The early wildlife conservation policy in Africa called “Protectionism” was introduced in order to protect wild animals that played an important role in sport hunting. However in the 1980's, the heavy hand of policy enforcers towards local people was criticized, leading to this policy model shifting from “Protectionism” to “Community-based conservation”. Two changes were expected from this shift in policy, namely, an exclusion of the colonialistic practices of conservation and a shift to a community based bottom-up approach. Moreover, with the greater observance of environmental ethics and more widespread non-consumeristic use of wildlife, such as ecotourism, sport hunting has become inconspicuous. This study focuses on the Bénoué National Park in Cameroon and describes the present condition of sport hunting as an activity that is not talked of and explores the position in the conservation project, along with its relationship with local people.
The government has leased the area located around the national park to the Western capital and earmarked it as a “hunting zone”. Sport hunting in that area is the centerpiece of the tourism that provides financial support for the management of the national park. Further, the local labor force and the income generated result in a reciprocal relationship between the industry, the government, and the local people. On the other hand, local hunting has been regulated in cooperation with international conservation institutes. This has resulted in the creation of tension between the concerned parties.
One of the expected results of this case study, i. e., the bottom-up approach, was not observed. This is not the expected outcome of the model shift to community-based conservation. Moreover, it was evident that the conservation structure and the methodologies adopted, which are reminiscent of colonialism, still remain strong. I also highlight the fact that sport hunting can be considered as an economic support for the implementation of the conservation policy. However, in my opinion, sport hunting should change its character from the present colonialistic mindset of the amusement of Western wealthy class with an exclusion of local people.

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Ever since women have become the target of development programs, the way in which they are regardedby development policies has gradually changed. Recently, women's “empowerment” has been used as a means or purpose for many projects. In this paper, I will examine the problems inherent to this “empowerment, ” by observing the daily life of women in Burkina Faso, focusing on the changes in the activities of the women's group organized by development project. The article points out that project that appear to be “successful” could lead to an increase in female labor, and there is fear of collapsing the cycle of economic activities. Since women were able to access and control to those resources even before this project. There is a gap between plan and practice resulting from a project donor. Furthermore, while a signs of “empowerment” can be seen in some women through group activities, it may also have led to the “disempowerment” of others. Because many women have shown negative attitudes toward development and improvement, the reality is sometimes quite different from the image of women usually envisioned by the policies.

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Before the slave trade and the colonial rule by the West, West Africa attained at its economic and social apogee with Ghana State, Mali Empire and Gao Empire. But our knowledge is limited, due to the scarceness of the historical documents. This article attempts to give a new light on the social and economic foundations of Gao State before 10 century, being based on data acquired through our archaeological researches in Mali.
Our excavation in Gao-Sane site found a building made of rectangular mud bricks, more than 400 glass and metal beads, oil lamps, a hundred of iron and copper items, a few spindles, and small crucibles. Also were found two kinds of copper boards in the shape of a sickle, which people should have circulated as money and have melt down to manufacture copper artifacts. The C14 analysis shows that this site would have been occupied between 8th and 10th century. The existence of different types of earthenware should be a reflection of the coexistence of different peoples: indigenous African people and the immigrant from North Africa. If this interpretation be correct, it will situate the beginning of the trans-Saharan commerce before 8th century, one or two centuries earlier than the commonly-held view.
Our excavation at Gao-ancient found big building totally made of stones, of 36m length, and of 12.5m width. Other findings include 10, 000 glass and stone beads, more than 1, 000 iron and copper items, a hundred of fragments of glassware and porcelain imported from North Africa. The C14 analysis shows that this building would have been constructed in the first half of the 10th century and abandoned before the end of the same century. The stones of the buildings being inexistent near the site, its owner should have been able to mobilize large quantities of manpower. This suggests, with the large scale of the building, the existence of the valuable imported goods, that the building was a royal palace. This interpretation being correct, it is the first discovery of the ‘medieval’ royal palace done by West African Archaeology.
Our findings in Gao ancient and Gao-Sane testify the historical records written in 10th century by Arab geographers, which speak of a twin city of Gao composed of royal residence and commercial center. They also clarify the modality of the manufactures and the commercial networks in West Africa between the 8th and 10th century.

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Tunisia is recognized in the Islamic and Arabic worlds as a progressive and modernizing country which is on a par with the advanced Western nations in terms of the ratio of woman in education. However, although the urban women are in a relatively favorable situation regarding educational opportunities, the rural woman remains restrained at a lower level with fewer opportunities. In this paper, the key factors of difference between urban and rural areas in receiving education is examined and clarified in terms of (1) household work, (2) economic situation, (3) distance to school, (4) mass media availability, and (5) custom.

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