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Mobility: A symptom of inadaptability of Sahelian societies or an adaptative strategy? A historical perspective on combatting desertification policies Volume 23, issue 3, Juillet-Août-Septembre 2012

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Laboratoire PACTE-territoires UMR 5194 14 bis, avenue M.-Reynoard 38100 Grenoble France

This article aims to put desertification combat policies into historical perspective, from their emergence during the colonial period to the present strategies for adaptating to climate change. More precisely, it is a question evoking the genealogy of scientific and policy construction of the desertification theme viewed through the revealing prism of their understanding of the mobility inherent to Sahelian societies. The theme of desertification has contributed to justifying the disqualification of local uses and know-how. In this perspective, is the present injunction for societies to adapt to climate change a new approach or a new paradigm for the combat against desertification?