The rights of Sahelian transhumant people

Transhumant pastoralism is one of the dominant production systems in Sahelian countries because of its capacity to adapt to a changing environment. This system involves 70-90% of the Sahel cattle (zebu) and 30-40% of small ruminants and a significant proportion of the population in West Africa. In last few decades, various factors have been seriously influencing these pastoral practices, such as climate changes, demographic and agricultural expansion, land occupation by extractive industry and monocultures, the sedentarisation process and natural resources protection policies. The present paper analyses these factors and the trends of transhumant pastoralism in the Sahel area following these changes. In particular, sustainability and the integration of pastoral systems in a natural resources management of Sahelian environment are reviewed and discussed.