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The
Djenné Initiative, Inc. (the
Initiative) is a human rights and educational not-for-profit organization.
The Initiative currently works in the United States and Mali, but is
committed to helping indigenous peoples worldwide.
Mali, a country largely either unknown or
forgotten by most Americans and American institutions, is located in West Africa.
It is one of the world's most economically undeveloped countries by Western
standards. However, Mali is rich in historic cultural resources--fragile resources
that are being threatened by pressures for fast-track development without proper
regard to environmental and sociological planning and the input of residents
who may be adversely affected.
In addition to humanitarian aid in times of famine or plagues, The Djenné
Initiative, Inc. has been focused on opposing the planned Talo Dam, a
project of the African Development Bank. This dam will adversely affect not
only the peoples of the Djenné region, but all those dependent on the
Bourgou who will inevitably starve and/or be displaced as a result of the
Dam.
The third largest wetland in the world, the Bourgou is a refuge to a billion
birds as well as the hundreds of thousands of heads of cattle who migrate to
it annually. To the people of the region, it is an invaluable
resource for rice cultivation and fish, rich in protein. It is also home to
the hippopotami - for whom Mali is named - a species now in danger of
extinction. The Ramsar Convention has designated the Bourgou as a "wetland
of international importance."
The Djenné Initiative's founder, Jean-Louis Bourgeois, who has lived in
Djenné for over 6 years, has long expressed his concerns over the negative
impact, which the Dam will cause. Mr. Bourgeois is an architecture
historian, specializing in adobe. His book "Spectacular Vernacular" features
the distinctive adobe buildings, which have earned Djenne the designation of
"World Heritage Site."
In support of The Djenne Initiative's environmental
position, three technical reports are posted on this website in French and in
English translation.
"Arguments
from Djenné" (1998) was written by citizens of Djenné residing
in Bamako, Mali's capital. This document offers the best summary introduction
to the dangers posed by the Talo Dam even as it reveals the fallacy of the
opposition's claims.
"Analysis
of the Talo Dam project and its foreseeable consequences on rural production
systems in the Djenné area" by François Gallier, (2002),
13 pages. Reprinted from the "Djenné Patrimoine Information" website
(www.djenne-patrimoine.asso.fr/). Abstract of the 112 page thesis of the same
name, published in 2001. This analysis scientifically projects the negative
impacts resulting from the alteration of the natural irrigation system. Its
maps show the extent of the areas involved, as well as the importance of the
Bani River's annual flood crest to those dependent for their sustenance on
the Bourgou.
The "Clark
Report" (in English) (in French) (2001), written by Dr. William Fisher of Clark
University, played an important role in the United States Executive Director
to the Administrative Council writing a letter to the African Development
Bank in April 2001, requesting a construction moratorium on the Dam. The
project was then suspended, at least until 2005. The Clark Report was
funded through a gift from the Bourgeois Family Foundation. It should be
noted that Cultural Survival, the organization through whom this research
was conducted, has since reversed its position on the dam - as posted on
its website. Their statements, however, give no real grounds for this change
- and in fact are replete with disclaimers.
In 2005, in spite of the glaring dangers
it posed for the peoples of Northern Mali, particularly the Bani's downstream
stakeholders, construction of the Talo Dam began. (Click
here for photos of the partially built Dam). We are currently trying to
verify reports that its construction has again been stopped in 2006.
- For more information about The Djenné Initiative, Inc. please call Jean-Louis Bourgeois at either 212-242-4984 or 505-751-1282.
www.djenneintiative.org
Copyright 2006 © The Djenné Initiative, Inc.
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