I have lived here [near Lake Faguibine, in northern Mali] for 56 years and seen how the prosperity of this region has gone from having plenty of fish, crops, land for everyone, to having next to nothing.

Ahmed Toure spends most days squatting beside the only surfaced road running through the Timbuktu region of northern Mali, his face and eyes shielded against the sand and dust by a traditional Touareg wrap and dark glasses. He is waiting