Cover Page. The handle holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation

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1 Cover Page The handle holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation Author: Bergh, Michiel van den Title: Bridging the gap between bird conservation and sustainable development : perceptions and participation of rural people in Burkina Faso s Sahel region Issue Date:

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3 Bridging the gap between bird conservation and sustainable development. Perceptions and participation of rural people in Burkina Faso s Sahel region Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof. mr. C.J.J.M. Stolker, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op woensdag 23 november 2016 klokke 16:15 uur door Michiel Olivier Leonard van den Bergh geboren te Haarlem in 1983

4 Promotor: Co-promotor: Prof. dr. A.J. Dietz Dr. D.W.J. Foeken Promotiecommissie: Prof. dr. G.A. Persoon Prof. dr. J.W.M. van Dijk Prof. dr. W.M. Adams (Cambridge University) Dr. S.W.J. Luning Dr. A. Akinyoade

5 This book is dedicated to the late Georges Henry Oueda 3

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7 Contents List of figures, tables, boxes and annexes Acknowledgements x vii 1 INTRODUCTION 1 A (research) project in the Sahel 1 Research objective and questions 9 Research methodology 12 2 LAND USE, MIGRANT BIRDS, CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN A CHANGING SAHEL 24 Land use 24 Migrant birds 31 Conservation and sustainable development 44 Concluding remarks 54 3 LAND USE, MIGRANT BIRDS AND CONSERVATION IN A CHANGING BURKINA FASO AND THE RESEARCH AREAS 55 Burkina Faso 55 The research areas 66 Concluding remarks 81 4 LOCAL PERCEPTIONS OF BIRDS, THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION IN BURKINA FASO S SAHEL REGION 83 Introduction 83 Methods 87 Results: Natural environment 91 Results: Birds 98 Discussion 109 Concluding remarks and implications for conservation 116 v

8 5. WHO IS IN CHARGE? THE SOCIAL INTERFACE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ACTORS AND THE RURAL POPULATION IN BURKINA FASO 121 Introduction 121 Methods 127 Results 130 Discussion 138 Concluding remarks THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS IN INTEGRATED CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT ROJECTS: LOCAL PERSPECTIVES FROM THE SAHEL REGION 143 Introduction 143 Methods 148 Major findings 150 Concluding remarks CONCLUSIONS 163 A changing environment: Trends and perceptions 163 Local values of birds, the environment, and conservation 168 Local population participation 173 Bridging the gap between bird conservation and sustainable development 179 Annexes 186 References 197 Summary 220 Samenvatting 225 Curriculum vitea 227 vi

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10 List of figures, photos, boxes and tables Figures 1.1 Dryland systems in western Africa Living on the Edge project sites Conceptual model of Living on the Edge project, which combines development and conservation goals Sourou and Higa research areas and Burkina Faso s climatic zones Trends in greenness in the western Sahel, Vegetation trend Burkina Faso Vegetation trends in Sourou and Higa Rainfall trends in Sourou and Higa Linear vegetation trends in Sourou and Higa Linear rainfall trends in Sourou and Higa Polynomial vegetation trends in Sourou and Higa Polynomial rainfall trends in Sourou and Higa Environmental values mentioned (79) in the research areas (N=32) Perceived environmental problems (112) by research area (N=38) Suggested solutions (37) for increasing the number of trees in the research areas (n=17) Perceptions of birds in Sourou and Higa by respondents characteristics (N=50) Reasons (82) for people s positive perceptions of birds by research area (N=45) Perceived solutions (50) to eliminate threats to birdlife in the research areas (N=21) Organization of Burkina Faso s territorial administration 126 Photos 1.1 A one-day visit to an island in Sourou An interview with a local inhabitant in Higa LCG members participating in a bird monitoring training in Higa PADev-inspired focus workshops in Sourou Land-uses for which direct evidence exits of its impact on wintering migrant birds Inhabitants sharing the (fallow) paddy fields with birds in Sourou, Burkina Faso & 2.9 A-P migrant birds foraging in Acacias & 2.12 A-P migrant waders in Ouagadougou s drying water reservoirs A woman drinking the juice from Neem tree Azadirachta indica leaves as a remedy for her stomach complaints (Higa, Burkina Faso) & 3.2 A seasonal village in the rainy and in the dry season in Higa, Burkina Faso & 3.4 Vegetation greenness in the dry and rainy season in Higa, Burkina Faso & 3.6 Agriculture and livestock husbandry put Burkina Faso s environment under increased pressure 61 viii

11 3.7 First record of Blackstart Cercomela melanura for Burkina Faso & 3.9 A typical sight of the surface water-rich Sourou and the Sahelian landscape of Higa & 3.11 There is generally a difference between clothing and housing in Sourou (left) and Higa (right) & 3.13 Typical livelihood activities for Sourou (fishing) and for Higa (herding) An extreme example of increasing vegetation greenness due to irrigated agriculture in Sourou A-P migrant species in Burkina Faso and the research areas & 4.2 A shortage of wood and trees is among the main perceived problems in the lives of many inhabitants in Sourou and Higa Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibious and fishermen in Sourou & 4.5 Different bird species are perceived differently by local inhabitants & 4.7 Smaller bird species are often caught in nets or hunted with slingshots Wooden baskets are sometimes installed to protect tree seedlings from livestock Different types of fuel-efficient fire stoves & 4.14 Awareness raising and education can be valuable conservation tools The planting of tree seedlings is done by most community members Bird monitoring at the shores of the Sourou river 160 Boxes 1.1 A parallel initiative Grazing pressure Cambridge Workshop Parks and protected areas Financial resources Human (land) conflicts Hunting observations A note on Oursi LCG 162 Tables 1.1 Research assistants Population densities General characteristics of Sourou and Higa research areas Population characteristics of Sourou and Higa research areas Livestock in Sourou and Higa Location of four trend analysis points in Sourou and Higa General characteristics of Sourou and Higa research areas Population characteristics of Sourou and Higa research areas Interviewees per research theme, excluding children and local authorities Reasons for people s positive perceptions of birds by research area Reasons behind local authorities positive perceptions of birds in the research areas Development actors: research numbers and abbreviation Local population: details and number of interviewees PADev research numbers by type of actor Development actors: Type, sector and mission Assessment of development actors projects 136 ix

12 6.1 Comparison of the Sourou and Higa research areas Community organizations studied, including two LCGs Key characteristics of LCGs by research areas Characteristics of the COs and LCGs 152 x

13 Acknowledgement This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of many. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my highly regarded supervisors at the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL): Ton Dietz and Dick Foeken. I would like to thank Ton for being a great motivator and for the many interesting and useful discussions we had. I would like to thank Dick for the many times he patiently went through the whole text with me, and, in particular, for his much appreciated repeated checks on my data analysis. Equally appreciated was the valuable support from Bernd de Bruijn, who provided practical and ecological supervision from his position as a senior conservationist at Vogelbescherming Nederland (VBN: BirdLife in the Netherlands). It was a great pleasure to work on my dissertation at both the ASCL and VBN, and I would like to thank all my colleagues for the good time I had there. Special thanks to those who provided support in the form of feedback, discussions, or practical assistance regarding my thesis, including (in alphabetical order): Anke, Barend, Manon, and Robert (VBN); Akinyinka, Jan-Bart, Han, Harry, Karin, and Wijnand (ASCL research staff); Edith, Ella, Elvire, Jos, Machteld, and Monique (ASCL library staff); Gitty, Harro, Jan, Lotte, Maaike, Marieke, Mieke, Rebecca, and Trudi (ASCL support staff); Romain, Samson, and Samuel (ASCL visiting fellows). Also, many thanks to all my ASCL PhD buddies, including: Agnieszka, Angela, Anika, Doreen, Evelyne, Fatima, Inge, Iva, Karin, Lotje, Martin, Margot, Merel, Nilza, Peter, Rosine, Sebastiaan, Thijs, and Zjos. Last, but not least, many thanks to Anna and Ann (ASCL) for their language editing. The support was by no means restricted to people from these two organisations, and I am thankful to so many others. In particular to people from partner organisations in the UK, including BirdLife International (David Thomas), BTO (Phil Atkinson), Cambridge University (Bill Adams, William Sutherland), and the RSPB (Danaë Sheehan and Juliet Vickery). Back in the Netherlands, Chris Reij, Gerard Persoon, Huub Hendrix, Jan van der Ploeg, Joost Brouwer and Sabine Luning provided valuable feedback and insights, while Anton Vrieling greatly helped with the analysis of climate and vegetation data. I wish to thank Peter Kaan and Magda El Zarki for the language check of a particular chapter. I am probably most indebted to the people in Burkina Faso, who so kindly shared their ideas, personal stories, and homes with me. I owe my gratitude in particular to the Local Conservation Groups in Sourou and Higa, and especially the groups presidents and secretaries, including Drabo Abdina, Pierre xi

14 Ouédraogo (Sourou), Abdoulaye Hama, Alay Hama (and his brother) (Higa), and their welcoming families. NATURAMA (BirdLife in Burkina Faso) provided local contacts, information and other assistance and I would especially like to thank Idrissa Zeba, Nana Adama, Patrice Da, Prudence Tankoano, Bara Yacouba, and Safi Bamogo. This book is dedicated to the late George Oueda, the former Director of Conservation of NATURAMA, who sadly passed away in Georges Oueda was the single most knowledgeable expert in both ornithology and conservation in his country, and I have fond memories of our conservation-related discussions and the few beers we shared. I am also much indebted to my very talented and dedicated research assistants: Idrissa Ouédraogo, Achille Sougrinoma Ouédraogo, and Ibrahim Compaoré. I am also very grateful for the many interviewees who took the time to share their experiences and thoughts with me, and so often invited me into their homes and personal lives. Special thanks to my local friends, Adama Belemvire (for assisting me with the research), Moctar and Franca (for lending their vehicle), Veronica and François (for all the nice BBQs), and Amadou and Anabel, François Ouedraogo, and Martin Ingemansson (for letting me stay at their homes). And for various reasons, thank you Henneke and Ernst IJkelenstam (Dutch Embassy), Karst Kooistra (BioVisio), Boro Sekou (LCG Sourou), Dicko Saido (LCG Higa), and Hamidou Mamoudou (LCG Oursi). To those who are not listed I emphasize that I have treasured each encounter, the many conversations, and especially the numerous cups of tea. Lastly, I would like to thank my family in particular my mum, dad and brother: Elise, Alexander and Hugo (for their continuous support and enthusiasm) as well as my friends in particular Adriaan (for lending a vehicle in Burkina Faso), Richard, Jan, Roderick and Rogier (for their continuous interest), and my girlfriend Benthe (for her support and interest, and much more). xii