Section 3
Mali : Desert Living
Prepare To Read
Objectives
In this section you will
1. Discover how Mali’s environment affects its economy.
2. Find out how desert can spread across the land.
3. Learn about the importance of preserving Mali’s environment.
Taking Notes
As you read this section, look for details about the role of the Sahel in the life of the
people of Mali. Copy the diagram below, and use it to record your findings.
Target Reading Skill
Identify Supporting Details The main idea of a paragraph or section is supported by
details that give further information about it. These details may explain the main idea by
giving examples or reasons. As you read, note the details that support each main idea
in the text.
Key Terms
desertification (dih zurt uh fih KAY shun) n. the process by which fertile land becomes
too dry or damaged to support life
overgrazing (oh vur GRAYZ ing) n. allowing too much grazing by large herds of animals
These days in Tombouctou (tohm book
TOO),
Mali, sand piles up against buildings. It
coats the fur of camels. It gives a yellowish tint to everything in sight. Inside a hotel, a
fine layer of red sand coats the lobby. Only a few of the rooms are taken. The manager
is waiting for the river to rise, hoping it will bring customers.
Tombouctou, Mali
But each year, as the climate slowly changes, the river rises a little later. “Ten years ago
the first boat arrived on July 1,” says Tombouctou politician Moulaye Haidara (moo LAH
ee HY dah rah). “Five years ago it was July 15. Now, we’re lucky if it’s here by early
August. In another five years, who knows?”
Mali’s Environment
Tombouctou is located in the partly dry lands of the Sahel. As you can see on the map
in the Country Profile in this section, the Sahel lies between the Sahara and the
savanna. The Sahara stretches over much of West Africa, and it is expanding all the
time. In Mali, the Sahara covers about one third of the land. Few Malians inhabit the
Sahara. Some live in the Sahel, while others live in the savanna, the one area of the
country that receives abundant rainfall.
Resources of the Sahel
The Sahel extends across Africa from Mauritania in the west to Ethiopia in the east.
People have lived in the Sahel for thousands of years. They have long used its
resources to earn their living. Malians in the Sahel herd animals and raise food crops to
feed their families. Many earn extra money by raising cash crops as well. The rainy
season, which lasts from May to August, is an ideal time for farming. During the rest of
the year, farming is still possible in the Sahel thanks to water sources that exist yearround, such as the Niger River.
A Crossroads Location
In the past, the Sahel’s location as a crossroads between the Sahara and the savanna
helped its economy flourish. For example, the city of Tombouctou was once a
convenient stopping point for many camel caravans traveling between North Africa and
the savanna. From the 1300s through the 1500s, Tombouctou thrived as one of Africa’s
wealthy centers of trade.
Today, people still live in Tombouctou, but they no longer practice trade on a large
scale. Once European ships began trading along Africa’s coast, trade through the Sahel
decreased. Transporting goods by ship was faster and easier than sending them by
camel. However, Tombouctou is still a crossroads for people traveling through the area.
Table Skills
The table shows some of the groups of people who pass through Tombouctou and
the ways they typically make a living. In the photo, a trader’s camels carry salt to
Tombouctou.
Identify Which groups are traders?
Analyze Information Based on the way they earn their living, what reasons do you
think these groups have for passing through Tombouctou?
The Desert Spreads
Mali has little industry. Most people make their living through trading, farming, or
herding. However, these types of work are being threatened by desertification, the
change of fertile land into land that is too dry or damaged to support life. In Mali
and other countries of the Sahel, the desert is spreading south. Even the wetter lands in
southwest Mali are at risk of becoming desert. But how does fertile land turn into
desert? Scientists have identified two causes of desertification that may be at work in
Mali.
Target Reading Skill
Identify Supporting Details The main idea under the red heading The Desert Spreads
is that desertification is threatening the ways people in Mali make a living. Which details
in the paragraphs above tell about this problem?
Overgrazing
One cause of desertification is overgrazing, or allowing too much grazing by large
herds of animals. When animals graze, they often eat the roots of plants, which hold
the soil in place. With the roots gone, the fierce winds of the Sahara erode the soil. The
soil then blows into the air, creating yellow dust clouds. This loose soil is one reason
that Tombouctou is slowly being covered in sand—the desert is taking over the land.
Drought
Another cause of desertification is drought, which you will recall is a long period of little
or no rain. Droughts can turn land into desert. Over the last 30 years, the Sahel has
received much less rain than it did before. Some scientists argue that a few years of
good rainfall could stop desertification.
Diagram Skills
Overgrazing in the Sahara is the result of too much grazing by animals such as
sheep, goats, camels, and cattle.
Identify How does the soil become loosened when animals graze?
Predict Do you think there are ways in which the people of the Sahara could avoid
overgrazing their animals?
Preserving the Environment
Many people around the world are concerned about the future of the Sahel. The United
Nations has created a committee to help prevent desertification. Before the problem of
desertification can be resolved, however, people living in the Sahel must learn how to
avoid practices that make the problem worse.
A Way of Life in Danger
Many people who live in the Sahel are nomads. The Tuareg (TWAH reg), for example,
have lived in the desert and in the Sahel for many hundreds of years. They move their
herds of goats, sheep, and camels south in the dry season and north in the wet season.
The desertification of countries like Mali is threatening the Tuareg way of life. Moreover,
during the 1970s and 1980s, Mali experienced several major droughts. Facing water
and food shortages, some of the nomadic Tuareg have settled on farms or moved to
cities. Others have built camps outside Tombouctou.
Like this woman, most Tuaregs wear blue from head to toe.
Finding Solutions
Desertification has hurt Mali’s economy by making it harder for farmers to grow cash
crops. To help the economy, Mali’s government has encouraged businesses to come to
Mali and people to start their own businesses. Also, to help the environment, Mali’s
government has been studying the problem of desertification and is implementing
programs to combat it. With the help of the United Nations, the government is working
to educate people about better ways to use land. The government is also sponsoring
irrigation and farming projects that will offset the effects of desertification.
Reading Check
Why did many Tuareg settle on farms, move to cities, or build camps?