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T1 Ecosystems Services and Rural Livelihoods in the Sahel: Environmental Accounting and Wealth Surveys - Summary for Decision Makers
A1 United Nations Environment Programme, 
A2 Cohen, Mathew J.
A2 King, Danielle
A2 Sweeney, Sharlynn
A2 Shepherd, Gemma
A2 Brown, Mark
K1 ecosystem
K1 environmental accounting
K1 land use
K1 wealth
K1 Mali
K1 Sahel
YR 2012
FD 2012
LK https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/22357
UL https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/22357
NO This document synthesizes evidence on how ecosystem services underpin rural livelihoods in the Sahel by applying environmental accounting—specifically emergy-based metrics—to 17 representative land-use subsystems and a Mali wealth survey covering over 2,700 households in 77 villages, using rainfall and RNNDVI indicators to gauge ecosystem condition. It finds agroforestry systems that integrate trees with crops and livestock use fewer non-renewable inputs, yield multiple co-products, and improve emergy exchange ratios relative to monocropping; Sahelian grain production is comparatively efficient in environmental footprint, while beef is less efficient than U.S. systems and milk more efficient. Key determinants of household wealth include rainfall and the interaction of RNNDVI with its trend, yet demographic factors dominate.
DS UN Environment Document Repository
RD Sep 16, 2026