The traditional image of contemporary Africa is of a continent dogged by poverty, drought, degradation and famine. This study, drawing on the best work of the past decade and based on researched case studies from East and West Africa, rejects the notion of runaway desertification, driven by population growth and inappropriate land use. It suggests a more optimistic model of sustainable land use and an appropriate set of policy priorities to support dryland peoples in their efforts to sustain land and livelihoods.

This book embodies the results of thirteen years of research in drought-prone rural areas in the semi-arid zone of northern Nigeria. It describes the patterns of adaptive behaviour observed among Hausa, Ful'be and Manga communities in response to recurrent drought in the 1970s and 1980s. The question of desertification is explored in an area where the visible evidence of moving sand dunes is dramatic blame are examined in relation to the field evidence. A critique is offered of deterministic theories and authoritarian solutions. Professor Mortimore demonstrates a parallel between the observable resilience of semi-arid ecosystems and the adaptive strategies of the human communities that inhabit them and suggests policy directions for strengthening that resilience.

The traditional image of contemporary Africa is of a continent dogged by poverty, drought, degradation and famine. This study, drawing on the best work of the past decade and based on researched case studies from East and West Africa, rejects the notion of runaway desertification, driven by population growth and inappropriate land use. It suggests a more optimistic model of sustainable land use and an appropriate set of policy priorities to support dryland peoples in their efforts to sustain land and livelihoods.