The so-called "Hydraulique pastorale" refers to a policy implemented in Francophone Sahelian West Africa since the 1950s that involved in increase in the number of water sources and the modernization of methods for watering herds, with a view to developing and intensifying extensive traditional herding through better access to water. The perverse effects of these policies have been denounced on numerous occasions. From a development point of view, the history of hydraulique pastorale illustrates the shortcomings of policies based purely on technical considerations.