ABSTRACT
Although the African country of Mali produces very low levels of greenhouse gas emissions compared to the world average, the increasing temperatures ushered in by anthropogenic change are significantly altering its environment. A primary factor in this alteration is a rising rate of evapotranspiration, the process involving plant absorption of water through the roots and its release into the atmosphere as vapor through pores in plant leaves. Mali is facing higher temperatures, reduced precipitation, growing desertification, and falling crop yields, as well as loss of foraging for livestock among pastoralists. The result is a jump in the percentage of the population at risk for food insecurity and outright hunger. The pressure to secure water can easily trigger human conflict, dropping levels of food production, and food insecurity and cause famine, survival migration, and other threats to life. In coping with these threats, anthropogenic pressures on land and water have increased, resulting in natural resource degradation, a complex interaction that further increases vulnerability.
