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An analysis of the environmental situation in Mopti reveals the divergence emerging between the global debate on decentralisation and durable development, the rationality of the management priorities laid down in the 3rd Urban Project, the good intentions of decentralised cooperation, and the reality of everyday life where the complexity of existing practices and customs become entangled in conflicts of interest among local players.Mopti suffers from a complete absence of municipal management of liquid waste and, in particular, of faecal effluents. Currently, household waste is deposited over garbage dumps which are also used by seasonal migrants for building temporary huts. This practice has led to the outbreak of conflicts over land usage and introduces a serious risk of epidemies (repeated outbreaks of cholera, most recently in 1995). Despite this threat to human life, the public authorities’ lack of interest for adopting solutions proposed by the international funding agencies seems to indicate that financial interests, which have emerged in the new municipal environment, have led to new opportunities for conflict. Given the current conditions in Mali, one can ask whether decentralisation (interestingly, this is translated into bamana as return to the power of the land) and citizenship can go hand in hand and whether decentralisation enables arbitrages favourable to long-term urban development.