The climate of West Africa is characterised by a monsoonal system that brings rainfall onto the subcontinent during an annual rainy season. From the late 60's to the mid-90's, rainfall levels significantly below average were observed, which brought severe socio-economic implications. The causes of the uncharacteristically long drought period, and indeed the mechanisms underpinning West African climate were poorly understood at the time, but have since attracted growing attention from the scientific community. Amongst the factors identified as critical is the interaction between the Earth surface and the atmosphere. To investigate these interactions over West Africa we have adopted an approach based upon regional climate modelling, an internationally recognised discipline enabling the representation of past and future climates, and the study of specific meteorological mechanisms. Using the regional climate model MAR, we have carried out simulations of the West African climate for the years 1986, 1987, and 1988. To improve the accuracy with which the model represents the biosphere, a new dataset describing the local vegetation was incorporated and a new scheme for the representation of roots implemented. A measure of the internal variability inherent to all results produced with this, and other such models, was determined. Subsequently, the influence of soil moisture anomalies on the model behaviour was investigated. The latest version of the model was validated by comparing it to observational data for selected years. Our results have prooven the ability of the improved MAR to simulate the West African climate, its monsoon and its spatial and temporal behaviour and provide strong evidence of its suitability for further investigation of the surface-atmosphere interactions over West Africa.

Africa’s quest for economic development will require the increased availability and use of its abundant energy resources. Nevertheless, most of its rural population remains without access to modern energy services and urban residents typically only enjoy an intermittent supply of electricity. The dominant approach to energy planning in West Africa is top-down and centralized, emphasizing electricity generation from large dams or fossil-fueled plants and subsequent grid extension to reach more customers. However, an alternative and complementary paradigm is that of decentralized or Distributed Generation (DG), which stresses small-scale, on-site generation of power and offers a bottom-up approach to energy development. The goal of this dissertation project is to assess the various options for regional electrification and integration through a holistic analysis of the set of existing technologies and policies for deploying them. The main organ of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for regional electricity planning is the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and its primary policy document, the “Master Plan”, addresses regional power supply shortage through centralized planning. Both the WAPP policy documents and the majority of the country-level planning documents are considered to be based on a traditional, empiricist, policy analysis that appears to provide value-neutral solutions and generalizations. In contrast, the analysis provided in this project situates itself within the post-positivistic, deliberative and more contextual approach to policy analysis in order to compare the centralized approach to generation with a distributed approach, which is currently marginal in the region. It uses the Adaptive Management (AM) framework for this analysis, particularly because of the way it deals with ecological resilience in the face of widespread uncertainty. The main policy issue that this project seeks to address is the need for an integrated energy-environment planning process, which is currently lacking in West Africa, so as to achieve long term sustainability. Adaptive management offers policy makers a holistic lens with which to view energy policy, but there are very few examples of institutions that have attempted to implement it in practice anywhere in the world. These instances, however, represent a valuable historical reference point for future policy research and management efforts that seek to explore this approach. In alignment with that objective, this dissertation first provides an overview of the concept of adaptive management in general, and its application to energy problems in particular. Secondly, the research project undertakes a policy analysis of the ECOWAS strategy for electrification, based on a stakeholder analysis, a review of life cycle assessments of existing energy technologies, the expected outcomes of the electricity sector, and a set of traditional criteria for evaluating public policies. In order to further examine the question of electricity access, it carries out a quantitative analysis of the electricity demand and supply in the region. It uses a modeling approach that is based on the logic of AM to determine whether or not the energy requirements for broad based electrification can be met through distributed renewable power, which is currently a negligible component of the generation resource portfolio in West Africa. The dissertation proceeds to carry out a retrospective analysis of three cases in the U.S. where elements of AM have already been applied to energy planning in order to investigate some of the critical determinants for its successful implementation to date. This assessment then informs a prospective analysis of three West African cases that have ideal characteristics for experimentation with AM to determine to what extent similar concepts have been used, or may be employed in the future. The AM framework also calls for the consideration of local values, which should be open to revision in the face of real situations. To this end, the prospective analysis includes three additional place-sensitive criteria, so as to ensure that the framework remains viable in a different socio-political context. The AM analyses are then extended to include a discussion of learning and innovation in clean energy technologies, drawing from the Chinese, Danish and South African experiences. The results suggest that a strong and consistent political will that is in alignment with an explicit social policy is needed to initiate and implement broad-based electrification plans, but that stakeholder participation is critical to their success. In addition, the adoption of multiple instruments and the selection of a diverse range of energy resources were found to be more effective than an overreliance on a single dominant scheme so as to allow room for policy learning. Furthermore, the results confirm that a holistic approach to managing ecosystems associated with electric power production is a fruitful way to integrate ecological considerations with social and economic factors throughout the development of a project. This type of systemic methodology should also include the building of technological capability and the development of innovation capacity in order to address the unique socio-economic context and the rapidly-changing climatic conditions in West Africa. Finally, the articulation of a planning philosophy that engages the values and sensibilities of the people in a particular place, and that is rooted in them, was found to be a critical factor for increasing the level of public participation in management activities in order to achieve more equitable and democratic outcomes.

No description available.

Notre patrimoine génétique dévoile, de plus en plus, les passerelles démogénétiques d’une susceptibilité plus accrue de certains individus à des maladies infectieuses complexes. En vue d’une caractérisation de la variabilité génétique des populations ouest-africaines, nous avons analysé 659 chromosomes X au locus dys44 qui comprend, 35 SNPs et un microsatellite distribués sur 2853 pb en amont et 5034 pb en aval de l’exon 44 du gène de la dystrophine en Xp21.3. Les génotypes obtenus, par ASO dynamique et électrophorèse sur gel d’acrylamide, ont servi à la détermination des haplotypes. Des paramètres comme la diversité haplotypique (G) et l'indice de fixation (Fst) ont été calculés. Des analyses en composantes principales ainsi que multidimensionnelles ont été réalisées. Sur 68 haplotypes détectés, 26 sont nouveaux, et cette région, avec une diversité haplotypique moyenne (Gmoy) de 0,91 ± 0,03, se révèle beaucoup plus hétérogène que le reste du continent (Gmoy = 0,85 ± 0,04). Toutefois, malgré l’existence de disparités sous régionales dans la distribution des variants du marqueur dys44, l’AMOVA montre d’une manière générale, une faible érosion de l’éloignement génétique entre les populations subsahariennes (Fst = 1,5% ; p<10-5). Certains variants tel que l’haplotype eurasien B006 paraissent indiquer des flux transsahariens de gènes entre les populations nord-africaines et celles subsahariennes, comme l’exemplifie le pool génétique de l’une des populations ubiquitaires de la famille linguistique Nigéro-congolaise : Les Fulani. Nos résultats vont aussi dans le sens d’un héritage phylétique commun entre les Biaka, les Afro-américains et les populations de la sous-famille de langues Volta-Congo. / The unravelling of our genetic heritage has revealed a demogenetic segueway leading to an increased susceptibility of certain individuals to complex infectious diseases. In order to characterize genetic variability among the West African populations, we analyzed 659 X chromosomes at the dys44 locus which comprises 35 SNPs and a microsatellite spanning a region 2853 bp upstream and 5034 bp downstream of exon 44 of the dystrophine gene in Xp21.3. The resulting genotypes, obtained by dynamic allele specific oligonucleotide hybridization and acrylamide gel electrophoresis, were used for haplotype construction. Gene diversity parameters such as the haplotypic diversity (G) and fixation indexes (Fst) were estimated. Multidimensional analysis of the data, including principal component analysis was also performed. Of the 68 distinct haplotypes detected in our data set, 26 were novel. The mean haplotypic diversity (Gmoy) was 0.91 ± 0.03 for this West African region which was shown to be more heterogeneous than the rest of the continent (Gmoy = 0.85 ± 0.04). However, despite certain sub-regional differences in the distribution of dys44 variants, the analysis of molecular variance showed an overall decline in the genetic distance between Sub-Saharan populations (Fst = 1.5% ; p<10-5). Certain variants, such as the Eurasian-specific haplotype B006, appear to suggest a Trans-Saharan gene flux between North African and Sub-Saharan populations as exemplified by the observed genetic pool of one of the ubiquitous populations of the Nigerian-Congolese linguistic family: The Fulani. Our results are also in agreement with a phyletic heritage between the Biaka, the Afro-Americans and the populations of the Volta-Congo language subfamilies.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Soil degradation and low crop productivity negatively affect the food security of smallholder farmers in West Africa. Various agricultural techniques have been developed as components of food security interventions, but their effectiveness in addressing food insecurity in part depends upon farmers’ willingness to adopt these techniques. Likewise, adoption depends upon the effectiveness of these techniques in fulfilling farmers’ objectives. The institutional and biophysical environments mediate not only the effectiveness of the techniques, but also how farmers value a technique. This study examined the evidence for fertilizer microdosing as a form of agricultural intensification and the socio-economic conditions that influence its adoption among smallholder farmers. A census was conducted in one village in northwest Benin that had recently seen the introduction of fertilizer microdosing. Key household-level determinants of adoption identified in the literature—household resources, household demographics, and access to inputs— were included in the household surveys. Using partial budgeting analysis and yield data from demonstration plots, the relative profitability of fertilizer microdosing was calculated as a necessary condition of adoption. Drawing from farmers’ stories, the potential value of microdosing was contextualized within the larger social and institutional context. Based upon the village census, there was little adoption outside of the research project that introduced microdosing to the village. Households using microdosing (predominantly found within the research project) had, on average, higher socio-economic status, more cultivable land and larger labour forces. Profitability analysis indicated that microdosing was on average less profitable than the point-source application of the recommended dosage rate in Benin (the common alternative). However, farmers still expressed a desire to microdose, due to poorly functioning input markets, poor infrastructure, and lack of access to financial instruments, all of which limited the availability, access and utilization of inorganic fertilizer.

Notre travail s'inscrit dans la lignée de l'étude de la réception sur la fiction sérialisée initiée par Elihu Katz et Tamar Liebes dans différents pays en 1990. Il vise à explorer le quotidien des spectateurs de l'Afrique de l’Ouest francophone, pour saisir comment ils interprètent et décodent les séries américaines et françaises. Quelles pratiques et quels usages ils en font et comprendre l'influence à court et à long terme de ces séries sur leur croyance et leur opinion. Et surtout décrypter comment le contexte politique, économique et socio-culturel interfère sur la réception dans cet espace post colonial. / In the tradition of the study of the reception of the serialized fiction initiated by Elihu Katz and Tamar Liebes in different countries in 1990, the objective of my researches is to identify the different mediations across which French-speaking Africans decipher American and French TV series and to what extent those series influence their beliefs and opinions. It aims to explore and to grasp how they interpret and decode television fiction. What practical and what uses they make of series. How cultural socio economic policy environment interferes with reception in this post colonial space.

Um dos aspectos mais importantes da nova realidade internacional é a tendência à formação de blocos regionais. A criação dos blocos ao redor do mundo representa uma estratégia de promoção do desenvolvimento para os países da periferia e, sobretudo, para os Estados africanos que são caracterizados por uma história peculiar de marginalização, países com pobreza e miséria dramáticas, ciclos de instabilidades política e militar, sequelas de séculos de explorações promovida por diversas potências. Como forma de resolver parte dos problemas que afetam o continente, os dirigentes africanos acreditam na integração econômica e política como uma das alternativas. Tratando-se dos países do oeste africano, a integração possibilita uma coordenação conjunta na solução dos problemas internos da região e nos desafios da globalização. O objetivo desta tese é de analisar a inserção da Guiné-Bissau na UEMOA. Neste sentido, o trabalho se propõe responder duas perguntas: em que medida a UEMOA pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento econômico e social guineense e quais são as vantagens e as desvantagens da Guiné-Bissau na UEMOA. Ele parte da hipótese de que a referida união é bastante útil para o país lusófono na medida em que oferece um enorme suporte na sua política monetária e fiscal, sem falar na abertura de novos mercados, embora o ciclo da instabilidade política tenha se constituído num dos principais obstáculos para o desempenho guineense no bloco. Ressalta-se que o presente trabalho foi construído com base nas consultas de diversas obras bibliográficas, e também, durante a construção desta tese, viajamos para o referido país que constitui objeto do nosso estudo, onde obtivemos alguns dados primários através do contato que tivemos com diversos dirigentes do país ligado ao tema. Entretanto, conclui-se que a inserção da Guiné na UEMOA aconteceu de forma precipitada sem que houvesse estudos aprofundados. Embora o país, por um lado, tenha alcançado um dos objetivos que é de estabilizar os preços ou controlar a inflação, assim como encontrou, na união, uma importante fonte de financiamento, o BOAD (Banque Ouést Africaine de Dévelopment), para desenvolver, reabilitar e modernizar as suas infraestruturas. Por outro lado, o desempenho guineense naquele bloco tem sido afetado pelo ciclo de instabilidades que tem dificultado a elaboração de uma estratégia que permitiria a obtenção de ganhos, seja por via do comércio internacional ou pela captação do investimento estrangeiro; com isso, o país se tornou dependente dos seus parceiros do bloco. / One of the most important aspects of the new international reality is the tendency to form regional blocks. The creation of blocks around the world is a development promotion strategy for the periphery countries and, especially to the African states, which are characterized by a peculiar history of marginalization, countries with dramatic poverty and misery, cycles of political and military instabilities, consequences of centuries of explorations promoted by many colonial powers. As a way to solve part of problems that affect the continent, African leaders, believe in economic and political integration as one of the alternatives. Concerning West African countries, the integration enables to joint coordination in solving the internal problems of the region and the challenges of globalization. This thesis aims to analyze the inclusion of Guinea-Bissau in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Thus, the work aims to answer two questions: to what extent WAEMU can contribute to economic and social development of Guinea-Bissau, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of Guinea-Bissau in the WAEMU. It starts from the assumption that such union is very useful for the Portuguese-speaking country, once it offers a huge support in its monetary and fiscal policy, not to mention the opening of new markets, although the cycle of political instability has been one of the main obstacles to Guinea-Bissau performance in the block. It is noteworthy that this work was done in the basis of research in various literature works, and during the construction of this thesis, we traveled to the country, which is the object of our study, where we obtained some primary data through the contact we had with several leaders of the country related to the subject. However, it is concluded that the inclusion of Guinea - Bissau in WAEMU happened rashly without in depth studies. Although the country on one hand, has achieved one of its goals to stabilize prices and control inflation, as found in union an important source of funding, the BOAD (Banque Ouest Africaine de Development) to develop, rehabilitate and modernize its infrastructure. On the other hand, the performance of Guinea-Bissau in the block has been affected by the instabilities cycle that has hampered the development of a strategy that would allow the development gains, either through international trade or through the capture of foreign investment; with this, the country became dependent on its partners in the block.

Um dos aspectos mais importantes da nova realidade internacional é a tendência à formação de blocos regionais. A criação dos blocos ao redor do mundo representa uma estratégia de promoção do desenvolvimento para os países da periferia e, sobretudo, para os Estados africanos que são caracterizados por uma história peculiar de marginalização, países com pobreza e miséria dramáticas, ciclos de instabilidades política e militar, sequelas de séculos de explorações promovida por diversas potências. Como forma de resolver parte dos problemas que afetam o continente, os dirigentes africanos acreditam na integração econômica e política como uma das alternativas. Tratando-se dos países do oeste africano, a integração possibilita uma coordenação conjunta na solução dos problemas internos da região e nos desafios da globalização. O objetivo desta tese é de analisar a inserção da Guiné-Bissau na UEMOA. Neste sentido, o trabalho se propõe responder duas perguntas: em que medida a UEMOA pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento econômico e social guineense e quais são as vantagens e as desvantagens da Guiné-Bissau na UEMOA. Ele parte da hipótese de que a referida união é bastante útil para o país lusófono na medida em que oferece um enorme suporte na sua política monetária e fiscal, sem falar na abertura de novos mercados, embora o ciclo da instabilidade política tenha se constituído num dos principais obstáculos para o desempenho guineense no bloco. Ressalta-se que o presente trabalho foi construído com base nas consultas de diversas obras bibliográficas, e também, durante a construção desta tese, viajamos para o referido país que constitui objeto do nosso estudo, onde obtivemos alguns dados primários através do contato que tivemos com diversos dirigentes do país ligado ao tema. Entretanto, conclui-se que a inserção da Guiné na UEMOA aconteceu de forma precipitada sem que houvesse estudos aprofundados. Embora o país, por um lado, tenha alcançado um dos objetivos que é de estabilizar os preços ou controlar a inflação, assim como encontrou, na união, uma importante fonte de financiamento, o BOAD (Banque Ouést Africaine de Dévelopment), para desenvolver, reabilitar e modernizar as suas infraestruturas. Por outro lado, o desempenho guineense naquele bloco tem sido afetado pelo ciclo de instabilidades que tem dificultado a elaboração de uma estratégia que permitiria a obtenção de ganhos, seja por via do comércio internacional ou pela captação do investimento estrangeiro; com isso, o país se tornou dependente dos seus parceiros do bloco. / One of the most important aspects of the new international reality is the tendency to form regional blocks. The creation of blocks around the world is a development promotion strategy for the periphery countries and, especially to the African states, which are characterized by a peculiar history of marginalization, countries with dramatic poverty and misery, cycles of political and military instabilities, consequences of centuries of explorations promoted by many colonial powers. As a way to solve part of problems that affect the continent, African leaders, believe in economic and political integration as one of the alternatives. Concerning West African countries, the integration enables to joint coordination in solving the internal problems of the region and the challenges of globalization. This thesis aims to analyze the inclusion of Guinea-Bissau in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Thus, the work aims to answer two questions: to what extent WAEMU can contribute to economic and social development of Guinea-Bissau, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of Guinea-Bissau in the WAEMU. It starts from the assumption that such union is very useful for the Portuguese-speaking country, once it offers a huge support in its monetary and fiscal policy, not to mention the opening of new markets, although the cycle of political instability has been one of the main obstacles to Guinea-Bissau performance in the block. It is noteworthy that this work was done in the basis of research in various literature works, and during the construction of this thesis, we traveled to the country, which is the object of our study, where we obtained some primary data through the contact we had with several leaders of the country related to the subject. However, it is concluded that the inclusion of Guinea - Bissau in WAEMU happened rashly without in depth studies. Although the country on one hand, has achieved one of its goals to stabilize prices and control inflation, as found in union an important source of funding, the BOAD (Banque Ouest Africaine de Development) to develop, rehabilitate and modernize its infrastructure. On the other hand, the performance of Guinea-Bissau in the block has been affected by the instabilities cycle that has hampered the development of a strategy that would allow the development gains, either through international trade or through the capture of foreign investment; with this, the country became dependent on its partners in the block.

Avec la consécration du principe d’égalité dans la Charte des Nations unies, un imposant corpus de promotion et de protection des droits des femmes a été érigé au niveau international. Au niveau régional africain, sous la pression de mouvements féministes, une volonté politique de promotion et de défense des droits humains fondamentaux des femmes africaines a été impulsée. Dans le contexte ouest-africain, au regard du fort potentiel productif agricole des femmes, compte tenu de la place centrale de l’agriculture dans l’ensemble des dynamiques de développement, la question de l’égalité des sexes et l’autonomisation de la femme, se pose avec acuité. Il s’agit d’une question centrale, aux enjeux essentiels depuis que, les États de la sous-région ouest-africaine se sont engagés sur la voie de la souveraineté alimentaire. La présente étude décrit le statut juridique réel des femmes en Afrique occidentale, analyse en quoi ce statut influe les dynamiques de développement et les stratégies de lutte contre la pauvreté et la faim. Prenant comme angle d’analyse les dynamiques organisationnelles mises en place par les femmes agricultrices, elle s’interroge par ailleurs, sur la situation paradoxale de ces dernières, en ce qui concerne d’une part, leur contribution essentielle à la souveraineté alimentaire, et d’autre part, les violations et dénis de droits et, les violences et discriminations sexospécifiques auxquelles elles sont confrontées, et, propose des pistes susceptibles d’exploiter rationnellement et exponentiellement le potentiel des femmes, afin de permettre à la sous-région ouest-africaine de s’engager effectivement, avec sérénité et assurance sur la voie de la souveraineté alimentaire / Since the establishment of the equality principle in the UN Charter in 1945, an impressive women’s right promotion and protection body was subsequently erected worldwide. In Africa, pressure from feminist movements resulted in a political will of African women’s fundamental human rights promotion and defense. Regarding women’s productive potential in the West African context, due to the central role of agriculture in the overall dynamic development, the gender equality and women empowerment issue arise with more interest. This is an issue of cardinal importance since the West African governments committed themselves to insuring food sovereignty. This study describes the true legal status of women in West Africa, analyzes how this status affects the dynamics of development and anti-poverty and hunger strategies. The analysis angle here is the effective organizational structure set up by women farmers and it also examines the paradoxical situation of rural women farmers regarding, on the one hand their vital contribution to food sovereignty, and on the other hand rights violations and denials, and gender-based discrimination they face, and suggests possible ways of rationally and exponentially exploiting women’s potential, in order to enable the West-African sub-region to fully commit itself on the way of food sovereignty with serenity and assurance.