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Currently a CIRAD postdoc, Elin Enfors coordinates the centre project “Human dimensions behind the re-greening in Sahel". Her main research interest concerns the dynamics of freshwater and agro-ecosystem services, and how this links to poverty alleviation, in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa. She did her PhD in Natural Resources Management at the Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, and defended her thesis ‘Traps and Transformations - exploring the potential of water system innovations in dryland sub-Saharan Africa (pdf, 8 MB) ´ in May 2009. The thesis builds on an interdisciplinary, in-depth, case study of the Makanya catchment in North-Eastern Tanzania, and focuses on the potential of small-scale water system innovations (SWSIs), such as rainwater harvesting and conservation tillage, for increasing on-farm productivity while at the same time supporting multi-functional landscapes. Inspired by resilience thinking, it takes an integrative approach to advance the understanding of SWSIs in relation to dynamics and complexity in smallholder agro-ecosystems in dryland SSA. The research project that Elin is currently involved in is carried out in Niger, West Africa, and investigates the social-ecological dynamics that have enabled the recent re-greening in the region. Particular focus is put on the interplay between rainfall dynamics and a range of social, political and economical driving forces. The project also strives to understand how the re-greening has affected livelihood security among local people. Fundamental lessons may be drawn from this experience about how to cope with climate change and improve livelihoods in other dryland ‘hot spot´ regions. The project focuses on field research carried out by 12 M.Sc. students from Sweden, Niger, UK and Burkina Faso, whose efforts Elin supervises and coordinates.
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