Shifting sands threaten Mali's remote communities

The dune on the outskirts of the town of Annakila stands several hundred feet high. Over the past few years, erratic rain patterns and drier fierce winds have caused the dune to spill into the river and stemming its flow, slowly burying trees whose trunks are now deep in soft white sand Photograph: Madeleine Bunting/Guardian

The dune looms over the small market gardens on which Annakila depends for food and income Photograph: Madeleine Bunting/Guardian

Only pools of water are left where once the river flowed Photograph: Madeleine Bunting/Guardian

Fields of millet have been planted on the slopes of the dune in a bid to stabilise it Photograph: Madeleine Bunting/Guardian

The herds of goats find no grazing on the expanse of sand Photograph: Madeleine Bunting/Guardian

These hedges of Euphorbia bushes have been planted to fix the sand Photograph: Madeleine Bunting/Guardian

In the dry season, winds blow sand across the town Photograph: Madeleine Bunting/Guardian

Increasingly the young are forced to migrate from Anakila to find work. Migration puts an added burden on the village. Without their labour, it is even harder to sustain and provide for the community Photograph: Madeleine Bunting/Guardian

An extraordinary concept in conflict resolution; this low building is where the men of the community resolve their differences. No one can stand up so it restrains threatening behaviour and they have to remain crouched inside until a resolution to a community problem has been reached Photograph: Madeleine Bunting/Guardian