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Life on the River Niger

Along Niger River, people feel effects of climate change as reduced rainfall has decreased water and fish levels.

Large canoes arrive in Niamey two days each week from Monsey, in Benin, and Kirtachi, in Niger, carrying squash for delivery during the high-water season. The season used to last all year, but now it is down to August to January, said one canoe owner. In the 20 years he has been bringing squash canoes to Niamey, he said falling water levels have meant that they can only do business when levels are high. 'The river is important for us, because when the water goes down we cannot navigate,' he added. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Large canoes arrive in Niamey two days each week from Monsey, in Benin, and Kirtachi, in Niger, carrying squash for delivery during the high-water season. The season used to last all year, but now it is down to August to January, said one canoe owner. In the 20 years he has been bringing squash canoes to Niamey, he said falling water levels have meant that they can only do business when levels are high. 'The river is important for us, because when the water goes down we cannot navigate,' he added. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
By 
Ricci Shryock
20 Apr 2016
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Niamey, Niger – A group of teenage boys sits in the tall grass along the Niger River in Niamey, sipping tea, smoking cigarettes and laughing. The friends hang out along the Niger nearly every day. “The river reminds us of our tradition,” says one of them, Karim. “Our elders came here to walk and bathe and talk. We do that too.”

For these boys, the river is a place for socialising, but it is also a source of drinking water, a washing machine, a fishing destination, and more for residents of Niamey, as well as the more than 110 million others who live in the Niger River Basin.

According to the Niger Basin Authority, the effects of climate change are threatening the way of life for these millions of people. 

Robert Dessouassi, head of the Niger Basin Observatory, said that decades of decreased rainfall in the 1970s and 80s left water levels at up to 30 percent below normal, but now that trend is shifting and increasingly heavy rainfall during the wet season is making it difficult to live along the river. 

Abdou Ali has fished along the riverbanks of Niamey for 20 years. He says the fish are less plentiful now than two decades ago, when he could catch six or seven kilos of fish in two hours. Now he only catches two or three fish in the same amount of time.

“Facing the challenge of development and adaptation to climate change, the people of the Niger Basin need information, technology and support structures to effectively adapt to climate degradation,” said Dessouassi.

Boys load squashes on to a pick-up along the banks of the Niger River, in Niamey. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Boys load squashes on to a pick-up along the banks of the Niger River, in Niamey. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
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Ousane, 35, washes his motorbike by the Niger River. 'Our river has a lot of importance for me,' he said. 'I come and clean my moto and wash myself and do the dishes.' [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Ousane, 35, washes his motorbike by the Niger River. 'Our river has a lot of importance for me,' he said. 'I come and clean my moto and wash myself and do the dishes.' [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Taihiru collects grass in the Niger River to feed the seven sheep back at his family's house. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Taihiru collects grass in the Niger River to feed the seven sheep back at his family's house. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
The river bank is a popular hangout for groups of teenage boys, many of whom give their gang a nickname such as the Jeune Star Boys. 'The river reminds us of our tradition,' said one of the boys, Karim. 'Our elders came here to walk and bathe and talk. We do that too.' [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
The river bank is a popular hangout for groups of teenage boys, many of whom give their gang a nickname such as the Jeune Star Boys. 'The river reminds us of our tradition,' said one of the boys, Karim. 'Our elders came here to walk and bathe and talk. We do that too.' [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Karim, Moumine and Majid of the 'Jeune Star Boys' group show off their tattoos - letters representing the names of group members. The boys hang out along the banks of the Niger River nearly every day, they say. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Karim, Moumine and Majid of the 'Jeune Star Boys' group show off their tattoos - letters representing the names of group members. The boys hang out along the banks of the Niger River nearly every day, they say. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Boys make clay bricks for pigeon houses along in Niamey on the Niger River. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Boys make clay bricks for pigeon houses along in Niamey on the Niger River. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
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Hama Amadou, 23, fills watering cans in the Niger River to water plants at a garden in Niamey where he has worked for six years. The garden will soon have to close because the government needs the land to expand a nearby road. Amadou says he does not know what he will do if the garden closes. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Hama Amadou, 23, fills watering cans in the Niger River to water plants at a garden in Niamey where he has worked for six years. The garden will soon have to close because the government needs the land to expand a nearby road. Amadou says he does not know what he will do if the garden closes. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Halima, 19, washes clothes in the Niger River just outside of Niamey. She has two children. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Halima, 19, washes clothes in the Niger River just outside of Niamey. She has two children. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Petrol tanker drivers use river water to test for leaks before filling  up with their cargo. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Petrol tanker drivers use river water to test for leaks before filling up with their cargo. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Idrissa, sitting, and Seydou  wash in the Niger River in Niamey. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Idrissa, sitting, and Seydou wash in the Niger River in Niamey. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
A man jumps out of a canoe in Niamey  by the Niger River. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
A man jumps out of a canoe in Niamey by the Niger River. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Oumarou, Sadia and Maimouna wash dishes at their house along the Niger River in Niamey, Niger. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Oumarou, Sadia and Maimouna wash dishes at their house along the Niger River in Niamey, Niger. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Women and young girls carry out their daily chores and use the river to cool off in Niamey. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
Women and young girls carry out their daily chores and use the river to cool off in Niamey. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
A girl washes clothes at sunset along the Niger River in Niamey. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]
A girl washes clothes at sunset along the Niger River in Niamey. [Ricci Shryock/Al Jazeera]

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