The desert areas of the country had remained backward in many respects due to difficult physiography varying agro-climatic conditions and distinct socio cultural features. Since the people living in these areas were facing hardships owing to geo-climatic conditions, the desert development programme was introduced as a centrally sponsored scheme in 1977-78.

Los tcnicos forestales y los administradores de recursos naturales entendieron muy poco y mal los mltiples usos que los campesinos hicieron de las formaciones forestales en el curso de los milenios, ampliamente documentados en un artculo sobre las tcnicas de ordenacin de tierras arboladas aparecido en el nmero 160 de Unasylva.

The project was first conceived as a “Transnational project on the Management of Major Regional Aquifer in N.E. Africa” during the UNCOD held in Nairobi in 1977 and that it had been taken up by ADALCO in 1987. He pointed out that the sandstone aquifer occupying an area of about 2,000,0000 sq. km underlines the common border areas of Sudan, Egypt, Libya and Chad. Environmentally, it was observed that the zone has a relief characterized by a vast sandy plan, which is occasionally interrupted by scattered flat topped Nubaian plateaux and escarpments.

It is clear from the failure of our efforts in many countries to halt the desertification process - deserts are now advancing at a rate of nearly 15,000,000 acres a year worldwide (Worrall 1984) (that something was missing in our knowledge of the problem). Four discoveries have been made that enabled us to design a simple holistic model to manage resources successfully in a sustained and economic manner.

Le prsent numro d'Unasylva est principalement consacr l'Afrique. Une bonne partie du continent a t ravage par plusieurs annes successives de scheresse, et des millions d'tres humains souffrent de faim et de malnutrition. Dans de nombreux pays d'Afrique, les cultures empitent rapidement sur les forts et les zones arides cause de la famine.