Senegal

At the time of its independence in 1960, Senegal’s economy was riding high, buoyed by successful exploitation of its rainfed agricultural resources as well as the wealth of its ocean fisheries. Senegalese farmers produced nearly a quarter of global peanut exports as well as a wide diversity of crop and livestock products for domestic consumption. The country’s fisheries enabled domestic commercial and artisanal fishing fleets as well as foreign vessels to capture high-value tuna and other species. Mining and export of phosphates also contributed to national productivity. Industrial processing capacity for both peanuts and fish was strengthened in the 1960s and 1970s to add value to local production. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Government of Senegal, with significant donor support, invested heavily in irrigation development in an effort to counter the negative effects of increasingly frequent droughts on agricultural production. The development of the Senegal River Basin, a resource shared with neighboring Guinea, Mali, and Mauritania, was intended to boost production of rice, fast becoming the staple food of choice in the country’s rapidly growing urban areas, and to generate energy through hydropower to support urban and industrial growth. In spite of these initiatives, the economy weakened steadily throughout the 1990s, and by 2000 Senegal was ranked as a least developed country with a per capita income of less than US $500.

Analysts provide varied insights into this state of affairs. The world market for peanuts had evolved in directions not taken by the Senegalese industry, leading to a loss of competitiveness: the production sector was poorly organized; it was not well supported by research and development efforts; and production was buffeted by bad weather, pests, and infection with aflatoxin. The irrigation developments in the Senegal River Basin resulted in unanticipated challenges: disruption of longstanding crop-livestock relationships that had supported amicable cross-border production patterns for decades; inadequate understanding of the region’s hydrology and agronomy led to ineffective design choices; and misreading and mismanagement of land tenure/land access issues contributed to a short but destructive conflict with Mauritania as well as unrealized production increases. The potential for irrigation development in the Casamance River Basin was not pursued as vigorously, further fueling a low-level civil conflict in that region. Deforestation and soil degradation resulted from shifting policies with regard to land and forest management and lack of policies targeting grazing land. This diminished the prospects for a turnaround in trends in rainfed agriculture and livestock more generally.

The country’s economic recovery since 2000 is attributed variously to new political leadership, resolution of the Casamance rebellion, better weather, and increased emphasis on the role of the private sector in driving investment and growth. The newest strategy for boosting economic growth involves greater exploitation of Senegal’s mineral reserves, with foreign investors expected to provide much of the capital and expertise. Currently, gold is extracted by small-scale artisanal miners, and phosphates are extracted only in regions near the coast. More significant investments in resource extraction in inland regions of the country (gold, phosphates, iron ore, marble, zircon, and a variety of other minerals) will require greater investments in transportation infrastructure as well as governance mechanisms to ensure that benefits are widely shared among the populace.

Senegal appears poised to continue refining its development strategies over the next decade or two in order to increase income levels. Issues with regard to property rights and resource governance will come to the fore as minerals exploitation is prioritized. Given the critical importance of agriculture to employment, however, attention to governance of these resources will also be needed to ensure that productivity is increased enough to allow those working on farms to earn incomes adequate to escape from poverty. As the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact with Senegal indicates, attention to individuals’ land tenure and property rights will be important for agricultural production. Good governance will also take into account the way that benefits generated in one sector are shared more broadly across the population.

Senegal became independent of France in 1960, starting its national life as a relatively prosperous country with an economy based on the exploitation of its rainfed agricultural resources. Senegal now faces the challenge of recovering from economic reversals experienced in the 1980s and 1990s. Most observers conclude that the agricultural sector’s competitiveness has been eroded and needs to be rebuilt if poverty-reducing economic growth is to be realized. While the potential for intensification of agriculture is high, farmers and livestock owners are facing serious challenges: increasing demographic pressure, insecure land tenure, soil and pasture degradation, increasingly variable rainfall and inadequate irrigation management, and a changing policy environment.

Urban areas have experienced rapid growth in recent decades. Over 20% of the country’s 12 million people now lives in the capital city of Dakar, drawn by the promise of greater employment and education opportunities. Sixty percent of Senegal’s population is expected to reside in cities by 2015. In rural areas, by contrast, two out of every three people live in poverty, reflecting the lagging growth in the agricultural sector.

The legal framework of Senegal’s land regime consists of multiple civil laws, religious law, and a long history of evolving principles of customary law. In the 50 years since independence, Senegal has pursued a decentralized model of governance, granting additional powers to local democratically elected bodies, including rural councils and water user associations. In many communities, rural hierarchies based on family lineage, religion, and political party membership dominate these bodies and control access to natural resources and retention of rights. Veto powers retained by the central government create further challenges to representative local governance of rural land. In urban areas, Senegal’s progressive legislation allowing for the systematic regularization of land rights in informal settlements has lacked the financial and human resources support necessary for implementation.

Senegal’s forest laws recognize the critical role that communities can play in managing the country’s forests, and donor-supported community forest management programs have successfully worked with communities to develop sustainable forest management programs. Beyond these programs, however, there is little evidence of any significant devolution of authority over forest resources to local communities.

The privatization of Senegal’s system for water supply and distribution has been an African success story, resulting in more than US $400 million in benefits, realized primarily by consumers. Urban areas are close to receiving complete water coverage; rural access has risen significantly and is a government priority and the subject of ongoing programs. The country is expanding irrigation in the Senegal River Valley to take full advantage of the quota allotted by the multi-country Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS). The Senegal River, which has decreased in volume over the last decades, has not supplied the amount of hydroelectric energy anticipated when OMVS constructed two large dams and a power plant.

LAND USE

The total land area of Senegal is 196,720 square kilometers. The country’s population is estimated at 12.2 million people (2008). Fifty-eight percent of the population is rural, and two-thirds of the rural population lives in poverty. Of Senegal’s US $13.2 billion GDP (2008), 62% is from services. Although over 60% of the population is employed in the agricultural sector, only 15% of GDP is from agriculture. Industry comprises 23% of Senegal’s GDP. While there has been positive economic growth since 2000, the UNDP ranked Senegal 166th out of 182 countries in the 2009 Human Development Report (World Bank 2009a; EIU 2005; UNDP 2009; World Bank 2006a; ADF 2005).

Senegal has 531 kilometers of coastline, and fishing is the leading industry. Fish supplies about 75% of the population’s animal protein and is also the country’s leading export, accounting for between 22 and 30% of export earnings in the 2001–2008 period. The industry directly or indirectly employs about 600,000 people, 15– 17% of the country’s workforce (Niang 2005; USDOS 2010a).

Senegal’s topography is comprised of low rolling plains with foothills in the southeast; the highest point is 581 meters. Of Senegal’s total land area, 43% is classified as agricultural; 13% of total land is considered arable (i.e., cultivable under rainfed conditions). Sixty-five percent of agricultural land is classified as pasture or grasslands. Seventy-five percent of arable land is in the central western region, known as the Peanut Basin, and the Casamance region south of The Gambia (World Bank 2009a; ADF 2005; UNSD 2009).

Senegal’s primary cash crops are groundnuts, cotton, and horticulture. Groundnuts are grown in the central region, particularly in the Peanut Basin, and horticulture is concentrated in coastal regions. Sorghum and millet are grown in the northern and central regions, and rice is grown in the southern Casamance and Senegal River Valley. Maize and cowpeas are common subsistence crops. The country has a livestock population of 13.1 million, and most farms keep some livestock. Historically, pastoralists moved herds seasonally across large areas of the country, taking advantage of Senegal’s varied vegetation and rainfall. Over time, most livestock operations have become more sedentary, with herd movement restricted to relatively small areas (EIU 2005; Freudenberger and Freudenberger 1993).

Soil fertility in Senegal is generally low, and soils are highly depleted due to erosion and unsustainable farming practices. Countrywide, 4.8% of all cropland is irrigated; the amount of irrigated land is slightly higher than the average for sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting the government’s commitment to irrigation infrastructure at various times in its history as well as the water resources available in the Senegal, Saloum, Gambia, and Casamance river basins. Forests cover 45% of the total land area, and deforestation is occurring at a rate of 0.5% per year. Nationally protected areas comprise 11% of the total land area and include the 913,000-hectare Niokolo Koba National Park in Tambacounda. Senegal has 1049 square kilometers of sandy dunes along its coast and about 4000 square kilometers of estuaries and tidal flats (Tappan et al. 2004; World Bank 2009a; Wood et al. 204; ADF 2005; UNSD 2009).

Senegal’s 13 ecoregions have experienced slight to moderate changes over the period from 1965–2000 due to a general decline in rainfall and periodic extreme droughts. Soil fertility in the Peanut Basin has declined, and cultivation of the northern sandy pastoral region of the country has increased. Some farmers have migrated south, opening up new areas for agriculture by clearing forests and woodlands. Drought and increased salinity of groundwater have reduced the extent of mangrove forests in coastal estuaries, and erosion of plateaus and watersheds has increased silt in valleys and lowlands (Tappan et al. 2004; ADF 2005; USAID 2006).

Urban areas have experienced rapid growth, which is expected to continue; by some estimates, 60% of the population is expected to reside in cities by 2015. Dakar is the largest metropolitan area, housing 20% of Senegal’s total population and 50% of the country’s urban population. The city has sprawled outward in informal settlements characterized by little or no infrastructure. Other urban areas are much smaller (World Bank 2007; World Bank 2006a; World Bank 2002).

LAND DISTRIBUTION

There are about 20 different ethnic groups in Senegal, the largest being the Wolof (43% of population). Other groups include Fulani (also known as the Fulbe or Peul), who make up about 24% of the population, Serere (15%), Diola (5%), and Mandingo or Malinké (4%). Lesser groups are the Soninké, Toucouleur, Bassari and Dialonké. Traditionally, the three largest groups tended to be associated with certain regions and livelihood systems. The Wolof were primarily farmers, with the largest concentration in the northwestern region of the country. The Fulani are traditionally associated with pastoralist livelihoods. The Serere engaged in both cultivation of land and livestock production and were concentrated in the Peanut Belt. Migration among areas and between groups has become more fluid as the populations have responded to economic, social, and political changes. In the northern region of the country, rural livelihoods that were traditionally centered on pastoralism and on seasonal transhumance became more sedentary as a result of the creation of boreholes providing reliable water sources for watering livestock and irrigating crops and pressure from expanding cultivation, especially in the Peanut Basin and around water sources (Monkam 2009; EIU 2005; Furth 1998; Cotula 2006; Freudenberger and Freudenberger 1993).

Ninety-five percent of Senegal’s farms are smallholdings, with farm size ranging from 1.5 to 5 hectares. The remaining 5% of holdings are larger farms. Large national and international agribusinesses have had a presence in Senegal since at least the 1930s. The largest farms have concentrated operations in the Senegal River Valley, the land around Dakar and coastal areas, and in the Casamance, although agribusinesses have also begun to invest in more remote areas (ADF 2005; FAO 2005a; Freudenberger and Freudenberger 1993).

Informal settlements make up 25% of urban land in Senegal. Thirty percent of the residents of the capital city of Dakar live in informal settlements, often with no, or limited, access to services. From 1960 to 1987, Senegal’s government undertook large-scale slum clearance efforts, but informal settlements continued to spread, and the government faced increasing vocal public criticism of its actions. In 1987, the government adopted a progressive policy of systematic regularization of informal settlements and planned to provide upgradeable, 50-year rights of occupancy to 41,000 households. As of 2007, however, only about 1600 plots had been regularized under the program (World Bank 2002; Durand-Lasserve and Ndiaye 2008).

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Articles 8 and 15 of the Constitution of the Republic of Senegal (2001) provide for fundamental economic and social rights, including the right to property (GOS Constitution 2001).

Under colonial rule, customary law jurisdictions were permitted to coexist alongside a French-modeled legal code. In 1964, the government passed the National Domain Law, which was intended to break the grip of traditional ethnic and religious hierarchies over land access, to encourage productive use of land, and create an economic environment conducive to agricultural exports. The National Domain Law classified about 97% of all land in Senegal as state-owned; the 2–3% of land that had been registered as freehold during the colonial era remained under private ownership. The National Domain Law classified land as within urban, classified, agricultural, or pioneer zones. The law also decentralized control over land to local governance bodies (municipalities and rural communities) (Monkam 2009; Bruce et al. 1995).

The Rural Community Law of 1972 (Loi relative aux Communautés Rurales) provided the structure for the elected rural councils (counseils ruraux) and the ambit of their authority. As the representative of the rural community, the rural council has the authority to allocate use-rights to land, conditional upon the landholder’s economically productive use of the land. The concept for productive use of land is not defined in the law; the rural council establishes criteria based on local development plans. Natural persons and legal entities can obtain long-term, heritable use-rights to rural land, subject to a productive use requirement. The rural council has the authority to retake land that is not used productively and allocate it to other users. The law requires all land transactions to be conducted through and recorded with the rural council, and the rural council has authority to decide land disputes in its jurisdiction. The rural council’s authority is circumscribed by the central government, which retains the right to veto the decisions of the rural council. Officials of the Ministry of the Interior (e.g., sous-préfets, préfets) have exercised the authority to trump decisions considered contrary to protection of the state’s interest in natural resources (Bruce et al. 1995; Faye 2008; Monkam 2009).

RESOURCE QUANTITY, QUALITY, USE AND DISTRIBUTION

Access to water is critical to the livelihoods of the rural population in Senegal, and rainfall is the primary determinant of agricultural productivity. The climate in Senegal is Sahelian, with a rainy season from June to October and a dry season from November to June. Rainfall, which ranges from about 150 millimeters per year in the northern sandy pastoral region to 1400 millimeters a year in the Casamance, is highly regionalized and variable from year to year. In areas such as the Senegal River Valley and Peanut Basin, rainfall can vary 500 millimeters or more in a given year, ranging from 150 to 600 millimeters. Every region is receiving less rain due to climate change: in the period between 1965 and 1990, rainfall has decreased by about 200 millimeters per year countrywide. Periods of extreme drought also occur, most recently in the 1970s and 1980s (USAID 2006; Tappan et al. 2004).

Senegal has four major rivers: the Senegal; Sine-Saloum; Gambia; and Casamance. Of the river basins, the Senegal River basin is the most important, covering about 37% of the total land area and sharing its water with neighboring countries (Guinea, Mali, and Mauritania). Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania founded the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS) in 1972 to manage basin resources, with Guinea joining in 2005. The OMVS countries invested in the construction of two major dams designed to control the flow of the waters to supply year-round irrigation, to generate electricity, and control flooding. The Diama Dam near the mouth of the Senegal River on the border of Mauritania prevents saltwater intrusion into the lower portions of the river during the dry season; the Manantali Dam, which is near the headwaters of the Bafing tributary in Mali, is designed to capture and regulate the flow from the river’s source. Construction of the dams increased the availability of water for irrigation and drinking but also disrupted patterns of water use by crop producers and nomadic (or transhumant) livestock owners, degraded estuarine and floodplain ecosystems, and led to a rise in waterborne diseases. Planning for the Manantali Dam was based on hydrological data from earlier decades; current climate conditions have proved to be drier and, overall, projected capacities for both water and energy produced by the hydroelectric power plant built at Manantali have not been met (Duvail and Hamerlynck 2003; UNESCO 2009).

Senegal’s renewable surface water resources are estimated at 24 cubic kilometers per year, and renewable groundwater resources total about 3.5 cubic kilometers per year. Water delivery is managed through a public- private partnership in Senegal, and privatization resulted in marked improvement in access to water and water quality, with about 90% coverage in areas and 65–75% coverage in rural areas. However, although overall access numbers are high, wide gaps in coverage exist between access to water in Dakar and other cities and between wealthier and poorer residential areas, and water coverage in some rural areas remains quite low (World Bank 2010a; Jammal and Jones 2006; FAO 2005b).

Senegal’s estimated irrigation potential is about 340,000 hectares, but irrigation covers only 105,000 hectares, with a 60% exploitation rate. Many irrigated areas are poorly managed, allowing excessive runoff and heavy concentrations of salt. High development costs and inadequate user participation in water management have been blamed for these shortcomings (AfDB 2003).

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Under the Water Code of 1981 (Law 81-13), ground and surface water are considered a community resource held by the state in the public domain. The Water Code provides for management of water resources by central government agencies. Human consumption takes first priority for water-use, followed by: agriculture; agro-industrial purposes other than growing food; energy; mining; navigation; and tourism. Regulations implementing the Water Code are contained in Decrees 555, 556, and 557 of 1998 (Salman and Bradlow 2006; Cotula 2006; FAO 2005b).

The legislative framework gives several different entities authority over rights to Senegal’s irrigated land and water. The central government has authority over water resources, including water used for irrigation. The government’s authority is subject to its status as a member of OMVS, which has a quota system for preventing unequal use of water from the Senegal River. Senegal has a quota of 80,000 hectares of irrigated land. The central-level agency, Société d’Aménagement des Espaces du Delta et de la Falémé (SAED), was originally responsible for managing irrigation schemes on all land in the national domain. Water User Associations (WUAs), federated bodies that are composed of several villages in a designated irrigation area, are responsible for allocating land and managing water resources on irrigated land subject to SAED authority (UNESCO 2009; Sylla 2006).

Decree 87-720 of 1987 changed the land zone designation of many state-operated irrigation schemes from pioneer zones, in which land is under the control of SAED and WUAs, to territorial zones, which are managed by rural councils. The decree gave the rural councils authorization over land allocations in non-public irrigation schemes, while water rights remained governed by SAED and WUAs (Sylla 2006; Cotula 2006).

The Water Code does not address water rights specific to the extensive pastoral regions of the country, where water access is often limited to boreholes and other constructed water points. Under the formal law, access to land and water are governed by rural councils and central government bodies, respectively. However, under customary law, the traditional Fulani herding clans generally control access to the water points and assert access rights to surrounding farmland (Freudenberger 2009).

TENURE ISSUES

The Water Code permits fixed-term public concessions for water use by public institutions, national companies, public companies, and private entities. The concessions are fee-based, but in some cases the fee is subsidized, with commercial operators paying higher fees and garden and household users paying lower fees. Individuals generally pay for access to drinking water, which is distributed by the private operating company, Sénégalaise des Eaux (SDE), although some access in rural areas is free (World Bank 2010a; Salman and Bradlow 2006; GOS Water Code 1981).

Landholders are free to use surface water accumulating on their land. A right to water can also be specifically and explicitly granted for farm, livestock, industrial, and tourism purposes. Outside these official channels, customary practices in managing water remain prevalent (GOS Water Code 1981).

Water authorizations can be suspended or revoked by the Minister of Habitat, Construction, and Hydraulics in order to protect the resource from pollution, for the public interest, or if the holder of the right breaches the terms of authorization or fails to use the water-right. The Minister can initiate proceedings on any disputes or file any relevant claims against any person violating the water law within the judicial system (Salman and Bradlow 2006).

Water User Associations (WUAs), with SAED oversight, are responsible for the allocation of land for public irrigation programs. The WUA is charged with responsibility for making allotments in accordance with principles of equity and fairness that provide all community members with the opportunity to develop and cultivate an irrigated plot in accordance with rules of a scheme. Access to water is managed in accordance with a water allocation plan drawn up by the WUA at the start of each season. The WUA collects water fees from each landholder and makes a collective payment to the funding body, the Senegal National Agricultural Credit Bank (Banque Nationale de Crédit Agricole du Sénégal). The WUA has the power to de-allocate land for failure to reimburse seasonal loans, breaches of water-use rules, or infringement of the internal regulations of the group (Sylla 2006).

Decree 87-720 of 1987, which allowed the central government to rezone some irrigation-scheme areas so that management of land allocations falls under the jurisdiction of rural councils as opposed to SAED and the WUAs, separated authority for land allocations from authority over water allocations. The bifurcation has created some management difficulties. Some farmers have used the system to obtain double plots – one from a public scheme and one using land allocated by the rural council but taking unauthorized advantage of irrigation water supplied by the public scheme (known as pirate plots). WUAs have had difficulty enforcing compliance with user rules and water fees on pirate plots because they do not have the authority to withdraw the land allocation (Cotula 2006; Sylla 2006).

The number of large national and international agribusiness enterprises in the Senegal River Basin is growing. In irrigated areas zoned as territorial land, rural councils have authority to allocate land to private companies. In some areas, a majority of the land has been allocated to agribusinesses and political elites, creating resentment within local communities. In a handful of reported cases, the resentment is compounded by a company’s exercise of exclusive control over one of the many small dams along the river, resulting in private corporate control of the flow of water (Sylla 2006).

GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS

The Ministry of Habitat, Construction, and Hydraulics is responsible for water supply in urban and rural areas. Within the Ministry, the Directorate of Rural Hydraulics (DHR) is responsible for the planning, implementation and monitoring of new drinking water supplies in rural areas. The Directorate of the Operation and Maintenance (DEM) is responsible for technical support and advice to users’ associations and management committees, and control and regulation of public drinking water in rural areas. The Directorate of Management and Planning of Water Resources (DGPRE) is responsible for the inventory of works of groundwater abstraction, and monitoring quality and quantity of groundwater resources (GOS 2009; GOS 2010a).

The government of Senegal contracts with the Senegalese national water company (Société Nationale des Eaux du Senegal, SONES) and SDE for water services. SONES is the holding company and is responsible for investments in infrastructure and management of SDE. SDE is responsible for water delivery operations, maintenance, system expansion, and billing and collection (World Bank 2010a).

Water User Associations (WUAs) are federated organizations encompassing a group of villages and led by elected bodies. WUAs have the status of Economic Interest Groups (EIG), which allows them to liaise with financial institutions and perform management acts on behalf of their members. WUAs have concession contracts with SAED that set out the responsibilities of the parties. WUAs are generally responsible for maintaining irrigation and drainage networks and equipment, and developing a plan to ensure compliance with crop intensity standards set by SAED. SAED is responsible for helping the WUAs develop, equip, and rehabilitate the area and technical supervision and training of farmers in the new techniques, financial and accounting management, and environmental protection. As of 2006, SAED had transferred management of irrigation for 16,000 hectares of land in 25 irrigated areas to the management of 22 WUAs. Governing bodies of WUAs are often dominated by village elites and major political parties who use the association as a means to future their individual purposes, limiting the representative nature of the bodies (Sylla 2006).

With the support of NGOs and international remittances, village residents in some areas have formed separate associations to manage irrigated land and water resources, adopting their own informal water fee systems (Cotula 2006; Sylla 2006).

GOVERNMENT REFORMS, INTERVENTIONS AND INVESTMENTS

The restructuring of Senegal’s water sector and development of the public-private partnership between the GOS and SONES/SDE is considered one of the most significant privatization successes on the African continent. The restructuring of the sector resulted in a significant improvement in the distribution of water and the quality of water received, and the majority of the benefits, which are estimated at US $437 million, have been realized by consumers at all level of society. The significant achievement is attributed to a solid design that included consultation with all stakeholders, selection of appropriate regulatory principles, and use of a contract suited to the goals. The incentive structure applied in the contract between SONES and SDE is credited with the high level of achievement. Under the contract, the bulk of the water is paid at bid price, but at the margin SDE is either compensated or penalized at the full tariff rate, which is approximately twice as high. The contract set very high targets and provided a large incentive to achieve the targets – with a very impressive result (Jammal and Jones 2006).

The 5-year (2010–2015) US $57 million Millennium Water and Sanitation Programme (PEPAM) is designed to provide 2.3 million rural residents with reliable access to drinking water, focusing on the areas of the Senegal River Basin (regions of Saint-Louis and Matam and the district of Bakel) where residents currently use untreated surface water sources for drinking. In the urban sector, the program plans to increase the connection rate in urban areas that are currently underserved (World Bank 2010a).

DONOR INTERVENTIONS AND INVESTMENTS

The World Bank-supported Agricultural Markets Development Programme for Senegal (Programme de Développement des Marchés Agricoles au Sénégal, PDMAS) is a 10-year project that began in 2005 with the goal of increasing non-traditional agricultural exports from the 2005 level of 13,000 tons to 50,000 tons, and doubling participant producer revenues by the end of the program in 2015. The program includes a component focusing on irrigation, specifically: (1) restructuring the irrigation system in the Niayes areas with an independent water supply and management system; and (2) expansion of successful small-scale irrigation models. As of June 2009, a total of 568 hectares of improved irrigated schemes have been developed out of a 2015 target of 2500 hectares (World Bank 2005; World Bank 2009b).

The 5-year US $540 million compact between MCC and the government of Senegal includes US $170 million for the Irrigation and Water Resources Management Project. The project is designed to improve the productivity of the agricultural sector by extending and improving the quality of the irrigation system in the Senegal River Valley. MCC plans to work with the government to develop up to 10,500 hectares of additional irrigated land by increasing the volume of irrigation water and preventing the abandonment of 26,000 hectares of existing irrigable land by rehabilitating drainage canals and providing secure land tenure for farmers, with particular attention to poor women farmers, landless herders, and landless agricultural laborers (MCC 2010).

AfDB’s Local Small-scale Irrigation Support Project is working in 87 rural communities in the regions of Fatick, Kolda, and Tambacounda. The project is developing a planned 120 small structures and facilities (micro-dams, sills, deepening of ponds, bottomlands, micro-irrigated areas) to control surface water runoff, and is working to regenerate 2000 hectares of degraded land. GTZ has helped supply drinking water to all participating communities in GTZ’s 11-year (2004–2015) Support for Decentralization and Local Development project (GTZ 2009; AfDB 2008).

RESOURCE QUANTITY, QUALITY, USE AND DISTRIBUTION

Senegal has about 8.8 million hectares of forest, most of which is woodland with shrub and tree savanna vegetation, and is found primarily in the central and southern regions. An estimated 1.6 million hectares is primary forest, with broadleaf evergreen and semi-evergreen trees and mangroves, oil palms, and raffia palms located in the southern part of the country, primarily in the Casamance and in the coastal estuaries. Senegal’s forests are home to nine threatened species, including chimpanzee, red colobus, and wild dog. Forests provide Senegal’s human population with grazing land, fuelwood, food, and income from the sale of forest products (Boye 2003; IUCN 2008; FAO 2005a; Tappan et al. 2004).

The national forest service has primary management authority over an estimated 6 million hectares of forestland, including about 210 classified forests (2.5 million hectares), six national parks, 20 silvo-pastoral reserves, eight special reserves, and a number of reforestation and rehabilitation areas. The balance of the country’s forestland is primarily under control of local communities and forestland users. In some areas, rural councils, village forest committees, clans, and other local bodies exercise authority over the forestland; elsewhere the land lacks organized management and is essentially an open-access resource (Diaw 2006; Boye 2003; Ba 2006).

In 1990, 65% of Senegal’s total land area was covered in forest; by 2005 that figure had fallen to 45%. The deforestation rate is currently about 0.5% per year. Consumption of charcoal and firewood for domestic energy causes substantial degradation, and clearing forestland for cultivation, often using slash-and-burn techniques, has caused substantial deforestation. In one notorious case, the Mouride Brotherhood entered into a contract with the government to cultivate a portion of a 73,000 hectare that was gazetted as a reserve and used for grazing by an estimated 6000 pastoralists and 300,000 cattle. Over the course of a three-week period in 1991, members of the sect cleared 43,000 hectares for groundnut cultivation and allotted plots to members, forcing the pastoralists and livestock into the remaining land (World Bank 2006a; USAID 2006; FAO 2005a; Freudenberger and Freudenberger 1993).

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Until late in the 20th century, commercial access to forest resources was tightly controlled by the central government, and local authorities had no right to award concessions or usage permits. Legislation passed in the 1990s shifted more authority to local governments. A 1993 law added local collectives (i.e. rural councils) to the list of entities eligible to act as concessionaires in the use and management of forest lands. Under the 1996 Decentralization Law, rural communities could claim jurisdiction over forestland within their territory, and rural councils could administer forest policy according to a state-approved management plan. The central government has authority over classified forests and other designated forest areas (e.g., national parks, nature reserves) (Larson and Ribot 2007; Diaw 2006).

The 1998 Forest Code provides that regional authorities and rural communities can exercise a variety of rights regarding forests, including demarcating forests and mapping forest uses and managing forest resources. Rural councils have advisory roles in issuing permits for hunting and forest-clearing and can issue preliminary tree- felling permits and collect fines. Under the Forest Code, the Forest Service is required to secure the rural council president’s signature before commencing commercial production within a rural community’s forestland. In 2005, a new Forestry Action Plan was adopted to encourage implementation of the Forestry Code (Larson and Ribot 2007; USAID 2006; Diaw 2006).

TENURE ISSUES

All forestland is owned by the state, with authority to manage the resources devolved to subnational levels subject to compliance with the regulatory framework governing the forest type and permissible exploitation and the preparation of forest management agreements. In classified forests and reserves, products such as charcoal and timber are subject to quotas. In community forest management areas, the community and forest officials reach agreement on permissible forest uses, quotas, and revenue-sharing. In forest areas subject to the jurisdiction of the rural community, the rural council has authority to set quotas (Boye 2003; FAO 2005a; GOS 2004a; Diaw 2006).

Despite a legal framework that allows for significant devolution of authority over forests and forest resources to local communities, most of the progress in devolution of authority has been in project areas supported by international NGOs and donors. Elsewhere, the transfer of authority has been less evident. Delays in decentralization and devolution efforts have been attributed to: ambiguity and gaps in the legal framework; lack of enthusiasm among forestry officials for devolution of authority to local communities; insufficient financial resources to support the local communities and forest service; and lack of capacity in local communities to undertake forest management (Weidemann Associates 2006; Diaw 2006; Larson and Ribot 2007; Ribot 2009).

GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS

The Directorate of Water, Forests, Hunting and Soil Conservation and the Directorate of National Parks within the Ministry of the Environment and Nature Protection are responsible for the planning, implementation, and monitoring of national forestry policy. The Forest Production Research Directorate of the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research, which completes the administrative and technical arrangements for forest resources management, comes under the Ministry of Agriculture. A High Council of Natural Resources and the Environment, under the authority of the Prime Minister, has been established. The council is supported by an Ecological Monitoring Centre, which constantly monitors changes in the country’s forest cover (Diaw 2006; FAO 2003).

At local levels, a variety of governance bodies engage in forest management, including rural councils. In a pilot project involving 16 villages surrounding the Ndankou classified forest and protected areas, village committees were formed to implement a participatory forest management plan. Representatives from each village committee served on a federated inter-village committee that oversaw the project area and maintained the relationship with the Forest Service. Village committees defined areas of forest use and managed access and exploitation of the forest in accordance with project objectives (Boye 2003).

RESOURCE QUANTITY, QUALITY, USE AND DISTRIBUTION

Senegal’s sedimentary basin stretches over 75% of the country’s land mass and, together with Precambrian basement formations in the country’s southeast, houses a significant variety of minerals, including phosphates, limestone, salts, iron ore, copper, chromium, gold, platinum, uranium, and natural gas. The country’s mineral sector has been dominated by production of phosphates, limestone, and attapulgite, but foreign interest in Senegal’s diversity of mineral wealth has grown, with multiple operations exploring deposits of iron ore, zircon, titanium, gold, and uranium. Senegal has encouraged development of the mineral sector with investment in geophysical surveys, geological mapping, and development of centers for mining documentation and a mining cadastre (Aspermont UK 2009; Bermudez-Lugo 2009; Ngom 2010).

Phosphates have led Senegal’s mining operations since the opening of two large mines in the Thies region (about 70 kilometers outside of Dakar) in the 1940s and 1950s. Reserves of calcium phosphates are estimated at 100 million tons and 50–70 million tons of aluminum phosphates, which together give Senegal the potential to be among the top 10 phosphate producers in the world. Phosphates and their derivatives have accounted for 7–15% of reported goods sold for export in 2004–2007, but have not taken advantage of the world market for phosphates because the country’s dominant producer, Industries Chimiques du Senegal (ICS), sells most of its production to India. Phosphate exports have also been interrupted by financial difficulties with ICS. Expansion of phosphate production and diversification of producers is expected to increase the share entering the world export market (Bermudez-Lugo 2009; EIU 2005; Aspermont UK 2009; IMF 2008).

The country also produces gold, basalt, cement, salt, sand, natural gas, and petroleum. The Sabodala gold mine in the eastern part of the country began production in 2009; the site has an estimated 30 tons of gold reserves. Large- scale deposits of iron ore (estimated at 600 million tons) have been located near the eastern border with Mali (Bermudez-Lugo 2009; SIM Senegal 2010).

Senegal’s fossil fuel resources, while relatively minor, are important for domestic purposes because thermal resources generate nearly all the country’s energy. Senegal has an estimated 52 million cubic meters of peat, which can be made into bricks that provide an alternative to fuelwood. The county also has lignite and coal, and natural gas is being extracted from the Gadiaga field, south of Dakar (EUI 2005; Aspermont UK 2009).

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Senegal’s Mining Code of 2003 (Law No. 2003-36) was designed to attract foreign investment and promote development of the country’s mineral sector. The 2003 Mining Code, which replaced the 1988 law: grants foreign and domestic operations equal protection for their investments; extends incentives for exploration and exploitation of minerals; reduces transaction costs for mining companies by processing requests for permits within 45 days; provides for international dispute resolution; and imposes environmental protection standards on mining operations. The 2003 Mining Code meets the norms stipulated by the 16-state Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). Decree 647 of 17 May 2004 supports the 2003 Mining Code with implementing regulations (Aspermont UK 2009; Ngom 2010; Reynolds and Flores 2009).

Senegal’s Mineral Policy Statement (2003) provides for the abandonment of state monopoly over any mineral resources and refocusing on regulating private mining companies. The policy statement limits to 10% the state’s participation in ventures and encourages participation of private investors, both domestic and foreign. The state will also support the diversification of mineral production and the beneficiation (initial processing) of mineral products before export in order to generate employment opportunities in the industry. The statement provides that 20% of all revenues received should be directed to local communities. The mechanisms for that revenue sharing are not identified (Ngom 2010; SIM Senegal 2010; Sylla 2005).

TENURE ISSUES

The 2003 Mining Code recognizes three types of mineral rights:

Research Permit. Research permits are issued for three years, with two renewal periods for reduced territories. After the second renewal, one more exceptional renewal is allowed for a duration equal to or shorter than the length of the original permit. In the case of multiple applicants, priority is given to tender offerings that provide the best conditions and guarantees for the state.

Exploitation Permit. Also renewable but initially granted for a period of five years, this permit requires execution of an Environmental Impact Assessment.

Mining Concession. Mining concessions are granted for an initial 5-year term, with renewals up to 25 years. The concession cancels any exploration permit still in force. However, by decree, applicants who meet set standards of technical, managerial, and financial capability will retain their rights under the exploration permit (Aspermont UK 2009; Ngom 2010).

Disputes between Senegal and foreign investors may be brought before any arbiter of the parties’ choosing, including an international arbiter (Ngom 2010).

GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS

The Ministry of Mines, Industry, and Small and Medium Size Enterprises (MMIP) is responsible for monitoring and control of the mining industry. Application for permits and concessions must be made to MMIP, specifically to the Directorate of Mines and Geology (GOS Mining Law 2003).

GOVERNMENT REFORMS, INTERVENTIONS AND INVESTMENTS

The growth of Senegal’s mining sector has been constrained by its lack of infrastructure, particularly the railways, roads, and port facilities needed to carry production from the southern and eastern parts of the country to ports for shipment, and the lack of sufficient energy throughout the country. Senegal is investing an estimated US $911 million annually in public works, including highways and power plants, but the investment is half the amount that the World Bank has suggested is necessary. Foreign investors such as Arcelor Mittal, which is developing US $2.2 billion in an iron ore mining operation in the Laleme region in the southeastern region of the country, are also investing in the development of infrastructure, including 750 kilometers of highway and expansion of the port in Dakar (Bloomberg 2010; Business Wire 2007).

The legal framework that Senegal’s government enacted in 2003–2004 to govern the mineral sector was designed to create a transparent, non-discriminatory, simple system for obtaining and exploiting mineral rights. The framework is supported by a national commission to combat corruption and promote transparency in government operations, new standards for public offerings and fiscal reforms designed to encourage foreign investment (Ngom 2010; Aspermont UK 2009).

Through its Mining Sector Support Programme (PASMI), Senegal has sought to integrate artisanal miners into the formal mining sector by improving mining techniques and the livelihoods of small-scale miners, with a particular emphasis on the most vulnerable groups. The project focuses on gold miners in the Kedougou prefecture in southeastern Tambacounda, where approximately 70,000 people live in 10 rural communities (Savornin et al. 2007; Aspermont UK 2009).

DONOR INTERVENTIONS AND INVESTMENTS

Development of Senegal’s mineral sector has been aided by the EU-supported, EUR €13 million Mining Sector Support Programme (PASMI), which began in 2007. Under this cooperative program, Senegal has: engaged in intensive aerial geophysical surveys of southeastern Senegal; established a center for mineral documentation and a mining cadastre; conducted geological mapping of the sedimentary basin and southeastern Senegal; and provided support for artisanal miners. Employment in the formal mining sector is low; only about 2500 positions were reported in 2006. Donors such as the World Bank have identified the need for support for the country’s efforts to diversify the industry within the country in order to provide more employment opportunities and ensure that local communities benefit from investments in the sector. Senegal’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) (2007– 2010) identified the need for donor support in the development of processing of mineral resources and research into new applications for mineral substances to benefit local communities and help diversify income sources (World Bank 2008; Aspermont UK 2009; World Bank 2006).