The iconic Niger River, the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded only by the Nile and the Congo has been invaded by jihadists, according to story by AFP on manilatimes.net.
The 76-year-old Malian is one of tens of thousands of fisherfolks who make a living from the river and the verdant wetlands, which surround it. But Djenepo’s smile hides unease.
Niger River is West Africa’s longest and most important river due to many uses, including fishing, hydro power source, potable water and tourism. It stretches nearly 4,200 kilometers long and runs in six African nations including Mali, Benin and Sierra Leone.
“Before, the river was deep and the fishing season’s long,” says Djenepo, head of the federation of fishefolks of the Niger River’s inner delta. “Now there are far fewer fish and the river has too many problems.”
Ecological issues are threatening livelihoods in the area in central Mali, even as inhabitants have to contend with jihadists and armed groups.
Islamist militants launched a brutal insurgency in Mali in 2012, which has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more. But in the inner Niger delta, overfishing has depleted stocks and the Sahara desert is also encroaching on the green floodplains.
Boukary Guindo, the government’s fisheries director for the region, said the situation for fisherfolks has gone “from bad to worse.”
A vast area roughly the size of Switzerland, the inner Niger delta is a complex ecosystem comprising lakes and floodplains, which support hundreds and thousands of fishermen, farmers and herders.
During flooding in the rainy season, only pirogues can travel across the delta. But when the waters recede, fish-filled pools are left behind, alongside huge fields of hippo grass that attract cattle from across the semi-arid Sahel.
Hamidou Toure, director of the delta’s fisheries development office, said the Sahara has been “engulfing” the Niger River for years.
New sandbanks cut off formerly productive areas of the delta, he said, with fish no longer left behind. Several dams built since the 1970s have also changed the course of the third-longest river on the African continent. And rains are less frequent, which has slowed its flow.
“When the grass is there, it’s for the pastoralists; when the water is there, [it’s] for the Bozos; when the land is there, [it’s] for the farmers,” he said, explaining the customary system. Bozos are an ethnic group in Mali that traditionally practices fishing.
Sankara added that everyone has “abused” the system, which was first established in the 19th century under the ethnic Fulani-led Macina empire. For fisherfolks, however, catching whatever comes along is a matter of survival.
Boukary Guindo, the fisheries director, said fisherfolks often catch spawners, which can decimate stocks. “Our cousins, the Bozos, think that fish fall from the sky,” he added, with a rueful smile.
