The second meeting of the Global Steering Committee of the project "Forest and Landscape Restoration and Sustainable Land Management in the Sahel" was held on 3 October 2019 at FAO headquarters.

This project is funded by the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) for an overall amount of USD 2 million and benefits from key contributions from several co-financing partners including the EU-funded project "Action Against Desertification", the Korea Forest Service, the Forest Ecosystem Restoration Initiative led by the Convention on Biological Diversity and the French Agency for Development. It will be implemented over a four-year period which started upon signature of the convention between FAO and FFEM in January 2018.

The project builds on the decentralization process at work in Niger and Burkina Faso. It contributes to strengthening resources and capacities of three beneficiary communes in Niger and three beneficiary communes in Burkina Faso to plan, finance and implement restoration and income-generating investments through their own budgets. This work is carried out in collaboration with the specialized national agencies ANFICT (in Niger) and FPDCT (in Burkina Faso) and with the support of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). In addition, the project strengthens the communal councils of these same beneficiary communes with communal agents and capacities, in partnership with the Sustainable Land Management Department (DGDT) in Niger and the National Coordination of the Great Green Wall (CN-GMV) in Burkina Faso. On top of facilitating local financing mechanisms for the implementation of restoration activities, the project, in collaboration with Agrhymet Regional Center (CRA), supports the integration of innovative technologies to monitor the impact of restoration in the field.

Since the operational launch of the project, in May 2018, an inclusive planning process has been undertaken and validated on the occasion of Steering Committees both at national and global levels. Following a First Global Steering Committee (July 2018), the National Steering Committees held in Niger in January and April 2019 approved the national Annual Work Plan and Budget 2019-2020 for a total amount of approximately USD 210 000. In Burkina Faso, the Technical Committee approved the national Annual Work Plan and budget for a total amount of USD 208 000 in July 2019.

Subsequently, first actions are currently implemented in partnership with the different national and international partner organizations. First Letters of Agreement have been signed with DGDT, NC-GGW, CRA, ANFICT and FPDCT. A UN-to-UN Agreement with UNCDF was formalized to frame its support to ANFICT, FPDCT and the six beneficiary communes. Capacities of the six communes were strengthened with communal agents now assigned to the project with the equipment required to support the communal councils (motorbikes, etc.). In addition, the preparation of baselines is underway in Niger and Burkina Faso, with the support of CN-GMV in Burkina Faso and DGDT and CRA in Niger. A first Mapathon (collective effort of monitoring and evaluation of restoration actions) was carried out in Niger in July 2019 and other innovative actions will be pursued with the drone recently received by CRA.

This Second Global Steering Committee was a first excellent opportunity to conduct an in-depth review of these various advances. It allows Steering Committee members to share and align partners’ views before moving ahead with further project implementation. Partners reviewed the on-going progress of national and local work plans in Niger and Burkina Faso and formulated recommendations for follow-up actions. The Steering Committee was also the occasion to present results on communal and national capacity development activities, monitoring and evaluation efforts, and knowledge dissemination on a regional scale.  

At the end of the discussion the Steering Committee members confirmed their positive appreciation of the ongoing work plans and agreed to organize the next Global Steering Committee meetings in the region with Ouagadougou (Tentatively in October 2020) and Niamey in late 2021. It will be an opportune occasion to invite the representatives of the communal councils and to organize field visits to areas under restoration in the targeted communes.  

For more information contact: [email protected]

Léna Silberzan (FAO)