Birds and people in Burkina Faso, Africa

This video says about itself:

Birds and people – Living on the Edge in the Sahel

Aug 27, 2013

Birds and people in the Sahel rely on the same natural resources: trees, water, land. They are living on the edge, for here, the landscape is also changing.

Every year, an incredible 2 billion migratory birds travel from Europe to Africa to spend the winter. They fly thousands of kilometers, some in only a few days. After crossing the Sahara, they arrive in the Sahel, still green but with the dry season approaching fast.

Population increase and urbanisation increase the pressure on natural resources through overgrazing and unsustainable wood cutting. Hydrodams change river flood patterns and turn floodplains into drylands. Large-scale schemes for agriculture and biofuels alter habitats over thousands of hectares.

BirdLife partners, volunteers and local people in the Sahel are striving to counter these effects. This video shows how rural communities are being enabled to use natural resources more sustainably, both restoring natural habitats and improving their livelihoods.

Video launched at the Natural Livelihoods workshop of the BirdLife World Congress in Ottawa, June 2013.

Part of ‘Natural Livelihoods’ video series from BirdLife International‘s Local Empowerment Programme.

Film Living on the Edge on this: here.

Boreholes in the Sahel: Man made oasis that helps the soul – Burkina Faso: here.

Shea butter and birds in Burkina Faso: here.

Volunteer conservationists in rural Burkina Faso are turning to social media in order to save their local wetland. The Lake Oursi Site Support Group are using smart phones to respond immediately to fires and poaching. The group is a passionate volunteer group entrusted to care for their local Important Bird Areas. Lake Oursi is an important wetland in the landlocked West African state: here.

Related articles

• Birds and People by Mark Cocker and David Tipling, review (telegraph.co.uk)
• Songbirds fall prey to French hunters (express.co.uk)
• Sahel villagers fleeing climate change must not be ignored | Alice Thomas (theguardian.com)
• Save African vultures (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Wings of desire: why birds captivate us (guardian.co.uk)
• Corporate interests undermine African food sovereignty (climateandcapitalism.com)
• Black Queens to play Burkina Faso in AWC qualifiers. (spyghana.com)
• Burkina Faso boosts salaries amid growing unrest (boston.com)