Soil and water conservation strategies and impact on sustainable livelihood in Cape Verde – Case study of Ribeira Seca watershed

Cape Verde, located off the coast of Senegal in western Africa, is a volcanic archipelago where a combination of human, climatic, geomorphologic and pedologic factors has led to extensive degradation of the soils. Like other Sahelian countries, Cape Verde has suffered the effects of desertification through the years, threatening the livelihood of the islands population and its fragile environment. In fact, the steep slopes in the ore agricultural islands, together with semi-arid and arid environments, characterized by an irregular and poorly distributed rainy season, with high intensity rainfall events, make dryland production a challenge. To survive in these fragile conditions, the stabilization of the farming systems and the maintenance of sustainable yields have become absolute priorities, making the islands an erosion control laboratory. Soil and water conservation strategies have been a centerpiece of the government0s agricultural policies for the last half century. Aiming to maintain the soil in place and the water inside the soil, the successive governments of Cape Verde have implemented a number of soil and water conservation techniques, the most common ones being terraces, half moons, live barriers, contour rock walls, contour furrows and microcatchments, check dams and reforestation with drought resistant species. The soil and water conservation techniques implemented have contributed to the improvement of the economical and environmental conditions of the treated landscape, making crop production possible, consequently, improving the livelihood of the people living on the islands. In this paper, we survey the existing soil and water conservation techniques, analyze their impact on the livelihood condition of the population through a thorough literature review and field monitoring using a semi-quantitative methodology and evaluate their effectiveness and impact on crop yield in the Ribeira Seca watershed. A brief discussion is given on the cost and effectiveness of the techniques to reduce soil erosion and to promote rainfall infiltration. Finally, we discuss the critical governance factors that lead to the successful implementation of such strategy in a country with scarce natural resources.

Micro-Crédito em Cabo Verde e sua Contribuição para o Fomento do Empreendedorismo

Esta pesquisa consiste num estudo sobre o micro-crédito em Cabo Verde, no âmbito do fomento do empreendedorismo, na perspectiva de geração de emprego e rendimentos, com a finalidade de complementar o mercado de trabalho no fomento de empregos e criação de empreendimentos sustentáveis. Procura-se compreender e analisar a dinâmica dos empreendimentos económicos financiados no sector do micro-crédito, na ilha de Santiago, a partir da observação empírica da sua estrutura organizacional. Uma vez que, mudanças económicas sentidas nas últimas décadas foram marcadas pela lógica excludente do mercado capitalista, com marcas profundas de degradação do aparelho do Estado a nível social, pelo aumento do desemprego e da precarização do trabalho, nesse contexto, os empreendimentos procuram, de certa forma, completar o vazio deixado, na medida em que esta poderá ser a via para incentivar as camadas mais pobres das populações a criarem os seus próprios negócios. Nessa prespectiva, as micro-empresas desempenham um papel fundamental na promoção do emprego, inovação, criação de rendimentos e no desenvolvimento económico e social. As fundamentações práticas baseiam-se no estudo feito junto à OMCV, onde analisou-se trabalho desenvolvido pela OMCV no que toca as políticas e os programas de micro-crédito que vem desenvolvendo ao longo da sua actividade, destacando os beneficiários do programa de micro-crédito da OMCV. É oportuno análisar o micro-crédito como ferramenta de fomento ao empreendedorismo. Ampliar os serviços de micro-crédito como uma pirâmide social visa atingir as desigualdades e exclusão social, factores que contribuem para o crescimento e desenvolvimento económico. A inclusão social através do empreenndedorismo, tem sido objecto de estudo nas económias capitalistas, visando desenvolver o empreendedorismo como das alternativas para o crescimento e desenvolvimento económico. Neste sentido, o micro-crédito pode ser um instrumento de amplo alcance às comunidades de baixa rendimento, na promoção de mudanças sociais. Por fim, são deixadas algumas considerações e uma conclusão acerca do trabalho efectuado.

Soil and Water Conservation Strategies in Cape Verde (Cabo Verde in Portuguese) and Their Impacts on Livelihoods - An Overview from the Ribeira Seca Watershed

Severe land degradation has strongly affected both people’s livelihood and the environment in Cape Verde (Cabo Verde in Portuguese), a natural resource poor country. Despite the enormous investment in soil and water conservation measures (SWC or SLM), which are visible throughout the landscape, and the recognition of their benefits, their biophysical and socioeconomic impacts have been poorly assessed and scientifically documented. This paper contributes to filling this gap, by bringing together insights from literature and policy review, field survey and participatory assessment in the Ribeira Seca Watershed through a concerted approach devised by the DESIRE project (the “Desire approach”). Specifically, we analyze government strategies towards building resilience against the harsh conditions, analyze the state of land degradation and its drivers, survey and map the existing SWC measures, and assess their effectiveness against land degradation, on crop yield and people’s livelihood. We infer that the relative success of Cape Verde in tackling desertification and rural poverty owes to an integrated governance strategy that comprises raising awareness, institutional framework development, financial resource allocation, capacity building, and active participation of rural communities. We recommend that specific, scientific-based monitoring and assessment studies be carried out on the biophysical and socioeconomic impact of SLM and that the “Desire approach” be scaled-up to other watersheds in the country.

Assessment and mapping the sensitive areas to desertification in an insular Sahelian mountain region Case study of the Ribeira Seca Watershed, Santiago Island - Cabo Verde

This paper presents the assessment and mapping of the Ribeira Seca catchment, an insular Sahelian mountain region sensitive to desertification, located on the island of Santiago, Cabo Verde. Desertification is a threat to the global environment, representing a serious ecological problemin Cabo Verde. To successfully combat desertification, an evaluation of desertification consequences is required and the building of cartography of the sensitivity for arid and semi-arid ecosystems is required as a first step. The MEDALUS model was the basis for this study in which six quality indicators were used: climate, soil, vegetation, land management, erosion and social factors. Several parameters were defined for each indicator with weights varying between 1 (very low) and 2 (very high). The geometric mean of each of the six quality indicators was employed to produce a map of areas sensitive to desertification. The results of this study show that more than 50% of the watershed show clear evidence of becoming a desertified area.

MICRO CRÉDITO EM CABO VERDE PAPEL DO MICRO-CRÉDITO NO COMBATE A POBREZA EM SANTA CATARINA

O funcionamento do sistema financeiro tradicional leva à exclusão de determinadas categorias como é o caso das populações de baixo rendimento. A intervenção pública, por meio dos bancos comerciais, acaba não resolvendo o problema, tanto por questões de alcance como de eficiência. O micro-crédito surgiu no mundo como uma tentativa de eliminar a pobreza pelo acesso ao crédito, recorrendo a estratégias descentralizadas de financiamento. O micro-crédito depois de várias experiências internacionais chegou a Cabo Verde, com o objectivo de promover a inserção socio-económico da mulher, com especial realce, mulheres do meio rural. Este trabalho procura delinear as principais instituições que concede o micro-crédito, como se processa o seu financiamento e o seu impacto no combate à pobreza. Se conclui que, o micro-crédito tem forte impacto na economia Cabo-Verdiana, na medida em que, para além de poder gerar riquezas individuais e para o país contribui de uma forma estratégica, política, socio-económico para o desenvolvimento, de realçar, a luta contra a pobreza.