies, and the natural filtration cycle of the water is broken down

• Marine life is ever closer to extinction, eradicating with it one of the country’s treasures: fishing

• Historical agricultural lands are disappearing, due to the invading sand and extremely arid soil

• Herdsman have never had to travel so far to feed their live stock, which during these long journey’s most often die of starvation

• Women are having to travel by foot for days in order to gather wood for cooking

I’ve been selected by a non-profit organization, LE CREDIL, to be part of a team of 6 who are going to be implementing an environmental project in

Mali for 3 months: February – March – April 2011

What is it?A partnership established 4 years ago between Le CREDIL and l’Organisation pour la gestion de l’environnement au Sahel (OGES), a non-profit Malien organisation, to fight against deforestation by bringing the needed assistance to affected local communities, and engaging them in the long-term solutions for preserving and developing their autonomy

http://www.credil.qc.ca/index.jsp?p=43#__Aux_portes_du_Sahel___au_Mali__stage_sp_cialis__

What will we be doing?

Improving

energy efficiency Composting /

Soil Fertilizers

Planting

fruit treesOptimizing

wells

Improving drying of

food

The project and our tasks will be comprised of 5 main activities / pillars that we will be undertaking with the local population of Kamaka village, in the North part of Mali close to the desert, where desertification is having the biggest impact on the environment and its people

How can you contribute?

$ 2,000

$ 4,000

1. Each of the 6 team members is raising funds of $2,000 that will

be directly invested in making the project happen (pls see previous slide)

2. Additional funds raised above the needed $ 2,000 will be invested in a project that the team will identify once on the ground

Funds needed for the project we have been assigned to(see previous slide)

Additional funds that will be invested on a project to be identified by the team once on the ground and with the local organisation

$ 2,000

$ 4,000

Every single possible contribution / donation

... whatever the amount (A buck is an amount )...

gets us 1 step ahead in our

common fight Vs deforestation!

For your donations, thank you for contacting:

If you are in Canada

If you are in Lebanon

joeykhoury79@gmail.com

liza_charbel@hotmail.com

An official LE CREDIL receipt will be provided to every donator(If donation is made in Lebanon, receipt will be emailed within couple of weeks after donation is made)

“The end of extreme poverty is at hand, within our generation, but only if we grasp the historic opportunity in

front of us”

Appreciating your time taken with this presentation, do not hesitate to pass on the message by forwarding this presentation to

whomever could be willing to be part of the solidarity,

and thanking you in advance for your contribution!

Quote of the day:

Jeffrey Sachs