------------------------------------------------1 SYNOPSIS OF THE TIMBUKTU DOCUMENTARIES ------------------------------------------------A two-part TV documentary on European stories about the desert city Timbuktu by Ass. Prof. Tor A. Benjaminsen, Noragric, and Carsten Sørensen, Univ. of Oslo (producer). Year of production: 2003. Part 1: Timbuktu — African Eldorado or End of the World Part 2: Timbuktu — Where Water is Life and Milk is Food For centuries, Europe and the entire western world have developed various images and perceptions of Timbuktu and its inhabitants. These images have changed, in accordance with Europe’s own changing interests and ideological trends. Already long ago, these images were transformed into myths and stories of the unknown. Many of these myths still survive, and thus influence the western world’s general image of Africa. Streets if Timbuktu Foto: C. Sørensen Timbuktu was founded in the 12th century by Tuareg nomads. The city is located about 13 km north of the Niger River, on the southern edge of the Sahara. Due to its strategic location near the river, Timbuktu developed into an important centre of trade and Muslim scholarship. The city became a melting pot of many different peoples, a place where canoes and caravans converged. In Europe, gold and slaves were highly prized when the caravans crossed the Sahara into North Africa. Part one, “TIMBUKTU — African Eldorado or End of the World”, presents Timbuktu’s history from the 14th century to independence in 1960, as well as the western images of Timbuktu. The film introduces historian Salim Ould El Hadj from Timbuktu and the English historian John Hunwick. The local nomad leader Mohammed Ag Mahmoud tells the story of the female slave Buktu, 1 after whom, according to legend, the city is named – ”Buktu’s place”. Ag Mahmoud is the main character in Part 2. This part, “TIMBUKTU — Where Water is Life and Milk is Food”, shows how nomads adapt to the unpredictable and varying climate in the Timbuktu region today. At the same time, national authorities and international environment and development organisations continue to claim that the local population’s use of the natural resources leads to desertification in the region. The local nomad leader Mohammed Ag Mahmoud describes the nomads’ way of life and their adaptations to the environment. Executive Secretary Hama Arba Diallo of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and representatives of the Malian authorities present their views on the issue of desertification. The internationally recognised scientists Mike Mortimore, Jeremy Swift and Pierre Hiernaux contest the claims of desertification and the attempts to turn the local population into ‘environmental villains'. ------------------------------------------------PART 1: TIMBUKTU — African Eldorado or End of the World In the Middle Ages, Europeans thought that Timbuktu was an African eldorado. However, after the first Europeans arrived in Timbuktu after many hardships, and even managed to return safely, the notion of an eldorado gradually changed. The myth of the golden Timbuktu was replaced by the myth of Timbuktu as the remotest of all places – the end of the world. Of course, for those living in this ”remotest of all places”, the situation is perceived differently. As the famous malien musician Ali Farka Toure says: ”I am Ali Farka Touré from Timbuktu. People say that Timbuktu is the end of the world. It is quite the opposite! Timbuktu is the centre of the world!" At least two-thirds of the world’s gold came from West Africa, and a lot of this gold passed through Timbuktu on its way to North Africa and further to Europe. Eventually, it was believed throughout Europe that the gold originated in Timbuktu. This led to a rush of explorers hoping to become the first Europeans in Timbuktu. Few survived. Most of those who tried to reach Timbuktu from the Atlantic coast died of malaria or other tropical diseases. Those that chose the northern route through the desert were robbed and killed by Tuaregs or Moors along the way. Thus, a new perception of Timbuktu developed. As Europeans discovered that the city was not the golden place they had imagined, the notion of an eldorado was gradually replaced by the image of the inaccessible or unattainable. Ali Farka Touré introduces and wraps up the TV documentaries Foto: C. Sørensen Colonialists followed in the footsteps of the adventurous explorers, and with them, new myths about Timbuktu and its inhabitants were generated. The colonialists needed good reasons for occupying foreign territory. One such reason was the conviction that the local population was neither willing nor able to correctly manage its natural resources. The myth of a local population unable to sustainably manage the natural environment was perpetuated by the new, independent African nations, albeit in other disguises. Nowadays, nomads are being especially blamed for overgrazing and thus causing the alleged desertification in the Sahel. ------------------------------------------------- 2 PART 2: TIMBUKTU — Where Water is Life and Milk is Food When the small wells in the Timbuktu region dry out in March or April, the nomads have to find water and pastures elsewhere. The local nomad leader Mohammed Ag Mahmoud and his community received support from the UN to bore for water in an area with otherwise good grazing conditions. The nomads can thus continue to supply the Malian society with livestock, which is a valuable economic good. Sharing the well Foto: C. Sørensen The myths that originated in colonial times about the local people's exploitation of their natural environment are being maintained and further developed today. The policies of African countries and western development aid are based on the assumption that serious desertification of the Sahel is taking place. Throughout the 20th century the entire Sahel, of which the Timbuktu region is a part, has experienced repeated droughts. One result of these droughts was a general fear of the southward expansion of the Sahara, therewith transforming previously fertile areas into barren land. Outsiders imagined that the people around Timbuktu were destroying the environment. It was thus important to quickly implement measures to counteract this development. Green belts were planned to stop the advance of the desert, and large areas of sand dunes were planted. However, most development aid organisations have by now abandoned such environmental projects in northern Sahel, since they have realised what the locals have always known. It is useless to fight against an unstable climate. It is better to adapt to the fluctuating amount of rain and available resources, as the nomads have done for centuries. In spite of this, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification continues to adhere to its view of desertification as a serious environmental threat in the area. New research has shown that the local population’s natural resource management strategies are adapted to the significant climatic unpredictability in the Sahel, and that their present use of these resources generally does not represent as large a strain on the environment as was 3 previously claimed. On the contrary, a nomadic lifestyle seems to be a highly suitable way to utilise the Sahel’s dry areas. Tuaregs Foto: C. Sørensen ------------------------------------------------Credits Producer Carsten Sørensen is responsible for writing the script, and for directing and editing the Timbuktu documentaries in close cooperation with geographer Tor A. Benjaminsen. The production of the TV documentaries received financial support from the Research Council of Norway, NORAD and the University of Oslo. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) purchased the rights for the Norwegian premiere for both of the documentaries on Timbuktu. NRK1 showed the films in prime time during May 2003, with two subsequent re-runs. The ratings for the premiere held 32% of the market in Norway. ------------------------------------------------2 WATER USERS' ASSOCIATION: BRINGING WATER AND PROSPERITY TO FARMERS. An educational documentary film presented by Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Sciences. ------------------------------------------------Year of production: 2004. Cover design: Evy Jørgensen. This film can be purchased at Noragric. Contact: bishal.sitaula'at'umb.no 4 Educational video of the Water Users Association Foto: E. Jørgensen Rear side text: The Water Users' Association (WUA) is an organisation of farmers who come together to manage their irrigation needs. Through involvement in various stages of irrigation management - water acquisition, water allocation and distribution, system maintenance, conflict resolution and information dissemination - WUAs have led to improvement in the performance of irrigation systems. And this, in turn, has led farmers to greater prosperity in many countries and regions. An educational documentary film created by Bishal K. Sitaula, Noragric, in cooperation with H.S. Shylendra (IRMA, India), Sudhindra Sharma (NWCF, Nepal), Hailemicael Mekonnen Wondie (REST, Ethiopia), Girmai Gebresamuel (Mekelle University, Ethiopia), M.P. Kausal (PAU, India), and Harmeet Saini (SWDF, India). 5
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