Fighting Sand Encroachment: Lessons from Mauritania

One of the main challenges of desertification is encroachment of moving sands, which has devastating environmental and socio-economic impacts. It reduces arable land, grazing land and availability of water resources, threatening agricultural productivity and yields and the food security and standard of living of local populations. Mauritania, as one of the most severely affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, has accumulated a great deal of experience in combating sand encroachment over the past several decades. This publication synthesises the lessons learned, particularly in the implementation of a recently concluded and highly successful project for rehabilitation and extension of the Nouakchott Green Belt. These lessons can be adapted to other countries facing similar challenges. The publication will be of interest to technicians, project managers, local communities and indeed all stakeholders engaged in combating desertification.