Restoration and sustainable management of degraded land and forests are a priority for the Niger. Each year, the country loses about 100 000 hectares of arable land due to environmental and anthropogenic causes, such as overgrazing, uncontrolled logging, unsustainable forest management and fires. More than 75 percent of the Niger’s area is affected by deforestation and desertification, which has clear consequences on the country’s environmental and economic productive potential.

To face this emergency, in 2015 the Niger pledged to restore 3.2 million hectares as part of the Bonn Challenge, in line with the Strategic Framework for Sustainable Land Management (CS-SLM 2015–2029), and joined the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative. The Niger is one of the 11 member states of the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI) and participates in other relevant partnerships, including TerrAfrica. In 2017 the Niger set its United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Land Degradation Neutrality targets for 2030 from 9 percent to 5 percent for reducing degraded areas, and from 17 percent to 19 percent for increasing plant cover. The Niger’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change focuses on adaptive restoration and sustainable land management (SLM) measures. These measures include assisted natural regeneration (ANR) (1.1 million hectares) and sustainable management of natural forests (2.2 million hectares).

As a contribution to the achievement of these ambitious goals, the Niger is collaborating with FAO in the context of the project “Forest and Landscape Restoration and Sustainable Land Management in the Sahel” funded by the French Facility for Global Environment and the project “The Paris Agreement in Action” funded by the German International Climate Initiative (IKI) to support the restoration agenda across the country, working specifically at local level in three municipalities, Kollo, Illéla and Soucoucoutane.

In 2020 actions to restore degraded landscapes in an innovative and decentralized way have started, with a strong ownership of local stakeholders. In partnership with l’Agence nationale de financement des collectivités territoriale (ANFICT), the national fund in charge of supporting local government in the Niger, investment funds were transferred to the three municipalities. Combined technical assistance from ANFICT, the Ministry of the Environment, FAO and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) enabled the opening of investment windows targeted at restoration within the municipal budgets. Results on the ground cover a variety of aspects, such as:

• Implementation of forest and landscape restoration and sustainable land management activities in the three beneficiary municipalities:

-        Restoration of degraded land in municipalities (half-moon) over an area of 200.6 hectares, directly benefiting 1 193 men and 1 288 women;

-        Dissemination of agroforestry practices over 374.2 hectares, directly benefiting 184 pilot farmers.

• Capacity development and technical assistance to beneficiary municipalities:

-        Drafting of a capacity-building plan for the exercise of public expenditure in forest and landscape restoration (FLR), SLM and income generating activity (IGA) in the beneficiary municipalities in collaboration with the UNCDF;

-        Training on simple techniques in FLR/SLM, microprojects and information tools for municipal technical officers and civil society organizations in each municipality (71 people, including 21 women, benefited from capacity building through this activity).

• Support to mainstreaming FLR, SLM and IGA into communal budgets:

-        Integration of FLR, SLM and IGA investments into the municipal development plans of beneficiary municipalities;

-        Development of a framework document for selection criteria and service procedures;

-        Identification of eligible IGA activities and validation of target beneficiaries;

-       Support to beneficiary municipalities for publication, file formalization, and selection and contractualization of service providers (e.g. selection criteria, terms of reference for the recruitment of service providers, manual of procedures, microprojects outlines and draft capacity-building plan).

• Outreach and governance:

-       Support for the organization of Tree Day on 3 August 2020 in the village of Sakey Koira Tagui in the urban commune of Kollo, support for 1 500 plants and a kit from the beneficiary communes;

-        Organization of the fourth national steering committee meeting.

Efforts on the ground will continue over the next few years, with an increased focus towards the identification and promotion of microprojects for income generating activities in 2021.

  Kimba Goubour and Faustine Zoveda (FAO)