**1. Introduction**

Mali is a vast country of West Africa with a surface of 1,241,238 km<sup>2</sup> . In 2018, its total population rose to 18,338,322 inhabitants1 , that is to say, a low density of approximately 15 inhabitants per km<sup>2</sup> . The essence of its economy rests on agriculture and the breeding including more of the 2/3 of its total population evolving in the sector. More than 70% of the Malian population is rural. The incidence of poverty 2 of the Malian population which accounted for 46.8% in 2016 knew a fall of 1.9% in 2017. However, this fall of the rate of incidence of poverty would be ascribable in the good crop year of 2017–2018 cereal productions. In 2017, poverty was accentuated in rural medium, with a threshold of 53.6%. At the same period, the

<sup>1</sup> https://contrymeters.info

<sup>2</sup> The INSTAT brings back this rate to the proportion of the population which does not manage to spend 178,000 F CFA to satisfy its basic needs per annum.

real growth rate of the GDP was about 5.4%. On the other hand between 2016 and 2017, the rate of inflation passed from −1.8 to 1.8%, that is to say, a clear increase of 2% [1]. The rate of inflation which results in the impact that the rise in the price of goods has on the purchasing power of the consumers is relatively low. It indicates that apart from the agricultural sector, few economic alternatives are offered to the rural medium in order to easily integrate the nonagricultural market.

Mali Sahelian country knew a long cycle of dryness between 1968 and 1985. For this period, the rains were done rare. It had as consequences the degradation of the grounds, the recurring dryness, a reduction in vegetable cover with a considerable reduction of spaces of grazing ground and a deceleration of the growth of the livestock. During years 1970 and 1980, the Sahelian countries made considerable great strides of the demographic growth which resulted thereafter in an expansion of the cultivated grounds, less grounds put in fallow and the exhaustion of the grounds. During nearly one century, the essence of the marketing policy of the colonizers rested on the cultures of revenue. The imposition of the cultures of revenue by the colonial capacities more contributed to deforestation with as a corollary the degradation of the not very fertile grounds. Thus, 60–93% of the energy needs of the Sahelians come from wood [2]. Between 1990 and 2005, deforestation passed from 84,000 to 144,000 hectares. It results primarily from the human intervention. During this interval of period, the total surface of artificial afforestation passed from 5000 to 65,000 hectares [3].

The economic activities of the rural populations of Mali are mainly dependent on the agriculture which constitutes their principal source of income. With that the exploitation of the forest resources is added (nonwoody forest products, woodcut, pharmacopeia, etc.) which come to them in complement from incomes for the periods of welding.

With the accentuated effects of the climatic change, these populations are more and more confronted with falls of their mean level of productivity, which impacts negatively on their level of incomes. Consequently, to compensate for the fall of their agricultural incomes and the abuse of the local forest resources, they are increasingly inclined with the expansion of cultivable surfaces with an aim of increasing the agricultural output per hectare. It has as a corollary the excessive firewood cut for the charcoal (domestic consumption and sale on the urban markets), with less afforestation with regard to the local trees. The excessive anthropic pressures on these resources limit their productivities and exacerbate local and community conflicts.

Indeed, in front of these factors impacting the standard of living of these populations, they find as alternative the migration, the rural migration, nonagricultural gold washing and other activities (small trade and seasonal work in the large cities). These various factors thus make it possible to compensate for those which would have positive and significant impacts on deforestation. For this study, except the above-mentioned factors, it is also a question of determining the socio-economic and anthropic effects which impact positively and negatively deforestation. It will make it possible to pose a real not very used econometric diagnosis by the engineering departments which primarily focus on the descriptive analysis of the data that they produce.

Considering these various factors, one would be brought to analyse and interpret the bond of dependence between the deforestation and the variation of the economic (macroeconomic indicator determined by the GDP per capita and the poverty line) and demographic (evolution of the size of the population and manpower of the pupils having the level of the second cycle) factors. And a thorough comprehension of the anthropic actions (pasture of the cattle, consumption of the firewood and charcoal, the breeding, the expansion of surfaces of food crops

**121**

*Economic Impacts of the Anthropic Effects of the Deforestation on the Rural Populations of Mali*

and production of food crops) in bond with deforestation will make it possible to corroborate the immediate and indirect causes as well as the consequences of

For this study, we will use a suitable econometric model which will enable us to determine the explanatory variables which have impacts on deforestation. It will enable us to make recommendations as regards public policy for better apprehending the immediate and indirect causes of deforestation generated by the people.

Moreover, deforestation in Mali appears more and more as a phenomenon which mobilizes the government, local populations, the nongovernmental organizations and international organizations to limit these socio-economic impacts on the

vastest country in the world. It is located

degree of western longitude. The climate is at the same

degree of

degrees of northern latitude and between the 4<sup>e</sup>

time very dry and very heat for the 3/4 of the country, except in the extreme South, being in part of the area of Sikasso. In the Far North, the Sahara, precipitations' ring average is lower than 250 mm and exceeds 100–150 mm with difficulty. On the other hand, in the extreme North, the rains are quasi non-existent. The Sahel sheltering the semi-desert central areas receives on average less than 500 mm of rain per annum. The South is subhumid with average precipitations lower than 750 mm per annum. The lowest value of the average annual temperature is of 28°C and

The whole of the data collected for this study is secondary data. They are time series and cover the periods going from 2003 to 2012. The data made up are carried mainly on deforestation and of the macroeconomic and sociodemographic variables. The collected data come from the sources of the National Institute of the Statistics—INSTAT of Mali, the World Bank, the reports/ratios of study and the

Two models of regression will be used to analyse the direct and indirect bonds between deforestation and the variables from which it would result. The estimate of the first regression will relate to ordinary least squares (OLS) in order to identify the immediate causes of deforestation. The second stage will be specified with the model logarithmic curve in order to explain the relative variations (in %) of deforestation following the variations (in %) of the macroeconomic and sociodemographic variables. The data processing will be made by the Stata software.

Def = β<sup>0</sup> + β<sup>1</sup> ManLi + β<sup>2</sup> FWC + β<sup>3</sup> SFC + β<sup>4</sup> PFC + ε (1)

).

sites: perspective.usherbrooke.ca and ps://donnees.banquemondiale.org.

**2.2 Specification of the model and processing of data**

*First stage of the specification of the model*

Def: annual decline of forest cover (km<sup>2</sup>

ManLi: manpower of the livestock (number). FWC: firewood overall consumption (tons).

<sup>3</sup> https://fr.m.wikipedia.org consulted the 14/02/2019 at 15. 32

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87252*

**2.1 Medium of study and data acquisition**

From its surface, Mali is the 23<sup>e</sup>

.

and 25e

deforestation.

populations.

**2. Methodology**

between the 10e

highest is of 32°C3

east longitude and the 12e

*Economic Impacts of the Anthropic Effects of the Deforestation on the Rural Populations of Mali DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87252*

and production of food crops) in bond with deforestation will make it possible to corroborate the immediate and indirect causes as well as the consequences of deforestation.

For this study, we will use a suitable econometric model which will enable us to determine the explanatory variables which have impacts on deforestation. It will enable us to make recommendations as regards public policy for better apprehending the immediate and indirect causes of deforestation generated by the people.

Moreover, deforestation in Mali appears more and more as a phenomenon which mobilizes the government, local populations, the nongovernmental organizations and international organizations to limit these socio-economic impacts on the populations.
