Compensation policies in forgotten territories of peripheral regions. The case of Casamance (Senegal)

Abstract

Casamance, a region in the south of Senegal, is a territory that can be defined as a forgotten space. The causes include not only geographical issues, but also historical aspects and an independent conflict which has limited the region’s development since the 1990s. Throughout this chapter, we will analyze the factors that determine the low visibility of this region, which was experiencing a high population exodus toward the Dakar capital, whose macrocephaly and economic and political power result in the inefficiency of the decentralization model and discrimination toward the other regions – such as Casamance – reflected in a low representation in national politics, ineffective public actions in development and exploitation model, and the appropriation of land by the Senegalese of the north, foreign companies, and multinationals. We will see how, despite this, Casamance is an area that in potential can create significant value and how it is trying to position itself from a territorial and economic point of view through cooperation programs, projects, and public policies aimed at the development of tourism, infrastructure creation, hydro-agricultural development, and transport development.