AtlaSahel

The project

This website presents in-progress results of the Research Project of National Interest (PRIN) "Contested wetlands in Sahelian drylands: which kind of development and for whom?". The PRIN was funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) and was launched in March 2020.

The research aims to examine, analyse and interrogate the dynamics of proximity generated by irrigation development projects. The Sahelian wetlands, natural and artificial, have suffered multiple crises - ecological, socio-economic, political and food – that are crucial to understanding the outcomes of development projects in these territories.

On the one hand, a research group working "from above" utilizes remote sensing and analysis of "big data", thus providing an alternative mapping of the Sahel. On the other hand, another research group analyses material collected "from below" of co-researchers working in the field. The diversity of methodologies facilitates dialogue between differing scales of analysis.

The website provides an open-access platform for sharing the research team's analyses as well as a space for dynamic discussion around the Sahel and the use of water resources in the arid zones of sub-Saharan Africa.