Mali

Setting
Situated in Mali, the Niger Delta is a vast Sahelian wetland system. Once a year the river Niger floods a vast area of up to 40,000 square kilometers, creating a haven in what is further a dry and barren environment.
About one million people live in this environment, sharing it with a rich variety of Flora and Fauna, including millions of migratory birds from all over Europe, Siberia and Western Asia, that winter here every year.

Problem
80% of the labour force in Mali works in agriculture, and most of the labour employed in this sector does not receive a reasonable payment.
As a result, day by day people find themselves forced to over-exploit their flood-forest environment in order to survive.

Bio-rights
There are 4 levels at which Bio-rights could be implemented in the Niger Delta:

• the village level, looking at a few villages in a limited area.
• the user-group level, involving all groups implicated in the process of development, such as for example women's associations involved in bird exploitation.
• the community level, looking at particular biological situations.
• the ecosytem level, looking at the full scope of the area.

• Reforestation of flood forests with local people
• The bird market and women's associations
• Saving the Crowned Crane
• Tolerating large aquatic animals
• Safe haven for cattle
• Rice for food and for birds
• Fish biodiversity and economy
• Dry forests
• Water and Bio-rights