Climate Research and Seasonal Forecasting for West Africans: Perceptions, Dissemination, and Use?

Beginning in response to the disastrous drought of 1968–73, considerable research and monitoring have focused on the characteristics, causes, predictability, and impacts of West African Soudano–Sahel (10°–18°N) rainfall variability and drought. While these efforts have generated substantial information on a range of these topics, very little is known of the extent to which communities, activities at risk, and policy makers are aware of, have access to, or use such information. This situation has prevailed despite Glantz's provocative BAMS paper on the use and value of seasonal forecasts for the Sahel more than a quarter century ago. We now provide a systematic reevaluation of these issues based on questionnaire responses of 566 participants (in 13 communities) and 26 organizations in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria. The results reveal that rural inhabitants have limited access to climate information, with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) being the most important source. Moreover, the pathways f...

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