 Reforesting the Sahel 
Environmental policies in the Sahel are characterized, among other things, by the historical permanence of reforestation operations. Beyond the diversity of practices, models, and actors behind them, a certain number of discursive and political constants associated with the fight against desertification can be observed from the colonial period to the current era of global change. This article takes a geographical and critical look at the politics of trees and at the ritualized practices and representations underlying these politics. It shows the difficulty of reconciling the divergent uses of semi-arid forests in the Sahel and, in particular, the growing competition between the physical exploitation of trees by local populations and the symbolic valorisation of planted trees by numerous external actors.