Download West and Central Africa

Addressing climate change in
West and Central Africa
Major challenges for agriculture
and rural development
Experts predict that across West and
Central Africa, dry areas will become
drier, and wet areas wetter, with longer
and more frequent dry periods
expected. An increase in temperature is
also likely, encouraging the proliferation
of pests that are detrimental to staple
crops. According to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), a decline in annual
rainfall has been observed in West Africa
since the end of the 1960s, with a
decrease of 20 to 40 per cent noted in
the periods 1931-1960 and 1968-1990.
This long-term decline caused a
25-35 kilometre southward shift of the
Sahelian, Sudanese and Guinean
ecological zones during the second half
of the 20th century. As a result,
grassland and acacia and flora and
fauna have been lost, and sand dunes
have shifted in the Sahel, with negative
consequences for crop and livestock
production and for the rural
communities that depend on agriculture
for their livelihoods.
From one year to the next, there may
be more than a 30 per cent variation in
the length of the rainy season. An
additional stress factor for West Africa,
and particularly the Sahel, is that, on
average, temperatures have been rising
there faster than the overall rate of
global warming. The increase has
varied between 0.2 and 0.8 degrees
Celsius since the end of the 1970s.
In addition, a rise in the sea level is
likely to cause intrusion of saltwater
into inland freshwater resources.
This will affect agriculture and could
lead to flooding and erosion of lowlying areas. Increased flooding could
also be caused by storm surges and
intense rainstorms.
Poverty, high rates of malnutrition
and lack of adaptive strategies make
communities in this region particularly
vulnerable to the likely effects of
climate change.
IFAD’s response
Projects financed by IFAD in the region
help to build resilience to inherent risks
and weather, market and other shocks
at the household, community and
ecosystem levels. By diversifying
livelihoods and promoting water and
soil conservation, many
IFAD-supported projects help
vulnerable farmers adapt to changing
climatic conditions, including by
restoring fragile ecosystems to health
References: IPCC, Fourth Assessment Report, 2007; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Climate and Climate Change in West Africa, 2008; International Institute for Sustainable Development, Assessing the
security implications of climate change for West Africa, 2008.
and greater productivity. Often
these activities also contribute to
carbon sequestration, which may
provide future revenue streams through
carbon markets that could benefit
poor rural communities. The
‘re-greening’ activities carried out by
IFAD-supported projects in Burkina
Faso, Mali and the Niger have shown
that promoting local knowledge and
women’s empowerment is critical to a
project’s success and its potential for
being scaled up across the region.
They also show that with a little support
poor rural women and men can
significantly strengthen the resilience of
the ecosystems on which their
livelihoods depend.
Examples of climate change
activities in IFAD loans and grants
IFAD loans
Regenerating degraded land in Burkina Faso
©IFAD/Aubrey Wade
Burkina Faso’s second national communication to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change predicts that global climate change may result in a
reduction in rainfall in the country. Burkina Faso has already seen a noticeable drop in
rainfall during the past 50 years, and increased aridity in both the Sahelian and south
Sahelian zones. The increasingly unpredictable onset of the rainy season and erratic
rainfall patterns, combined with higher soil erosion rates, are having a negative impact
on crop yields and food security. An IFAD-supported programme operates in an area
characterized by frequent episodes of drought, erratic rainfall and worsening land
degradation. Financed by loans from IFAD, the West African Development Bank and
the OPEC Fund for International Development, the programme is designed to
strengthen local capacity for participatory management, improve the security of land
tenure and sustainably develop productive capacities. Activities funded by a grant from
the Global Environment Facility (GEF) are directly integrated into the rural
development activities in the IFAD-financed project. They focus on fostering
sustainable land management, arresting and reversing desertification and deforestation,
and restoring the functional integrity of watershed ecosystems to help poor farmers
face the impacts of climate change.
Large land areas that were degraded because of changes in rainfall patterns have
been restored to productivity using simple water techniques such as planting pits
(zai), half-moons, permeable rock dams, stone lines and stone bunds reinforced with
grass strips. The GEF subprogramme is also introducing a range of complementary
practices to improve soil and water conservation, such as the use of compost pits,
natural phosphates and agroforestry techniques that further bolster resilience to
climatic change.
Programme name: Sustainable Rural Development Programme
Contact information: Cristiana Sparacino, Country Programme Manager,
[email protected]
Partners: West African Development Bank; OPEC Fund for International Development;
Global Environmental Facility
Integrated GEF grant (Trust Fund): Subprogramme of the Northern Region – under the
Country Pilot Partnership for Sustainable Land Management
GEF grant contact: Naoufel Telahigue, Regional Climate and Environment Specialist,
[email protected]
Programme duration: 2005-2014
Increasing resilience of agropastoral areas in northern Mali
The northern regions of Mali lie within the Sahelo-Saharan belt and are characterized
by uncertain rainfall and frequent drought. Achieving food security is a perennial
challenge in this area. Crops are heavily dependent on natural rainfall and receding
flood waters, and low rainfall can result in crop failure. Climatic variations are
predicted to increase, making farmers and pastoralists more vulnerable.
An IFAD-funded programme in the Northern Regions helps them adapt to these
climate-related conditions by promoting the sustainable development of agropastoral
areas through improved crop and pastoral production. It has, for example, supported
the construction of 70 small irrigation perimeters for rice growing
(1,400 hectares each) and 36 small market gardens (1 hectare each) for vegetables.
It has also supported the regeneration of about 1,000 hectares of bourgou grass
pastures and the provision of 20 livestock (pastoral) drinking wells in the programme
area. Programme activities include the monitoring of soil conditions, well water levels
and forage conditions in order to document the environmental changes that are taking
place, and the impact of programme activities on these changes.
One effect of climate change in Mali has been a significant fall in the water level of
the River Niger. This has exacerbated conflicts between pastoralists and
agriculturalists along the whole length of the river. The programme is working with
local governments to develop a joint framework that will promote equitable
development, reduce conflict among shared-resource users and promote
environmental conservation and associative activities.
In Niafunké, programme support has enabled woman-headed households to gain
access to irrigated plots previously accessible only to men. It has also promoted
women’s involvement in the governance of farmers’ cooperatives as an important means
of increasing community resilience.
Programme name: The Northern Regions Investment and Rural Development
Programme in Mali
Contact information: Philippe Rémy, Country Programme Manager, [email protected]
Partners: West African Development Bank; Belgian Survival Fund for the Third World;
the European Commission; and the Government of Sweden
Programme duration: 2006-2013
Linking human and climate vulnerability in Mali’s Inner Niger Delta
The Inner Niger Delta in central Mali is a dynamic system in which indigenous
communities have developed integrated, sequential uses of the floodplain by different
groups in connection with the inundation and recession of flood waters. The capacity
to sustain the management of these environmentally fragile ecosystems is fast eroding.
A number of climatic and anthropogenic factors, such as isohyet displacement by
100 kilometres to the south, decrease of rains and floods, water and wind erosion, sand
siltation of river beds, feeder channels and ponds, uncontrolled deforestation and
overtapped natural resources, are disrupting the functioning of ecosystems and the
traditional relationships between communities and these ecosystems. Recognizing the
socio-economic and environmental challenges and the unique character of the delta
ecosystems, the GEF/IFAD grant partnership through programme in the Sahelian areas
*The activities described represent a component or a specific feature of the project presented.
promotes a participatory local development process based on the sustainable
management of natural resources and the conservation of biodiversity. With GEF
resources, the programme is exploring the linkages between human vulnerability and
climate variability (in this case, the prevalence of serious drought), and between
poverty and environmental degradation, and adopting a holistic approach to
addressing the underlying causes. The programme’s activities in the Mopti region aim
at restoring and maintaining the ecological balance between carrying capacity and use
and disruption in the reproductive cycle of species and ecosystems of the delta.
Restoration of the agro-sylvo-pastoral and fisheries resources that constitute the
productive base for the majority of rural populations in the area will increase the
resilience of local livelihoods. The GEF grant activities will also prevent land
degradation and deforestation and promote rehabilitation, thereby making a major
contribution to the reduction of carbon emissions.
Programme name: Sahelian Areas Development Fund Programme (FODESA)
Contact information: Philippe Rémy, Country Programme Manager, [email protected]
Partner: Global Environmental Facility (GEF)
Integrated GEF grant: Biodiversity conservation and participatory sustainable management
of natural resources in the Inner Niger Delta and its transition areas, Mopti Region
GEF grant contact: Naoufel Telahigue, Regional Climate and Environment Specialist,
[email protected]
Programme duration: 1999-2012
Improvement of soil and water conservation technologies to face climate
change impacts in the Niger
One IFAD-funded project is located in the southern part of the Niger’s Maradi region,
in the Aguié area, a sandy plain with annual rainfall ranging from 400 millimetres in
the north to 600 millimetres in the south. Climate change is affecting the area through
erratic rainfall and recurrent droughts. A further consequence of climate change is wind
erosion, which is most severe in arid zones where ground cover is poor and is increased
by deforestation. Crop production and livestock rearing, the main sources of livelihood,
are increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change. Pastoralists are forced to
move from the north to the south to feed their animals, thus encroaching on
agricultural areas. The project’s specific objectives are to strengthen, through a local
development process, the capacities of target group to identify and implement
innovations and initiatives (technical, economic or organizational) that could reduce
their poverty or vulnerability, or improve their food security. These initiatives build on
and improve strategies that farmers autonomously use to respond to climate shocks.
These include soil and water conservation techniques to improve soil fertility, tree
regeneration (though natural regeneration and preservation of species that are at risk of
disappearing), and income diversification through income-generating activities. The
project also supports the provision of fertilizers and early seed varieties and the creation
of millet banks. These banks ensure food security in times of crisis thus preventing
farmers from selling livestock, which would increase their vulnerability.
The project uses a successful extension approach called the ‘farmer initiative plots’,
which develops farmers’ technical, operational and organizational capacities through,
among others, the acquisition of new technologies to improve agricultural production
and the dissemination and optimization of local and outside innovation.
Project name: Project for the Promotion of Local Initiative for Development in Aguié
Contact information: Vincenzo Galastro, Country Programme Manager,
[email protected]
Partners: Belgian Survival Fund for the Third World (BSF); Italy; Global Environmental
Facility (GEF)
Project duration: 2005-2013
*The activities described represent a component or a specific feature of the project presented.
IFAD grants
Forest management in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Gabon and Nigeria
Although West African tropical moist forests are rich in biodiversity, unsustainable
practices such as slash-and-burn cultivation and uncontrolled logging are drastically
reducing the number of trees and plants, leading to the impoverishment of
small-scale farmers by eroding their natural resource base. These practices also
contribute to the estimated 26 to 35 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from
agriculture and deforestation. This is one reason why agriculture and forestry can
play a key role in tackling climate change. Better land management practices such as
rehabilitating degraded crop and pasture land, improving farming practices and
planting forests can all increase both yields and incomes and simultaneously
contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
By supporting the integration of high-value tree species, a programme in West and
Central Africa, funded by an IFAD grant, helped farmers produce marketable forest
products, enabling them to diversify their sources of income, improve their nutritional
base and restore the region’s biodiversity. The programme led to a gradual reduction in
slash-and-burn agriculture and deforestation in these humid tropical areas. To avoid
damaging young trees, smallholder farmers have now stopped the practice of burning
fields that have been left fallow for several years. Farmers have been trained on
agroforestry tree propagation techniques and integration, and now plant trees on their
farms. This has significantly reduced the need for them to deplete the forests by cutting
down trees. In addition to the benefits of enhanced soil conservation and fertility, the
greater number of trees also increases carbon sequestration.
©IFAD/Aubrey Wade
Programme name: Programme for Promoting Rural Innovation through Participatory Tree
Domestication in West and Central Africa
Contact information: Sheila Mwanundu, Senior Technical Advisor, [email protected]
Partners: World Agroforestry Centre
Programme duration: 2008-2011
©IFAD/Aubrey Wade
Markets for carbon sequestration in Ghana
New market opportunities are rapidly arising for high-value agricultural products and
services related to climate change mitigation, such as carbon sequestration. An applied
research programme, supported by an IFAD grant, was designed to ensure that poor
rural people, and women in particular, have better access to, and the capacity to take
advantage of, these burgeoning opportunities. The programme reviewed and assessed
existing activities related to carbon markets in Ghana and in three countries in other
regions: Morocco, Mozambique and Viet Nam. It evaluated current policies and
institutions influencing the access of rural poor people to carbon markets and
alternative potential mitigation strategies, and the costs and benefits involved. In Ghana,
the programme focused on supply-chain development, agricultural productivity and
rural investments. It conducted an assessment of high-value agriculture, a baseline
survey, and an impact evaluation of the IFAD-funded Northern Rural Growth
Programme and the Roots and Tubers Improvement and Marketing Programme.
Grant name: Strategic Partnership to Develop Innovative Policies on Climate Change
Mitigation and Market Access
Contact information: Bernadette Mukonyora, Research Officer, [email protected]
Partner: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Programme duration: 2008-2011
http://ifadifpri.wordpress.com/
*The activities described represent a component or a specific feature of the project presented.
Piloting rewards for environmental services mechanisms in Guinea
The Fouta Djallon Highlands consist of mountainous landscapes in Guinea that extend
into Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. The highlands
support a rich variety of natural ecosystems and are the source of major rivers in West
Africa, notably the Gambia, Niger and Senegal Rivers. Degradation is widespread as a
result of activities such as logging and clearing land for farming, and may be intensified
as a result of climate change impacts. This may have negative consequences for the
livelihoods, health and welfare of poor rural communities. Changing climatic
conditions exacerbate poverty and undermine the ability of poor rural people to nurture
the environment they depend on and prevent its degradation. Yet poor rural people
have the potential to be important players in natural resource management and carbon
sequestration, benefiting not only themselves but also others further afield.
In Guinea, building on the ability of poor rural communities to provide
environmental services, the World Agroforestry Centre, with a grant from IFAD, formed
a partnership with the Environmental Research and Study Centre at Conakry University.
They developed a prototype scheme for watershed service payments in the Coyah site to
demonstrate to the Coyah bottling company how a scheme offering rewards for
environmental services might be implemented. The company is interested in buying
watershed services from communities. They also developed another prototype scheme at
Balayan Souroumba for biodiversity payments based on critical chimpanzee habitat
maps. The work at Balayan Souroumba is supported with funds from the United
Nations Development Programme.
Grant name: Pro-Poor Rewards for Environmental Services in Africa (PRESA)
Contact information: Sheila Mwanundu, Senior Technical Adviser, [email protected]
Partner: World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
Programme duration: 2007-2011
http://presa.worldagroforestry.org/
Re-greening Burkina Faso, Mali, the Niger and Senegal
In its regional grant strategy for West and Central Africa, IFAD recognized the need to
integrate improved management of vegetation, soil and water to support sustainable
agricultural production. In the Sahel region, which is highly susceptible to short-term
climate variability and longer-term changes in rainfall patterns, on-farm regeneration of
natural vegetation has already demonstrated its effectiveness in helping farmers to
adapt to climate change, improve household food security, reduce rural poverty and
increase biodiversity.
A programme, funded by an IFAD grant, is helping farmers manage natural
regeneration processes in the Sahel. It has three expected outcomes: (i) improved
capacity of all stakeholders in IFAD-supported projects to identify, evaluate and
document experiences and lessons learned in a range of formats that can effectively
reach a broad audience; (ii) the development of targeted communication products,
including a study on the economic benefits of agroforestry and the production of
documentaries and radio programmes demonstrating proven techniques in adaptation
to climate change; and (iii) the development of a national policy dialogue in the Sahel
around farmer-managed re-greening. Overall, the programme is expected to lead to
increased investments in agroforestry.
Programme name: Supporting Farmer-managed Natural Regeneration in the Sahel
Contact information: Vincenzo Galastro, Country Programme Manager, [email protected]
Partners: Centre for International Cooperation, VU University Amsterdam
Programme duration: 2010-2012
C O N TA C T S
Adaptation through agroforestry in Burkina Faso, Mali and
the Niger
Elwyn Grainger-Jones
Director
Environment and Climate Division
IFAD
Tel: +39 06 54592459
[email protected]
Rural communities in dry regions depend on a greater variety of tree species
than communities in more humid regions. But tree species are disappearing as
a result of hotter, drier conditions, and the incomes and livelihoods of rural
communities that rely on tree products are declining as a result. Climate
change is expected to exacerbate these impacts. Adapting and diversifying
parkland trees and increasing the diversity and quality of tree products are key
strategies to minimize risks to livelihoods. Maintaining these species and
introducing others that provide similar products and services require the
development and implementation of local climate change adaptation plans.
Rural communities recognize the importance of such plans but need technical
assistance in developing them. A programme, supported by an IFAD grant,
helps communities adapt parkland trees to drought conditions by introducing
germplasm from drier zones. This germplasm will, over time, increase drought
adaptation through natural regeneration in parklands as a result of gene flow
to local trees. The programme also promotes greater investment in natural
resource management of parklands though its decentralization to local
communities, based on a partnership involving rural communities, extension
agents, government authorities and development projects.
LINKS
IFAD and climate change
www.ifad.org/climate/
United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change
www.unfccc.int
Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change
www.ipcc.ch
COP 17
www.cop17durban.com
World Bank 2010 World Development
Report: Development and Climate Change
www.worldbank.org/wdr2010
Programme name: Parkland trees and livelihoods: adapting to climate change in
the West African Sahel
Contact information: Ilaria Firmian, Environment and Climate Knowledge Officer,
[email protected]
Partners: World Agroforestry Centre
Programme duration: 2010-2013
*The activities described represent a component or a specific feature of the project presented.
International Fund for Agricultural Development
Via Paolo di Dono 44, 00142 Rome, Italy
Tel: +39 06 54591
Fax: +39 06 5043463
E-mail: [email protected]
www.ifad.org, www.ruralpovertyportal.org
November 2011
©IFAD/Aubrey Wade
IFAD is an international financial institution and
a specialized United Nations agency dedicated
to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas
of developing countries.