MS-GIRE-Mali
Location
General description
Area covered by the Inner Niger Delta: 40,000 km2
Minimum flooded area: 6,000 km2
Maximum flooded area: 25,000 km2
The Inner Niger Delta is located in Mali, in the West of Africa. 14,5 millions people live in Mali. There are two main seasons in Mali, the dry season (from October to April) and the rainy season (from May to September).
The IND is located in the middle of the river, and this zone is ranked among the UNESCO sites (because of famous bird species).
The IND is the most productive part of the country. 1 million people live there, and it is a zone where the demographic growth is strong. The main trade concerns fish and cattle, for rice crops are for the inhabitants consumption, and bourgou is meant to feed the livestock. There are three main sectors of activity there: fishery, breeding and agriculture. Those three activities are organised around the flood and flood recession of the Niger. Indeed , the foodplain is made of clay, which prevent water from infiltrate.
The activities of the population are dependent on the intensity of the flood. In this way, the year when the flood is lower than usual create competition for the resources.This situation might be enhanced in the future with the construction of a dam upstream in Guinea.
Main issue / objective
Main issue
Concentration of the different actors in the same place;
Increasing population in an area of tension;
Change flood flow;
Difficulty of law's application;
Intensive exploitation of resources;
Migration of the population of dry lands to wetlands;
Objective
Resources and activities management of Niger Delta
Sensitize different actors about over uses of the environment
Conflict's management between actors
Strengthening relation between traditional law and government institution
Spatial schema
Actors-resources schema
Strategies proposed
Game structure
Map
Map of flood:
Map of flood recession:
Map of low flow:
Roles
Process
Rules
Number of players: 3 to 6 players and a game master.
Tools:
3 boards: one for the flood period, one for the flood recession period, one for the low flow period.
Money: each person receives 3 francs
Fish: when fishermen work, they should respect a certain amount of fish, or the resource won’t reproduce well for the next year.
Wood: resource in the forest
Bourgou: in the bourgou fields
Board organization:
Deep blue: Minor bed of the river Niger
Medium blue: Area liable to flooding + lakes
Deep green: Forest
Brown and Sand: dry area but liable to flooding
Green: dryland
Green and hatched: irrigated rice
Hatched: area for rice crops
Spotted: area for bourgou crops
Roles/Actors/Players:
Farmers
Farmers grow rice. They have to wait for the low flow to sow, and for the flood recession to harvest and earn their money.
Breeders
Breeders lead their cattle to the bourgou fields, in order to feed it. During the flood, breeders can either become nomadic and leave the Delta with their cattle, or become a farmer. In that case, the new farmer will give money (1 franc) to the nomadic breeder: the nomadic breeder will take care of it until flood recession.
Fisherman
Fishermen fish in the river Niger. During the low flow, they can also go into lakes.
The game master: represents the Jowro and the Master of the water
The Jowro controls the land that does not belong to the village. Every actor who uses the land (for example, for pasture) mmust pay him a fee.
The Master of the water : gives fishing quotas
Important!
· The communal land is free, players don’t have to pay a fee. The Jowro’s land is not free, players have to pay 1 franc when they use it (lasts one year).
· Farmers (rice) have to grow their crops in hatched and spotted areas.
· When in conflicts for a land plot, players can use a “Village chief” card: the village chief will make a decision!
· Overgrazing and overfishing is dangerous. If players overfish or overgraze, there won’t be a lot of resources left during the net year.
Ex: there are 5 bourgou counters, and breeders use 3 for each land plot to make their livestock pasture. So if 2 breeders go on two bourgou plot, there won’t be enough resource.
Ex: every fishermen can take 2 fish in the Niger. But if there are not enough fish in the Niger left, the Master of Water can speak and give quotas.
· Breeders must be on the river’s bank.
· Between the low flow and the flood period, fishermen and breeders can decide to become farmers.
Decision time
Each player receives 4 francs.
Before the beginning of the game, farmers can chose where to sow their rice crops.
Breeders can decide either if they want to be a nomadic breeder or a farmer-breeder.
The game begins with the flood period. Once the crops are settled, they won’t move! They will receive their output after the flood, during the flood recession.
During the low flow period:
-farmers plant rice crops
-breeders can move towards the river and the lake, where bourgou is.
-fishermen move towards the Niger river or the lakes.
During the flood period:
-farmers don’t play.
- breeders play second. They are either farmers (see above) or nomadic
-fishermen play third. They don’t receive any output during the flood.
During the flood recession period:
-farmers harvest and get their outputs.
-breeders move towards the river. Arrival of the nomadic breeders into the game.
-fishermen fish and earn money.
Evaluation session