Etude de la variabilité climatique sur la dynamique d’occupation et d’utilisation des terres à des fins agro-pastorales dans la zone sud-soudanienne du Burkina Faso

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the dynamics of rangeland in the southern Sudanese zone of Burkina Faso in the context of climatic variability and agropastoral resource management. Remote sensing tools have been used to determine changes in land use and vegetation through the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI). The 06-month standardized precipitation index (SPI-6) was used to measure rainfall variability. A field survey of 80 pastoralists was also conducted to assess livestock mobility in the study area. The results showed the occurrence of 05 pockets of drought over a 36-year period (1981-2017), a decrease in land productivity and a degradation of plant biomass. Between 1995 and 2015, land occupation was at a disadvantage in grazing areas (13.08% decrease). Thus, livestock mobility has experienced difficulties, the most important of which is social (95% of cases). In short, pastoral activity has been affected in recent years both by rainfall variability and by the advance of the agricultural front to the detriment of grazing areas in western Burkina Faso.