ABSTRACT
As well as a manifestation of an ecological crisis, the current situation in the Sahel is also an expression of social upheaval. This is now taking place as many of the former strategies for controlling people, their labour and the resources have become obsolete. The appearance of new potential users of land and vegetation (notably urban dwellers), combined with the weight of the market, the emergence of new forms of social stratification in the heart of the rural world and the beginning of an emancipation of youth (due, in particular, to cash cropping and migration) are social transformations which disrupt the regulatory systems that formerly ordered the exploitation of resources. Situations of competition and conflict among individuals and among groups are multiplying. Disorder is introduced into relations between societies and nature. Space is becoming more scarce and climatic conditions are worsening, accentuating and accelerating the transformations that are underway to the point where the sustainable exploitation of ecosystems is now under threat.
