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Year report 2018 Communities Regreen the Sahel

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Page 1: Communities Regreen the Sahel · of FMNR advocates, who already consider themselves to be part of a family. Great pride, but perhaps above all modesty was what we felt during the

Year report 2018

Communities Regreen the Sahel

Page 2: Communities Regreen the Sahel · of FMNR advocates, who already consider themselves to be part of a family. Great pride, but perhaps above all modesty was what we felt during the

ContentYear

report 2018

04 Map of Sahel

07 Introduction

08 Milestones

11 Region Niger

12 In conversation with Prof. Toudou Adam and dr. Abasse Tougiani

14 Results Niger

18 Lobby and advocacy

19 Acces to markets

23 Region Burkina Faso

24 In conversation with Pierre Omer Ouedraogo

25 Results Burkina Faso

29 Yacouba Sawadogo and the Right Livelihood Award

30 Communication

33 Region Senegal

34 In conversation with Mamadou Fall

35 Results Senegal

40 Annual meeting 2018

42 Sahel in the spotlight

44 A sneek peak into 2019

46 Financial report

47 Colophon

2 3

Page 3: Communities Regreen the Sahel · of FMNR advocates, who already consider themselves to be part of a family. Great pride, but perhaps above all modesty was what we felt during the

XOF

Collaborations

Specials

Personal stories

Policy

MarketRegion

PreviewMilestones

Budget / Finance

SahelN I G E R

B U R K I N A F A S O

S E N E G A L

IconsS a h e l

S a h a r a

4 5

Page 4: Communities Regreen the Sahel · of FMNR advocates, who already consider themselves to be part of a family. Great pride, but perhaps above all modesty was what we felt during the

Dear reader,2018 was the first full year of the Communities Regreen the Sahel programme. A year in which we dreamed together with all partners. A year in which we dived in complex planning, coordinating and cooperation processes. A year in which we had highlights and challenges during meetings and travels. A year in which local and international attention for the Sahel region has grown rapidly. A year that resulted in a strong consortium ready for the coming years. A year to remember as the start of an impressive movement of FMNR advocates, who already consider themselves to be part of a family. Great pride, but perhaps above all modesty was what we felt during the annual meeting in Senegal last October. The room was filled with over 25 people, coming from 4 different countries. Different from what we have often experienced, this time we did not need to be in the lead. The country coordinators, together with the representatives of the different organisations took a leading role, which assured me once again that –although in a different way in each of the three countries – the consortium has ownership of the programme and the partners really feel they are in control.

In this first year, the consortium was built, strengthened and/or expanded and the first real implementation on the ground started. The actual work on farmers’ fields mainly took place in Niger, and to a lesser extent in Burkina Faso and Senegal. This was mostly due to the fact that Niger builds on an existing network of partners, and in the other countries a consortium still had to be set up. However, we

are happy to say that all country-consortia are now up to speed and ready to regreen.

In this first annual report we want to take you on a road trip through last year. We invite you to travel

to the Sahel with us and get a glimpse of the activities done and foreseen, after which we will take drones and satellites to zoom out and see the many links and rural roads that already exist between the local and regional work and global challenges and developments.

Happy reading and bon voyage!

Kind regards, also on behalf of all teams,Roos Nijpels and Fiona Dragstra

Co-coordinators

A year in which local and international attention for the Sahel region has grown rapidly

6 7Introduction

Page 5: Communities Regreen the Sahel · of FMNR advocates, who already consider themselves to be part of a family. Great pride, but perhaps above all modesty was what we felt during the

Programme goal 1

After the establishment of the Lobby & Advoacy team, the milestones were discussed and per milestone the team has identified indicators (see below) Furthermore, a framework for a L&A baseline study has been agreed upon for the national and local advoacy challenges and is expected soon. This will be followed by a coordinated joint and individual action plan. Potential regional and international policy frameworks and climate funds have been identified, such as the Beating Famine conference, the Green Climate Fund, the UNCCD and UNFCCC COPs and Désertif’actions 2019.

Proposals presented and discussed with the regional government/central government/implementing agencies and/or Legislative Assembly.

Indicators: # of submitted proposals whose processes have been documented; # of consultations organised with regional, national institutions, etc; # of structures involved in the formulation process of the proposals; # of institutions to which proposals have been submitted;

Agreements approved to support FMNR.

Indicators: # of Community Development Plan (PDC) in municipalities that take FMNR into account; # of local agreements and local agreements established in communities’ intervention; # of processes engaged with service techniques in the context of formulating agreements;

Policy and budget measures introduced/improved supporting FMNR and/or good land governance. Done by regional and/or national authorities.

Indicator: # of institutions that have adopted the proposals submitted in the context of regreening;

Burkina Faso Senegal NigerAREA REGREENED (HA)

2018 Baseline: 7.000 2018 Baseline: 8.000 2018 Baseline: 13.688

AVERAGE TREE DENSITY PER HECTARE (ON AVERAGE) / TREE SPECIES DIVERSITY FOR BIODIVERSITY

Target: 15.000 Target: 15.000 Target: 20.000

NUMBER OF MUNICIPALITIES IMPLEMENTING REGREENING

Baseline tree density: 15 - 46

Baseline tree species: 2 to 9

Target tree density: 20 to 25Target tree species: 4 - 8

Baseline tree density: 10 to 25

Baseline tree species: 3 to 6

Target tree density: 20 - 25Target tree species: 4 - 8

Baseline tree density: 9 to 85

Baseline tree species: 2 to 38

Target tree density: 40 - 50Target tree species: 5 - 10

Baseline: 22

Target: 4 - 6Baseline: 5

Target: 7 - 8

NUMBER OF VILLAGE COMMITTEES ESTABLISHED AND STRENGTHENED

Baseline: 37

Target: 50 - 80Baseline: 10 to 15

Target: 50 - 80Baseline: 69

Target: 120 - 150

RATIO OF WOMEN/MEN IN VILLAGE COMMITTEES

VILLAGES WHERE AGREEMENTS AMONG FARMERS AND PASTORALISTS ARE ESTABLISHED

Baseline: 4 to 7

Target: 4 - 6

VILLAGES WHERE AGREEMENTS AMONG FARMERS AND PASTORALISTS ARE ESTABLISHED

Programme goal 2 and 3

Target descriptions: (1) Average yield increase (millets, sorghum) of regreening farmers. (2) % of farmers applying regreening techniques with access to markets for their (added value) products. (3) % of farmers applying regreening techniques that add value to their products.

There are no results yet on increase of production or market relations, since the first year focussed on identifying the current status and potential. For each baseline study, a lot of information is gathered on the different products and potentials. Since this is a quite new topic for most organisations, special attention will be paid during the coming years to strengthen the exchange and experience on product development and access to markets.

Year 1 had a special target for the establishment of a project consortium and action plans. This annual report shows how the consortia have been established in each country. Both within and between the countries connections and plans for exchange and cooperation have been made. Since working together in such a manner is quite new, it was intensive and time demanding to create clear and good working relationships based on mutual understanding. Therefore, the first priority was put on alliance building, after which joint action plans and baseline studied could be done. Because we wanted to do it right, this process ran into 2019, which can be see in some delayed budget uses and delayed plans. However, the teams are now up to speed and made joint action plans to catch up on their delays and deliver their foreseen results for 2019.

LOBBY & ADVOCACY ACCESS TO MARKETS

INCEPTION PHASE

8 9Milestones overview

Baseline: 2 on 5

Target: 1 on 5Baseline: 2 on 5

Target: 1 on 5Baseline: 1 on 4

Target: 1 on 5

Baseline: 1 to 3

Target: 5 to 10Baseline: 2 to 6

Target: 5 to 10Baseline: 0

Target:

Baseline: 600

Target: 2000Baseline: 500

Target: 2000Baseline: 704

Target: 3000

Milestones overview

Page 6: Communities Regreen the Sahel · of FMNR advocates, who already consider themselves to be part of a family. Great pride, but perhaps above all modesty was what we felt during the

Niger

N I G E R

A L G E R I A

M A L I

N I G E R I A

C H A D

Niger is by far the vastest country of “Communities Regreen the Sahel”. With its 1.268.000 square kilome-ters, and largely desert and sand dunes covered land, not necessarily the country you would expect to be regreened at large. Luckily, our partners are proving the contrary. Over 45.682 hectares of land in Niger is being used for agricultural production and more than 80% of the population is dependent on small-scale agriculture in rural areas. In the past years, our Nigerien consorti-um partners, led and coordinated by the Regional Cen-ter for Specialised Education in Agriculture (CRESA) of the Faculty of Agronomy (Abdou Moumouni University of Niamey), and including INRAN, R.A.I.L. CNCOD/ReSaD and HIMMA, have contributed to the promotion

and evaluation of regreening through FMNR in Niger, particularly in the regions of Maradi, Zinder and Dosso. Around 5 million hectares of degraded land has already been restored. In the coming years, the Nigerien consortium partners will focus on the regions of Dosso and Tahoua. It will expand its work in the communities of Dogonkiria and Soucoucoutane, where FMNR work has started about 2 to 3 years ago. Moreover, in 2018, three new communities were added, Matankari and Dankassari in the department of Dogondoutchi, and Alléla, in the department of Birni N’Konni. In the course of the coming years, the FMNR message will be widely spread as more and more communities will join.

10 11RegionMap

XOF

Page 7: Communities Regreen the Sahel · of FMNR advocates, who already consider themselves to be part of a family. Great pride, but perhaps above all modesty was what we felt during the

In conversation with Prof. Toudou Adam and dr. Abasse TougianiDR. ABASSE TOUGIANI AND PROF. DR. TOUDOU ADAM CO-COORDINATE THE DOB-PROGRAMME IN NIGER. THEY SHARE THEIR REFLECTIONS ON 2018:

T oudou: “In the past years we have built on quite extensive experience

through other FMNR related projects in Niger. The DOB programme for us thus feels rather natural. It provides us with the opportunity to grow and expand our past work, while incorporating the lessons learned from earlier experiences. We kicked off the year with two ‘older’ communities: Soucoucoutane and Dogon Kiria and as of April 2018 we started activities in 3 new communities: Matankari, Dan Kassari and Allela. I believe we made a great start!”

FIRST RESULTS“Our first results are clear: we mobilised and shared information with all actors active in the program. For Niger those are: the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and

Cattle, representatives of the state (mayors, prefets, governors and chefs de villages). Within the village committees we needed to make sure that we had a representation of farmers, cattle herders, livestock farmers and other professions, as well as an equal representation of youth and women. For us the biggest difference with other projects is that this program is focused on scaling-up. This makes us think clearly: “We have to make this work, and the only way to make it work is together with the farmers”. They are the ones who are at the core of our planning, execution, monitoring and follow-up. They play a central role in this program – without them we cannot move forward and we can definitely not reach scale. Moreover, compared to other projects, the emphasis on working together and in synergy with

other countries provides a unique learning experience for all of us.

Dr. Abasse underlines this and notes how the involvement of different partners results in more interesting and diverse impact on the ground. “Furthermore”, he says, “the way pictures and stories of people have become a big part of the results we show is different than before. But above all, thisprogramme focusses on the long-term, which is very important when talking about trees”.

Toudou: “After the first start-up phase in April, I feel like we finally kicked-off. We have facilitators in each community, we have done exchange visits, wesetup the village committees, started community radio programmes and setup a monitoring system in each community. Throughout the past year, we were still looking into ways of moving forward with implementing all aspects of the programme, especially the dissemination of information through farmer networks and peer-to-peer trainings. Luckily, severalfarmers from Dan Saga [a community in Maradi – outside of current DOB intervention area, red.] approached us with a proposal. We just signed a convention with them to reach more farmers through community radio and farmer-to-farmer trainings to disseminate information on FMNR.”

MARKET ACCESS“What surprised me a lot this year”, Toudou continues, “was how working on market access and the enabling environment right from the beginning, can already have such an impact in the way farmers adopt FMNR practices. Often, we saw that after the first trainings, farmers adopt FMNR, but after a while the “and now what?” questi-on popped up. We are very happy and pleasantly surprised with the work from ONG HIMMA, who star-ted their work in Soucoucoutane and Dogon Kiria. They will team up with the farmers from Dan Saga to teach the other communities as well that they should not only de-velop a non-timber forest product market, but also work on a sustai-nable marché du bois. Now that HIMMA engages with communities that have done FMNR for about 2-3 years, they can start working on that “and now market access” question. With those activities, we integrate FMNR in the daily lives of farmers and communities as a whole.”

BUMPY START“Of course, not all was easy this first year. We noticed that it took some time for all of us to get at the same level regarding reporting and budgeting – with Both ENDS, but also in relation to our local partners in Niger. As a coordinator I want to be as transparent as possible, so I want to be able to

communicate properly to our local partners as well as Both ENDS. I feel like we are getting there together. Moreover, as we are two coordinators in Niger – myself as a national coordinator and Abasse as a scientific coordinator – we managed to bring nuance to how we coordinate and also communicate amongst ourselves. For us, after years of experience, we have seen that the link, trust and work with communities is the most important.Abasse: “I completely underline this, for us our biggest challenge this first year was figuring out how to reflect all that we were doing on the ground, with meeting the standards of reporting to Both ENDS as well as DOB. Another big learning for us this year was the management of the various different organisations and institutions on a national level. There were many expectations, and we had to figure out our vision as well – it took some time, but I feel like we are on the right track.”

PROUD TO BE PART OF THIS JOURNEYAbasse: “I’m very proud of the extent to which we work in strong cohesion with the other implementing countries. We communicate openly and have been together since the beginning.This programme truly permits us to construct a « DOB family » in the Sahel, where we learn from and share with each other in order to

move forward. We also see a clear comparative advantage with the differences in all countries where we can be complementary to one another.” Toudou: “If I look at the past year I am most proud of how the com-munities position themselves. What is very clear is that all they need is a small pushand they pick it up themselves. I’m very pleased with the engagement of the ma-yors and chefs de villages in all 5 communities. They are actively engaged and working hard. And I already mentioned that I am very proud of our choice to work with ONG HIMMA. They already prove to be a good counterpart that can do a lot with very little resources. But maybe most of all, I am very proud of all the young and dyna-mic facilitators in the communities. They understand and adopt our approach, and are engaged and very serious about their jobs. I’m very proud to see how they are working with the same monitoring system. This means that they are in fact in charge of the monitoring, together with the farmers.”

SUCCESS IS LIKE A TREE“For us”, Toudou concludes, “our program will be a great success when we can show communities in Niger, and beyond, that we can indeed really make a difference on a large scale – and that it is the communities that do so. We see the development of our program as a tree: If we have trees, we have more time for the other trees to grow, and the only way to show that we are getting results is if we can show trees. Our results are the stories of people and their trees: a long-term sustainable result.”

TOUDOU ADAM ABASSE TOUGIANI

“I’m very proud of the extent to which we work in strong cohesion with the other implementing countries”

2018about

12 13Interview NigerInterview Niger

Page 8: Communities Regreen the Sahel · of FMNR advocates, who already consider themselves to be part of a family. Great pride, but perhaps above all modesty was what we felt during the

Toudou showing the booklet

Crop-garden of a farmer, NigerKNOW?

BUILDING ON YEARS OF EXPERIENCEConsidering the extent of the degradation in terms of the areas affected and the speed of the phenomenon, it is urgent to scale-up the pilot success cases, as well as protect and continue to support the areas that have already managed to regreen and consolidate these achievements. Partners aim to do so by strengthening the densities of preserved trees and their specific diversification and use, by improving biodiversity and peoples living environment, and by contributing to the restoration of the productive bases of land for agriculture and livestock. In short: the restoration of the ecosystem through FMNR. The key to success is an approach that advocates full community participation and active support of village institutions, local, regional and national authorities, NGOs, and academic partners. The approach also promotes gender inclusivity, agriculture-livestock integration and all other beneficiaries of ecosystem services into monitoring committees at village level. Adequate frameworks of this integration have been created and are active to ensure the protection of trees and sites thus restored (for about the first 4 years). The partners also plan to facilitate market access for products derived from FMNR, including NTFPs.

YOUNG FACILITATORS AND NEW PARTNERSThe beginning of 2018 was centered around setting-up the new partnership in Niger, building on earlier experiences as well as working with new partners. Niger held its first inception meeting from February 2-4 in Niamey. After that, the national team was officially established and an action plan was formed. The first steps were all concerning the implementation of first field visits to the new communities, and going back to Soucoucoutane and Dogonkiria to introduce the DOB programme.

Communal awareness workshops about the causes of environmental degradation were held with all local stakeholders and the service techniques of the Eaux et Forets helped in raising awareness about the role of trees in ecosystems and FMNR. It is important to have a ray of actors and users of land– pastoralists, producers, village chiefs, mayors and government agents – present in the FMNR trainings to ensure a good understanding of FMNR within the community. After the initial trainings, the actors in the communities formed village committees or FMNR monitoring committees. These committees (comprising often of a mix of young, elderly, male and female farmers and pastoralists) were given the mandate by the rest of the community to operate as monitors of people’s lands. This is to ensure that illegal chopping of trees and

Results branches as well as disrupting ones FMNR process lead to penalties within the community – as set by the villagers themselves. A big lesson learned herein was that in the past, Village Committees would not have women present (as women representation is still a sensitive issue in Niger). Men would complain how women would continue to chop trees for firewood (for cooking) whereas the men had received trainings. After deliberation for a solutions, women, equally, got trainings on FMNR and the benefits of trees in ecosystems, increasing their understanding of the importance of protecting the trees - and lowering their risk on penalties and increasing their sense of ownership.

To ensure good and open implementation of FMNR practices, as well as having a constant presence of knowledge on FMNR in the communities, CRESA has trained and employed five young facilitators in all communities. These young men are also in charge of the local monitoring and evaluation of farmers’ fields, the tree density and variety, and are open to all questions the farmers might have. After first evaluations in December 2018, we can safely and surely say that 100% of all farmers who have received training in 2018, are still practicing FMNR.

NEW AXES TO NIGER’S APPROACH ON THE GROUNDThe Niger team has seen an evolution of its approach throughout the years, by constantly adopting their strategy to the needs of communities themselves. But now, something new was added to their strategy to strengthen it even more. With the help of new partner CNCOD/ReSaD, a lobby and advocacy strategy was set-up. CNCOD/ReSaD already worked together with ReSaD in Burkina Faso (SPONG) to understand

the gaps in laws and policies towards FMNR on a regional level. For the dissemination of information from farmer to farmer and through local radio, CRESA found another partner. A newly formed organisation of champion farmers from Dan Saga, Maradi, asked CRESA if they could share their expertise with other farmers through the network of CRESA. They submitted a proposal and have become an official part of the Niger-family as of December 2018. Moreover, new partner HIMMA – an almost completely female-led organisation from Maradi - was asked to work on the implementation of market access and NTFP production from FMNR. HIMMA’s approach towards market access, as well as their experience with agro-pastoral conflict and land management proved to be very valuable. CRESA is happy to have them on board. HIMMA’s approach shows that women’s cooperatives, mobilised and organised around the production of

DID YOU

The baseline study found that the practice of FMNR is found in all the socio-economic groups of the 5 communities in a proportion of

Among the rich and the middle,

of the farmlands have over 300 pieds of trees per ha. The poor and very poor households have less than 300 trees on their farmlands.

40% In 2018, Niger also executed an extensive baseline study, specifically focused on three observatories, placed in three villages in three different climate zones in Niger

14 15Results NigerResults Niger

11%

Page 9: Communities Regreen the Sahel · of FMNR advocates, who already consider themselves to be part of a family. Great pride, but perhaps above all modesty was what we felt during the

Gender and education

level of head of

household

Main activities and

sources of income

Land acquisition

method

Gender

Education level

Agricultural

Not agricultural

MaleFemaleLiterateKoranicPrimaryNoAgricultureLivestockSale of wood

Farm labour

Small business

Exodus

HeritagePurchased

VariablesVerypoor

25020,022,225,025,0100020,080,044,455,620,879,257,142,983,316,7

poor

25020,033,350,00,0100033,366,7010029,270,877,822,283,316,7

Average

25060,027,825,00,088,911,140,060,0010033,366,755,644,47525%

Rich

16,78,30,016,70,075,010006,793,377,822,216,783,355,644,41000

yesnoyesnoyesnoyesno

The observatories will serve as continued monitoring points throughout the coming years to better under-stand how and why some approaches work and others don’t, how households and individual famers’ lives are improving and how climate change might change the conditions. Other countries are following Niger’s approach and follow suit.

NTFPs deriving from FMNR, can be autonomous after 8 months. They are keen to share their lessons learned with other partners, also from the other countries.

OBSERVATORIESIn 2018, Niger also executed an extensive baseline study, specifically focused on three observatories, placed in three villages in three different climate zones in Niger. The observatories are located in Dodoria, in Dogon Kiria, for the Northern zone, in Madobi/Gaouna, Matankari, for the Central zone, and in Kanguiwa, in Alléla for the Southern zone.

The observatory in Dogon Kiria is characterised by an average annual rainfall oscillating between 200 and 400 m. Vegetation consists of treed steppes in low areas, and shrub steppes on sandy substrates. The

flora consists mainly of: Acacia tortilis var. raddiana, Acacia senegal, Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Aristida mutabilis, Tragus racemosus, Tephrosia nubica and Cenchrus biflorus on the dunes; and species such as Acacia seyal, Schoenefeldia gracilis, Euphorbia forsskaliiand Cordia sinensis in low areas. The observatory of Matakari is located between 500-600mm of rainfall. The vegetation of the zone is a sort of “tiger bush” on lateritic plateaus, steppes on sandy terraces, fixed dunes and in dry valleys. The flora includes Guiera senegalensis, Commiphora africana, Combretum micranthum, Acacia macrostachya, Lannea acida, Croton gratissimus, Acacia ataxacantha, Combretum nigricans, Boscia senegalensis and Boscia angustifolia, on lateritic plateaus and Hyphaene thebaica, Bauhinia rufescens, Annona senegalensis, Combretum glutinosum and Faidherbia albida in dry

valleys. The observatory in Alléla has an annual rainfall of 600mm. The vegetation in this zone is varied. In the dry forest you will find species like the Combretum micranthum, Manilkara multinervis, Combretum nigricans, Combretum collinum, Crossopteryx febrifuga, Afromorsia laxiflora, Dioscorea dumetorum, Costus spectabilis, Aloe buettneri, Zigotritonia crocea, Dioscorea quartiniana and Dioscorea praehensilis; gallery forests composed mainly of Albizia zygia, Acacia hockii, Acacia dudgeonii, Nauclea latifolia, Daniella oliveri, Kigelia africanaand Albizia chevalieri; dry valleys with Butyrospermum paradoxum, Neocarya macrophylla, Borassus aethiopium and Andropogon gayanus and dunes attached to Vitex doniana, Sterculia setigera, Parkia biglobosa and Cymbopogon giganteus.

Woody stock of the North Observatory in Dogon Kiria

Scientific names

Guiera senegalensis

Boscia senegalensis

Combretum glutinosum

Piliostigma reticulatum

Combretum micranthum

Faidherbia albida

Acacia nilotica

Calotropis procera

Dichrostachys cinerea

Balanites aegyptiaca

Boscia angustifolia

Ziziphus mauritiana

Euphorbia balsamifera

Commiphora africana

Boscia senegalensis

Annona senegalensis

Boscia senegalensis

Combretum aculatum

Combretum nigricans

Leptadenia hastata

Total: 18

H’:

H max:

E:

Family

CombrétacéesCapparacéesCombrétacéesCésalpiniacéesCombrétacéesMimosacéesMimosacéesAsclépiadacéesMimosacéesBalanitacéesCapparacéesRhamnacéesEuphorbiacéesBurseracéesCapparacéesAnnonacéesCapparacéesCombrétacéesCombrétacéesAsclépiadacées10

1,48

4,17

0,35

Numbers

780,0093,0064,0018,0011,0010,009,008,008,006,006,004,003,002,001,001,001,001,001,001,001028,00

Frequency

(%)

75,889,056,231,751,070,970,880,780,780,580,580,390,290,190,100,100,100,100,100,10100,00

Density

(number/ha)

124,814,8810,242,881,761,61,441,281,280,960,960,640,480,320,160,160,160,160,160,16164,48

Renewal

rate

36,4348,0417,9543,7526,6723,0830,770,0050,000,0033,330,000,0050,000,000,000,0050,000,0050,0036,35

Next to all local activities, the team from Niger was also very happy to be part of the first annual meeting in Senegal in October, and to represent the Communi-ties Regreen the Sahel programme during the first ever partner meeting of the DOB Ecology family in South Africa.

Source: Baseline study, Niger

Table 1

OBSERVATOIRE 1

• Zone Nord Sahélienne

• Agropastorale

• Pluviométrie < 500 mm

• Existence des marchés

OBSERVATOIRE 3

• Zone Soudano Sahélienne

• Agricole

• Zone proche du Nigéria

• 700 < Pluviométrie < 600 mm

• Existence des marchés

OBSERVATOIRE 2

• Zone Sud Sahélienne

• Agricole

• 500 Pluviométrie < 600

mm

• Existence des marchés

NIGER

Table 2 Example of data derived from baseline on socio-economic status of households

16 17Results NigerResults Niger

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Lobby and advocacy

D uring these visits we also had the chance to visit several relevant policy makers – such as national coordinators of the Great Green

Wall, the UNCCD and the Green Climate Fund. In October 2018, the full lobby and advocacy team was formed, with organisations with different expertise and from different backgrounds. This was quite a challenge in the beginning, but should also been seen as one of the key aspects of mutual learning. Also, it provides a lot of potential for progress, as we are all very complementary. During our first conversations we found out that in Niger there is great expertise to advocate for FMNR at the national government, while in Senegal there is a large expertise in national and regional legislation, in Burkina Faso the focus is mostly directed to regional and international policy frameworks, such as the UNCCD, and Both ENDS has a lot of experience in climate finance and climate funds, focused on (but not limited to) the Green Climate Fund.

INSPIRING AND LEARNING FROM EACH OTHERDuring the annual meeting, we had inspiring discussions about how we all defined ‘Lobby & Advocacy’ and how we could learn from each other. We spoke about local, regional and international areas for advocacy, further defined our indicators for our

actions and jointly shaped a framework for a baseline study specifically focused on the local and national context first. Key questions in this format are to identify the lobby and advocacy capacities in each country, describing the national and policy landscapes, look at the main national initiatives and support programs related to FMNR and map which lobby and advocacy tools are best known to and used by the team members. At the end of 2018, the teams were still in the writing phase, but the baseline studies for lobby and advocacy will be a great way to learn from each other’s strengths and areas of improvement, and a good base to coordinate individual and joint actions. In 2019, the succinct L&A strategies for national and local will be written and carried out. Also, after the annual meeting, an email list serve for the L&A team has been established which gives us an easy and direct way of communication.

LOOKING FORWARDSince October 2018, several actions regarding lobby and advocacy took place. Burkina and Niger have elaborated advocacy plans on a regional level with ReSaD, and IED Afrique made an elaborate study on the policy framework in Senegal. In Niger, CNCOD was supposed to do advocacy activities on a local level, but were found to not be a great fit for that work. For 2019, the L&A work in Niger will be split between ReSaD on a national level, and a local farmers organisation from Maradi on a local level.

In 2018, Both ENDS was able to initiate talks to several specialists of the Green Climate Fund secretariat to get an initial idea of the chances of the FMNR approach to Green Climate Fund funding during the three board meetings throughout 2018. The plan is to bring these actions together during several side-events in 2019.

ESTABLISHING THE LOBBY AND ADVOCACY TEAMIN JANUARY, FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2018, THE FIRST VISITS FROM BOTH ENDS’ PART OF THE DOB TEAM TO BURKINA FASO, NIGER AND SENEGAL TOOK PLACE, AND THIS PROVIDED A GREAT FIRST SENSE OF PARTNERS’ IDEAS REGARDING LOBBY AND ADVOCACY.

We realise we do have several challenges among the teams in terms of the start-up phase, reporting and language barriers, but we’re confident and look forward to putting FMNR on the map at all different levels, where each team member has their specific role to play informed and connected to the other activities within the programme.

T These organisations mainly see challenges in processing the products

(now often very labour intensive), applying the required technology for sustainable production and processing, and making the products (packaging) attractive to the (inter) national and local market. For the time being, the focus is on further cooperative development and the expansion of the acreage. In time, a few products will be selected per country that may be suitable for the international market.

EXPERTISE WITH PRODUCTION AND VALUE-ADDITION TO NTFPS From the baselines it becomes clear that there is limited experience in processing and marketing of (forest) products in the regions and that there are challenges concerning the access to markets, also because of regulations. In Senegal, in Daga Birame, in the community of Ndiognick, women organised themselves into a group called Soukali and benefited from training

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL MARKETS FOR THE FIRST TIME, ORGANISATIONS ARE INVOLVED PER COUNTRY WITH SPECIFIC ‘ACCESS TO MARKET’ EXPERTISE. THESE ARE MOSTLY ORGANISATIONS WITH EXPERTISE IN FORMING COOPERATIVES AND FEDERATIONS, ACCESS TO (MICRO) FINANCING AND EXECUTING MARKET ANALYSIS OF THE PRODUCTS THAT FARMERS (WOULD LIKE TO) PRODUCE.

Access to markets

on baobab fruit processing techniques. The product has a real potential because it is sold in the village but also in some localities during ceremonies. The marketing is very organised and the product is packaged in sachet. However, as heard in Kaffrine, one of the difficulties that women encounter with transforming and selling baobab products are the regulations concerning the sale of baobab fruits, since it is a protected species. Women cooperatives experience difficulties

Meeting at

the office of

the district

governor,

Zinder, Niger

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In Mboula, in Yang Yang village, there are some individual experiences of transforming the fruit of balanitesa egyptiaca into oil

Ziziphus mauritiana: fruits – jujuba – are rich in vitamin C, the leaves are food for livestock.

Acacia raddiana: used for traditional medicine. Its fruits and leaves are consumed by livestock as well

Corchorustridens: the leaves and tranches are used for the production of baskets, bags etc.

Hyphaenethe baica: the doum palm is appreciated for the shade it provides. All parts of the tree are useful, but the most important product is the leaves. The fibre and leaflets are used to weave baskets, mats, as well as to make brooms, ropes, string and thatch. The timber is used for posts and poles, furniture manufacture and beehives, and firewood. Its fruits (dates) are eaten by people and livestock. The shoots of the germinated seeds are also eaten as a vegetable. Apart from the use of the fruit as food, juice and palm wine are also extracted.

Balanitesa egyptiaca: the date of the Sahel. Fruits are consumed, and can be used for the production of (cooking) oil, soap, etc.

Onions on the market in Niger

Ceratothecase samoides: or the ‘false sesame’, the leaves and flowers are often consumed as vegetables or used in sauces. The leaves can also have medicinal benefits while the seeds can be employed to produce cooking oil.

Faidherbia albida: the super-tree. The gao (or kadd or balanzan in Wolof or Bambara), a large tree from the Fabaceae family, is very commonly known among the Sahel as a super-tree. It’s a farmers’ favourite when it comes to farm-land based trees, because it’s very useful for several reasons. The gao has a ‘reverse life strategy’ compared to most dryland trees: it is the only tree in the semi-arid Sahelian zone to lose its leaves in the rainy season and to regreen at the end of the rainy season, extending its leafing period in the dry season (“reverse phenology”). Leaves that are dropped at the beginning of the new rainy season, decompose better. The gao is an interesting species for agroforestry because it offers shade and fodder appreciated by livestock. The tree’s roots go as deep as 15m, so it doesn’t compete with crops, while at the same time improving soil quality. During rainy season though, these trees are able to adapt their strategy and collect water near the surface. The gao also provides wood and its fruits, leaves and the tannin of its bark are used in the traditional medicine. Furthermore, it is an interesting tree for beekeeping because its flowers provide pollen to bees at the end of the rainy season, when most other local plants do not. A critical moment in the lives of individuals of this species is the access of the roots of young trees to the water table. It has been shown that the stomata close as soon as the drought appears, so if by then the juvenile roots have not yet reached the water table, it is too late for the tree to survive. The quality of the soil, the penetration of water and the rise of the water table through FMNR and agroforestry, and the protection of young trees are therefore crucial.

Gao in bloom.

Groundnuts in Senegal

Pilostigmareticulatum: leaves are often used as medicine, its fruits are also consumed.

in understanding the policy framework. In two communities, the few cases of valorisation noted are the result of personal initiative. In Mboula, in Yang Yang village, there are some individual experiences of transforming the fruit of balanitesa egyptiaca into oil. The women have even acquired small-scale processing machines for product recovery and bottling of 250 ml to facilitate its selling at market level.

Experience in Burkina Faso teaches us that the value chain of the karité (shea butter) and mango is strongly developed in some regions, specifically in the south. However, in many other communities, especially in the north, farmers have mentioned a decline in formerly forested areas with trees that were used for production of NTFPs such as the mango, tamarind, néré, baobab and jujuba. The loss of trees in some communities has been estimated to be at 20-25%. Deforestation was largely due to a lack of management and the effects of reoccurring droughts, forcing communities to use the trees instead of protecting them. In the baseline studies from Burkina, it became clear that there is a strong need to place trees in the centre of policy frameworks on land and agricultural management to support communities in their protection.

In Niger, HIMMA has been working on the identification of species that farmers are interested in. We know from experience with organizing sustainable management of on-farmland trees in Niger that farmers are only motivated to continue when they really benefit economically from trees. Therefore,

HIMMA identifies these species in collaboration with farmers, to ensure that it is their choice. After that, they train and support farmers collectives – especially women’s cooperatives and federations (about 80% of the total groups trained) – about the species, and on how and when certain trees are to be exploited, how products from the trees should be transformed and how value could be added. In 2018, together with 142 cooperatives (either revived or recently set-up), HIMMA identified and collected NTFP products stemming from FMNR fields for the start of transformation and valorisation processes. Another example from HIMMA is worth noting: when training the women cooperatives on the possibilities of NTFPs and the benefits of being part of a cooperative to use these possibilities, HIMMA found that many women had difficulties in understanding how women can be part of an agricultural cooperative. Through many development aid programs, they were told that when women join together, it is around microfinancing or credit only, and not around agricultural practices. This is to say that many women in Niger expressed that they felt empowered being part of a cooperative that focused on their own entrepreneurship in agriculture.

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BurkinaFaso

B U R K I N A F A S O

M A L I

N I G E R

N I G E R I A

The arid zones of Burkina Faso are experiencing the impacts of an increasingly harsh climate combined with over-exploitation by the people living in the area. Ecosystem degradation is directly visible when ta-king a look at agricultural and pastoral lands. Land degradation leads to lower crop yields and per capita cereal production, further preventing households from producing enough food even when the rain falls. With only 274.200 square kilometre and close to 20 million people, Burkina Faso doesn’t have as much space as neighbouring Niger. An average of between 600 and

900 mm rain falls during the rainy season from June to September and three climatic zones can be defined: the Sahel, the Sudan-Sahel, and the Sudan-Guinea. The Sahel in the north typically receives less than 600 millimetres. Since we work with 6 implementing partners in different communities, we can cover quite some hectares. As of 2018, the partners are working in 22 communities, consisting of more than 200 villages. Last year they already met more than 2000 farmers to discuss the start of the programme.

24 25RegionMap

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“A ll actions are designed and realised according to the local

context and needs as well as to the specificities and quality of the soil, the commitment of stakeholders, climate opportunities and biodiversity of the area. Furthermore, it is an integrated programme. It builds on existing sustainable land management work and initiatives, taking into account all initiatives undertaken at local, national and regional level. It does not wish to replicate, but its focus is on complementarities. One thing that is very important too is that its approach and design is based on indigenous and traditional knowledge. All methods and activities rely on local practices that are natural and have been well known for a long time, like zaï, demi lunes and the stone rows. Finally, our approach is based on ecosystem-friendly practices and promotes agroforestry, which is very important when thinking about sustainable land governance in the Sahel.”

COMMUNITIES TAKING THE LEAD “FOR ME, THE DOB PROGRAMME HAS A VERY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WITH OTHER PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES RELATED TO SUSTAINABLE LAND GOVERNANCE FOR FOUR SPECIFIC REASONS. FIRST AND FOREMOST, THE « COMMUNITIES REGREEN THE SAHEL » PROGRAMME (AS ITS TITLE RIGHTFULLY STATES) GIVES VOICE TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND BENEFICIARIES.

STRONG ENGAGEMENT AND INPUT FROM ALL PARTNERS“Even though the implementation of the project in Burkina Faso has been very recent – we only just started – I can say that there were some things that already surprised me this year. I see a very strong commitment from all stakeholders both on a local level in all communities, as well as on a national level where we work with numerous partners. Everybody is engaged in making this a success. Furthermore, after having had two meetings with the other partners in other countries, I noticed similar strong engagements in Senegal and Niger, even though our approaches differ. We are strongly convinced that this works. Moreover, I’m very happy with the

ease of collaboration that exists between the DOB team at Both ENDS and the other partners in the Sahel. We respect each other, communicate openly and easily and are all happy to be part of this journey.”

A VERY DIFFERENT APPROACH “The set-up of the DOB programme is different from one country to another, also because we were free to create a design for project coordination in a way that we wanted and that would fit our national context. In the case of Burkina Faso, we have eight implementing partners, including SPONG, which has the coordinating role. As the national coordinator, the biggest challenge for me was to coordinate the implementation by the partners in the field with the required efficiency. For that, several equations presented themselves to me which are: How to mobilise all partners to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the implementation of activities? How

to divide resources and means between the partners in a way that is acceptable to all? How to create a project team composed of seven structures that never collaborated directly or even in the same area of implementation, and still make sure everybody feels well represented and heard?”

CLOSE COLLABORATION BETWEEN MANY PARTNERS“Nevertheless, up until now, the collaboration is going very well with the partners of the consortium in Burkina Faso, as well as with the other two countries and with Both ENDS. At national level, we have the advantage that apart from INERA, the six other structures are all members of

PIERRE OMER

SPONG. The coordination of the project is accepted by all without any problem and the collaboration goes very well between all members. With this, I mean that everyone knows how to implement and get to a good level of understanding with each other, so that the collaboration goes very well. At Sahel level and with Both ENDS, it is really the symbiosis between all the collaborators. We have heard of

the experience of Niger, and that is something we all aspire to achieve. For us, the coordinators of Niger are like pioneers. We hope and are certain that by learning from their experience, we will achieve great things in the other countries too. At the level of Both ENDS, we highly appreciate the proximity and direct collaboration of the project coordinator and the entire team for their availability to facilitate our work.”

2018about

In conversation with Pierre Omer Ouedraogo

“Everyone knows how to implement and get to a good level of understanding with each other”

ResultsDEMOCRACY AND EQUAL REPARTITION After the initial inception meeting in Burkina Faso in January 2018, SPONG proposed a collaboration protocol between SPONG and each implementation partner. Taking the overall objective of the area to be revegetated in three years as a starting point, each partner has identified its area of intervention and the total area to be regenerated. The Burkinabé organised themselves according to the region in which they already worked, as well as on their expertise. Next to that, SPONG takes the lead in coordination and lobby on a national level. INERA provides scientific and technical support to all partners.

SPONG clearly has a strong democratic approach which is induced by the guiding principle of giving everyone the space to do what they do best, according

to their expertise. After a year of coordination and finalising the inception phase, they note the importance of periodic meetings to share experience both between the actors within the country and between the different countries, and of the harmonisation of communication tools. Moreover, it was suggested that we look into collaborating with small-scale financing facilities to open up more possibilities for communities to invest in their fields.

EXPERIENCES FROM PARTNERSAPIL, active in the communities of Ziniaré and Zitenga in the Central Plateau region and the communities of Kaya and Boussouma in the North Central region, notes how land degradation is the greatest threat to the traditional livelihoods of the people and families living there. The inhabitants of these regions of Burkina

26 27ResultsInterview Burkina Faso

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have experienced recurring food crises in recent years. More extreme weather conditions and less predictable seasons or severe droughts are causing major problems. It is in this light that they aim to find sustainable solutions through FMRN techniques. With the support of INERA and through an exchange visit with Tiipaalga, APIL strengthened their interventions for their 2019 action plan.

APEDR has made the choice of villages in the municipalities of Yako and Gomponsom. After identification, INERA and Réseau MARP helped them identify the potential villages to carry out FMNR activities, based on their experiences and the communities’ needs. APEDR understood from the communities that in order to widely diffuse information about FMNR, radio is crucial. Therefore, together with the farmers and the technical services they realised radio animations at Yako’s local radio. APEDR notes how: “All activities are going well in the field: the project team and the rural communities are ready for the future. People are eager to learn more and work together”.

ASMADE, working in the communities of Sanguié, Boulkièmdé and Kadiogo, teamed up with INERA to choose their sites and to elaborate more on how they could best implement their FMNR strategy. ASMADE has had meetings with community leaders, and has placed a strong focus on the importance of engaging women and young people – as young as children attending elementary school – in all activities. Although most of the activities went smoothly, ASMADE notes that some meetings had to be postponed due to several reasons: the rainy season made it impossible to reach some villages, farmers were too busy harvesting or local authorities were unavailable.

M.Ec.B. operates in three communities, namely Komsilga, Saponé and Doulougou. M.Ec.B intends to focus on raising the awareness of grassroots populations, environmental information to the general public, capacity building of rural producers organised in groups, support to local authorities in sustainable land management, the environmental education of the youngest through Envir-infos clubs in the schools and colleges of the target communes, and advocate for scaling up FMNR. In the community of Komsilga, communities expressed how they want the focus of FMNR to be put on species which have rapidly declined in recent years, such as the néré, kapokier, mango, tamarind, faidherbia albida, karité and the jujuba. An initial study – with help from INERA – in the area showed a very significant decrease of certain species such as faidherbia, néré and baobabs. A worrying observation is that the level of degradation of vegetation was now down to 20 trees/plants/shrubs per hectare.

Tiipaalga (new tree in Mooré), is active in the communities of Kourweogo, Toèghin, Bam and Balé. The community of Toèghin also hosts one of the observatories that the Burkina Faso consortium has

set up just like in Niger. In 2018 Tiipaalga executed all its planned activities, apart from the validation of their biodiversity baseline study. Tiipaalga believes that animation, information and communication are essential for a participatory approach. In Toèghin, Tiipaalga organised a public sensitisation theatre play about the practice of FMNR and sustainable agriculture in collaboration with the Nerwata Theatrical Troupe. Three performances were realised in the villages of Douré, Kangré and Sotenga. All these representations were attended by the mayor of Toèghin and all the leaders of each village. The objective of this forum theatre is to make people aware of how harmful their current agricultural practice can be to the environment, and to present tools to easily change these practices. The play is played directly in local Mooré, which facilitates the participation and understanding of the people.

Réseau MARP has years of experience with FMNR and zai practices, and is continuing its work in 36 villages in the communities of Oula, Ouahigouya, Leba and Gourcy, where it also conducted its baseline study. During this study, the organisation found that many roads were impassable in these different localities. Another major difficulty is that of communicating with the population due to the many different languages spoken. Many different interpreters, mastering a specific language, had to be hired. However, thanks to the solidarity, determination, team spirit and the support of local leaders, data collection and first meetings went well and people are excited for new plans and great engagement.

APEDR understood from the communities that in order to widely diffuse information about FMNR, radio is crucial

Names

Ouédraogo Soumaïla

Ouédraogo Saïdou Ouédraogo Boukari

Age

28 year

3041

Gender

M

MM

Size

of field

0,5 ha

1,5 ha2 ha

Etnicity

Mossi

MossiMossi

Education

level

None

NoneNone

Trainings

received

None

ZaIIn techniques for producing CES / DRS anti-erosion sites

Types of

developments

observed

Zaï manuel

ZaïNone

Duration of

operation

10 years. Well before inherited from parents3 years2 years after a fallow

Identity of farmers in COMMUNE DE GOURCY / VILLAGE N°1 : ZINDIGUESSETable 2

Source: Baseline study on socio-economic status of households in Reseau MARP

28 29Results Burkina FasoResults Burkina Faso

Source: baseline study APIL – distribution of hectares to be regreened per village in APIL’s intervention regions

Fig. 1

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

Betta

Mouti

Kuila

Nakam

tenga

Lemno

go

Bissiga

Mos

si

Bissiga

yarsé

Bissiga

Irann

a

Sidogo

Hanwi

Tanh

oko

Ramiou

gou

Dames

maTo

écé

Goradji

Niemes

tenga

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Yacouba Sawadogo and the Right Livelihood Award

T he droughts of the 80s marked a turning point in his life (as it did for many

others): When agricultural yields dropped and people died from famine, many left the rural areas to find income opportunities in the cities. Yacouba, instead, went back home and started experimenting with several agro ecological and agroforestry methods to try and regenerate his land. Today, his land covers an agroforestry forest (Sahel-style) of about 40 hectares with over 60 species of trees and bushes and is arguably one of the most diverse forests planted and managed by a farmer in the Sahel.

Yacouba’s success builds on experimenting with traditional planting pits for soil, water and biomass retention. Despite the resistance from locals in the beginning – Sawadogo was called a “madman” and saw his crops set on fire – he did not give up. Over time, people came to admire his work. By organising trainings he empowered other farmers to join him, and he developed a set of best practices he learned by experience in his own forest. These methods require a lot of manual work and patience, but have proven their success. They include planting by digging zaï holes at regular intervals, filling the holes with organic fertiliser or

compost before planting seeds, and using agroforestry methods to cultivate millet, sorghum and corn alongside the trees. Furthermore, Yacouba practices soil and water conservation by constructing stone bunds to slow down run-off water during rainfall (cordonnes pierreux). This helps the soil to absorb more water and retain nutrients and the construction of a small dam on a barren patch in his forest made it possible to store water. Moreover, he attracts roaming livestock by placing water pots in trees for birds, and water troughs on the ground for animals. This is crucial, as birds bring seeds from other locations, and animals provide manure. Yacouba also keeps bees to produce honey and to cross-pollinate. Farming communities that adopt these types of practices significantly improve their food security, as zaï helps to conserve rainwater and improve soil fertility. This allows farmers to produce crops even in years of drought. Trees planted together with the

crops serve to enrich the soil, produce fodder for livestock and create business opportunities.

Today, even though he has been meeting Burkina Faso’s president and has been noted as national hero, Yacouba’s work is threatened by the expansion of the nearby city of Ouahigouya. In Burkina, farmers (including Yacouba) do not own the land on which they farm,

making the construction of houses and the

expansion of roads a threat

to agriculture, farmers and forests. Even though he is celebrated his forest

might disappear.

Together with our local partner in

Burkina Faso, Réseau MARP, which has been

supporting Yacouba since the 90s, we will advocate for better land- and tree rights for farmers.

Next to Yacouba, former missionary and WorldVision Australia’s Tony Rinaudo (known amongst many as one of the ‘godfathers’ for FMNR) also won the Right Livelihoods Award this year. For more information please visit: https://www.rightlivelihoodaward.org/2018-announcement/yacouba-sawadogo/

YACOUBA SAWADOGO, A FARMER FROM YATENGA PROVINCE IN NORTHERN BURKINA FASO, IS KNOWN AS “THE MAN WHO STOPPED THE DESERT”.

SCIENTIFIC GUIDANCE FROM INERAINERA developed a simple guide to help partners iden-tify and select potentially relevant sites for the practice of FMNR. Moreover, INERA helped partners with the identification of potential sites by satellite imagery. Once this is done by the implementing partners, they take the geographic coordinates back to INERA. Using satellite imagery, the initial state (reference state) of each selected site is then characterised (physiogno-my, surface state, vegetation index, etc.). The in situ verification consists of understanding the reality of ground and by beginning the documentation of the process of the change. Furthermore, INERA made field visits to the sites of APEDR and ASMADE. These visits revealed two social approaches used. APEDR favours the restoration of bare spaces (zipélé in Mooré) and their area of influence as gateway. But in this com-munity approach, each member of the community is responsible for their communal space. It is therefore an approach that combines the community and the individual approach, also known as the cluster ap-proach. ASMADE has an individual approach based on voluntary membership of 1-3 ha scattered in village lands. Each member producer intervenes in his or her

family farm without worrying about the status (adherent or not) of a neighbour.

From experience in Burkina Faso, community-based ecosystem restoration experiences in Burkina Faso generally fail. APEDR’s “cluster” approach focused on bare spaces seems to work better. It combines community and individual approaches, and offers the opportunity to track and document development processes that use individual interests to realise the general interest of restoring landscapes. Landscape restoration is essential to produce global ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, as well as individual benefits. The individual approach advocated by ASMADE is interesting because it allows voluntary producers to practice FMNR on village soil and create ‘school fields’ that demonstrate the benefits to neigh-bouring communities (farmer-to-farmer dissemination). Volunteer producers thus become disseminators of knowledge, their farms operate as school fields and become epicentres of clusters that lead to landscape restoration: the ultimate goal of “Communities Regreen the Sahel”.

30 31SpecialResults Burkina Faso

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DRONESOne of the most innovative changes related to communication in this project is the possibility to use drones for sharing images and get useful insights in the realities of the intervention areas. In Burkina Faso the first drones were purchases by APEDR (see pictures) and used in their intervention area. Following in the footsteps of APEDR the other members of the network also invested in drones. We hope to soon see the images from other areas, so that these can contribute to more exchange and visibility and inspiration within the network. But most of all, we think it is important to show to a wider audience how degradation and drought are progressing on one hand, and how on the other hand the great results of regreening are already countering this.

COMMUNITY RADIOCommunity leaders and the technical services in several communities in Burkina Faso participated in radio broadcasts which were made to diffuse the project on a wider scale. In Niger Dallol Doutchi radio conducted and recorded interviews with knowledgeable people about DOB project activities. The purpose of these interviews is to inform and sensitise the population about the activities in the DOB project. A month-long message-and-interview-contract was signed with three local radio stations covering all DOB project communities in Niger.

FOLDERIn order to hand out clear information about the programme, for instance to policy makers, community leaders, other NGOs, and local and international journalists and media, some of the members of the consortium felt there was a need to have a joint folder. The communication department of Both ENDS took it upon itself to draft the text and share it within the consortium for comments. By the end of 2018, the text was made final, translated into French, designed and printed in French and English. Each country-coordinator can choose to use this version of the folder in their country or to modify it according to their specific local needs and audience.

32 33Special

Communication

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Senegal

S E N E G A L

M A U R I T A N I A

M A L I

With its Sudan-Sahelian climate, and a rainy season from June to October, Senegal has an average annual rainfall in between 300 mm in the semi-desert north to 1200 mm in the south, with year-to-year variations. Senegal covers an area of 196.722 square kilometres. The influence of climate and hydrology as well as the nature of the soils determine the vegetation zones, and hence density and variety of trees. The northern Sahelian zone is covered with sparse vegetation, while the savannah, rich in fauna, characterises the Sudanese areas. The thick forest is located in the sub-Guinean zone, limited to the region of low Casamance. 60% of Senegalese people live in rural areas, and depend heavily on the natural resources for their livelihoods and production activities. Unfortunately, farmers continue to face a downward

trend in agricultural production despite all attempts to meet the challenge of productivity, and this for almost two decades. The main reasons are related to the degradation of the environment and the climatic changes which are manifested by the lack of rainfall, soil erosion and soil salinisation.

Senegal’s main objective for 2018 was to establish a successful and working national consortium of partners to implement the “Communities Regreen the Sahel” programme. We are happy to say that in Senegal, we have a successful and working consortium composed of the National Forest Research Centre of the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (CNRF / ISRA), ENDA Energie, ENDA Pronat and IED Afrique as its national coordinator.

34 35RegionMap

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2018about

In conversation with Mamadou FallWORKING ON SDGS WITH A STRONG INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH“FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THE DOB PROGRAMME IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS BECAUSE OF ITS DURATION. IN GENERAL, SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT PROJECTS ARE PLANNED FOR A SHORT TIME AND AS A CONSEQUENCE IT IS DIFFICULT TO SEE THE RESULTS BEFORE THE END OF THE PROJECT.

MAMADOU FALL

“W ith DOB, the duration and the interdisciplinary

and multi-stakeholder approach (research, market, advocacy) make it possible to strengthen the implementation of the project and to observe changes before the end of the project. In addition, the multi-country approach and the establishment of country coordination units enables us to learn and adopt different approaches to achieve results. The country coordination units can exchange and reinforce each other during implementation, which increases the chances of success in implementation. Another element that makes this programme special is that it takes FMNR as a gateway to not only contribute to the regreening of the Sahel, but also and above all to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the communities and thus to fight against migration. With this, we also touch on multiple SDGs, which is a nice benefit.”

SENEGAL’S PRIDE: DOBS FIRST ANNUAL MEETING“In 2018, my pride was to host the teams of Burkina Faso and Niger in Senegal for the first annual meeting of the consortium. It allowed to exchange with them on “the wonders of Niger”, and the democratic multi-stakeholder approach in Burkina Faso. It was a great way to exchange learnings and it inspired us as the Senegalese team to better understand our efforts and dynamics concerning regreening

in the Sahel. Notably, I have to add the beautiful dynamics of sharing and mutual reinforcement, both between the countries and between the members of the consortia that the project allowed to set up. The other element that can make people proud is the real need of agroforestry development and FMNR in particular, expressed by the communities during the prospecting missions in the field. It is clear that we are addressing a need which is alive in communities.”

NATIONAL DYNAMICS“The biggest challenge in 2018 for me and my team at IED Afrique was the mobilisation of actors and stakeholders that are not part of

the consortium, but are active in different regreening initiatives in Senegal. I felt this mobilisation was necessary in order to be most effective in lobby and advocacy towards our local and national government bodies. The actors took a little time to join the process and we noticed that many share the same vision but it is hard to get everybody at the table on a national level sometimes. Luckily, this challenge was dealt with at the end of the year, where we launched a consortium-wide

The other element that can make people proud is the real need of agroforestry development and FMNR in particular

communication approach to ensure better and more open communication between all actors.”

BUILDING ON EVERYONE’S COMPETENCE “In Senegal, the collaboration between the consortium partners is going well. The constitution of the consortium is based on a competency-based approach, so the members are complementary in the interventions, making sure that all members work in

synergy with one another. For the follow-up of the activities, monthly coordination meetings are organised for a good communication but also to ensure the execution of the work plan of the consortium. I’m looking forward to a new year, where we will be able to see the first results on the ground. Our baseline study has shown that we have picked the right communities to build the regreening movement in Senegal and to connect the dots. We are ready!”

ResultsFIRST PLANNING MEETING AND INSTITUTIONAL ORGANISATION The first activity in Senegal was the launch workshop and the site visit organised in Fandène, in the region of Thiès. During the meeting, which was hosted by IED Afrique in March, several national partners discussed a strategy to FMNR in Senegal.

After the initial launch, several meetings were organised to discuss planning activities and organise the consortium institutionally. The first year was devoted to defining the baseline situation and identifying project intervention sites. The consortium conducted baseline studies regarding opportunities and potential to promote FMNR. This study included household studies and inventory operations for the identification of species present in the sites. Furthermore, opportunities of value chains for non-timber forest products and their markets were analysed. To work on an enabling policy environment,

a stakeholder engagement strategy was established to define an advocacy approach for policy reform as well as advocating for a better institutional framework for the promotion of FMNR in Senegal. Here a baseline was carried out on the institutional and political framework of regreening at the national level since independence. After validation of the annual work plan, it became evident that the Senegal team divided their roles and responsibilities based on everyone’s expertise.

Next to working with the consortium partners, IED Afrique engaged other partner organisations in Senegal, such as IUCN, GREEN Senegal, the Great Green Wall Secretariat, CSE, the National Parks Directorate, World Vision and the Federation of Senegalese NGOs. The purpose of these meetings was to present the initiative to the different actors but also to create a synergy of action according to the areas of competence of each actor.

36 37Results SenegalInterview Senegal

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FIRST FIELD VISITS AND IDENTIFICATION OF SITES The first field visits were a means to identify and meet local actors in the sites. Partners met with farmers, agro-pastoral farmers’ organisations, women’s groups, state agents such as the sub-prefet, Eaux et Forets, CADL and ANCAR, mayors, members of village committees, local NGOs and associations involved in regreening. For the initial visits, partners visited 9 communities in 5 different regions to understand the local dynamics regarding FMNR.

The conclusion from the visits was that in the different areas, there are relevant experiences in restoring vegetation cover, mainly through the use of defences and FMNR. Although most initiatives were facilitated by partners and/or projects, there are several personal initiatives that are the work of true pioneers, which work like ‘oil patches’ (fast spread of knowledge through farmer networks). Despite their limited access to land, some women have fields with FMNR and are relatively well represented in the village committees. Some areas have real potential for the valuation of non-timber forest products. At the level of the zones visited, the actors are eager and willing to scale up the different experiences of restoration of the vegetal cover, notably through FMNR.

After the field visits, the first four intervention sites were chosen. Daga Birame in the community of Ndiognick, is characterised because of its high potential for valuing non-timber forest products, the existence of a platform developed by CNRF and the involvement of women in FMNR activities. The subsequent sites are the municipalities of Diouroup and Tatttagin. They stand out because of their experience in mobilizing communities for the practice of FMNR and the diversity of their FMNR experience, and because of the existence of a local convention and watchmen, strong involvement of local authorities, women’s initiatives, participation in governance bodies and the potential for the development of non-timber forest products and its importance of intercommunity (Diouroup, Tattaguine and Diarrèhe). In the north, Senegal chose to work in Khatre Sy, where there is a huge potential for up-scaling of 1.449 hectares. Moreover, there are innovative experiences with selected families and a presence of partners. The fourth intervention zone is Koussanar, also in the north. Koussanar was chosen because of its scale-up potential of over 4.339 hectares, its dynamic and committed communities and high potential for the involvement of women and women’s groups.

Derived from the baseline study, shows that agriculture is the main activity of household heads in Mbayenne and Ndiognick communes. In the commune of Mboula livestock is the main household activity (60%). This explains a little the distribution of ethnic groups in these areas. Indeed, the Fulani ethnic group is more oriented towards cattle herding whereas Wolof is more active in agriculture.

Derived from the baseline study, this table shows that the density of shrubs to be conserved in FMNR as well as the minimum distance between shrubs vary from one zone to another and from one producer to another. In Mboula, a pastoral area, 33% of producers maintain a density of 40 to 50 shrubs / ha with a minimum distance of 15 to 20 m. In the commune, the availability of land does not constitute a constraint, one finds high densities of shrubs in the fields. On the other hand, in Mbayène and Ndiognick, agricultural areas, the majority of farmers keep fewer than 20 shrubs / ha (see figure 24). Nevertheless, we find producers (21%) who keep between 30 to 40 shrubs / ha.

BASELINE STUDIES AND A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY The baseline studies in the identified sites were intended to provide information on past and current experiences with sustainable land and natural resource management. The objective of the first study - the biophysical and environmental one - was to have a critical mass of biophysical, environmental and socio-economic information of the situation of FMNR in the project areas. It provides a qualitative and quantitative database of the “pre-intervention” situation. The study analyses the vulnerability of communities and ecosystems in the targeted areas, characterises the production systems and evaluates the performance of FMNR in these systems. It studies the potentialities and organisational and institutional constraints of

the communities, as well as the potentialities and constraints related to the valuation and access to the market of products derived from FMNR. Lastly, it defines the current socio-economic conditions as well as the food and nutritional situations of the population of the targeted areas. This information is used to define a list of basic indicators with reference data in order to easily measure the impacts, effects and results of the interventions. Additionally, a specific study was done on NTFPs in relation to FMNR. Here, the potential sectors and the organisational and stakeholder dynamics and the value chains in relation to their vulnerability to climate change, desertification, local development and their capacity to create jobs is analysed.

The baseline studies in the identified sites were intended to provide information on past and current experiences with sustainable land and natural resource management

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

38 39Results SenegalResults Senegal

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Agriculture Livestock herding

Artisanal Trade Other

Mboula

Mbayenne

Ndiognick

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Mboula Mbayenne Ndiognick

[ 30-40 [< 10

[ 10-20 [

[ 20-30 [

[ 40-50 [

> 50

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Lastly, a review of the legal framework of regreening policies in Senegal was done. This analysis is part of an approach to better guide advocacy activities in the framework of this project that aims to bring about changes in the institutional framework, so that FMNR has a favourable legal environment for its promotion. The team in Senegal has also put in place a communication strategy to strengthen the advocacy work and the diffusion of efforts to scale up FMNR. In terms of web communication, an online section has been set up (www.iedafrique.org) to share communication materials and project news in Senegal as well as other media. This section will also be a framework for presenting other countries’ news, tools and useful links.

EVALUATING 2018In December, a national results sharing meeting was planned, but it proved very difficult to get all partners together because of time. Therefore, this meeting is planned for 2019, after the presidential elections. This meeting will be a restitution of all baseline studies and will validate the national Senegalese strategy. The lessons learned from 2018 are valid for the action plans of the coming years. In 2018, they mainly focused on setting up the consortium to take into account the different skills needed for proper implementation. The collaborative approach was adopted as part of the start-up and implementation, an approach based on the distinctive competencies of the consortium members. ISRA / CNRF for research, ENDA Energie for markets, ENDA Pronat for organisational dynamics and

IED Afrique for lobbying and advocacy. As a result, the major issue is coordination, in which communication plays a central role.

Elaborating and understanding the starting point in Senegal, stemming from the baseline studies, clearly show that the municipalities located in the bassin arachidier are essentially agricultural, while in the sylvo-pastoral zone there is a dominance of pastoralists. The practice of FMNR is quite recent in the communes of Mboula and Ndiognick while it is an ancient technique and long practice in the town

of Mbayène. The main constraints of the adoption of FMNR and regreening initiatives for Senegal are essentially the non-involvement of stakeholders, especially the transhumance in revegetation activities, the encroachment of regeneration actions on grazing areas that create conflicts, the non-mastery of codes and laws by the communities leading to a fear of appropriation of green spaces, the lack of mastery of sylvo-cultural management methods, the insufficiency of the economic benefits of FMNR and the lack of awareness of the need to develop community actions for regreening.

To remove these constraints, the team in Senegal will continue to focus its actions in the coming years on capacity building of communities with a focus on a better understanding of agro-sylvo-pastoral codes and laws. Furthermore, capacity building of various actors for adaptation and mitigation to the effects of climate change are needed. The team in Senegal will closely follow changes in the coming years through three observatories and participatory action research. On a national and cross-country level, they aim to establish and operationalise an exchange and sharing framework. For the communities and their economic

motivations, it is important to focus on climate-smart regeneration technologies (FMNR enhanced by the introduction of high value-added species, protection enhanced by the introduction of useful species, improved and adapted varieties and climate services) and development of income generating activities. In doing so, the team in Senegal truly believes that scaling up FMNR can be achieved, especially when champion villages and farmers are spreading the message even further.

The team in Senegal has also put in place a communication strategy to strengthen the advocacy work and the diffusion of efforts

40 41Results SenagalResults Senegal

Head of household %

Average age (years)

Marital stage (%)

Ethnic (%)

Education level (%)

MenWomen PolygamousMonogamousDivorcedWidowedSingleWolofSérèreFulaniMandingueMoorishFormal

Informal

Characteristics heads of households Senegal Mboula

991535147000811001714402911

Mbayène

9505060372207727150531871

Ndiognick

100062485000239061001533528

PrimarySecondary SuperiorKoranicliteracy

CommunityTable 1

Derived from the baseline study, shows land Cover System in the municipality of Ndiognick, the sylvo-pastoral region of Louga

Map 1

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42 43

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Annual meeting 2018

A diverse group of almost 30 researchers, coordinators, lobbyists, local market

developers and trainers in the field of Regreening, somewhere between twenty-something and seventy-plus years of age, but all sharing their enthusiasm and all ready to make this programme happen. It was great to see and experience the great mutual interest and the constructive way of working on the synchronisation of planning, monitoring and reporting methods.

ROTATING CHAIRMANEach day of the meeting another country was asked to be ‘chair’.

Niger provided the chairman on day 1, which was the kick-off. On this day, the country teams presented their plans. No ‘dry’ stories, but passionate experiences and plans, for which all participants showed genuine mutual interest. The organisations from Senegal and Burkina Faso wanted to know, for instance, how Niger succeeded in getting both farmers and pastoralists enthusiastic about FMNR. In many areas the pastoralists are seen as a threat to greening (due to overgrazing and because they do not respect boundaries). However, as experience from Niger showed, when these pastoralists see that

certain crops are very beneficial for their livestock and it is therefore also an added value for them if there is more green (to eat), constructive joint solutions are often possible.

OBSERVATORIESNiger proposed to set up observatories in three different climatic zones, from which long-term research and monitoring can be done. Figures on rainfall, soil bacteria, tree and plant species, climatic changes, but also social changes such as cohesion, better dialogue and improved income can be systematically collected here. It was agreed that the three experts from ICRAF will take care of setting up these observatories - 3 per country – and that they will be tested during the baseline study.

FIELD VISIT TO MAMPUYAOn the third day we visited the Mampuya agro-ecological farm. Over the past seventeen years, 49 hectares of land - that had been completely demolished and bare – were transformed into a green oasis. There is a large plant diversity and thanks to the modest but important revenues from small livestock and (vegetable) gardening, the center is almost self-financing. 80% of the people who work there come from the surrounding communities and also benefit from everything that grows and flourishes, such as crucial medicinal plants.

After four days of exchanging, brainstorming and hard work, all partners felt that they could further tighten up their country plans, were on the same page in terms of monitoring and reporting and had a better view and understanding of budget planning.

‘WHAT WE DID THE LAST 4 DAYS MADE THINGS CRYSTAL CLEAR’THIS WAS ONE OF THE CLEAREST STATEMENTS THAT UNDERLINED OUR SENSE OF A SUCCESSFUL MEETING. FROM 2 TO 5 OCTOBER, WE SPENT FOUR DAYS IN TOUBAB DIALAW, 30 KILOMETERS OUTSIDE DAKAR, WITH SIX TO SEVEN REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH OF THE THREE AFRICAN PARTNER COUNTRIES, PLUS FOUR DELEGATES FROM THE NETHERLANDS.

44 45

No ‘dry’ stories, but passionate

experiences and plans, for which all participants showed genuine mutual

interest

SpecialSpecial

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Sahel in the spotlightCOINCIDENTLY OR NOT, JUST AROUND THE TIME OF THE START OF OUR DOB PROGRAMME IN BURKINA FASO, SENEGAL AND NIGER, ATTENTION FROM THE NETHERLANDS TOWARDS THE SAHEL INCREASED. THE THEMATIC FOCUS OF THE NEW POLICY OF THE DUTCH MINISTRY FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AND FOREIGN TRADE IS MAINSTREAMING GENDER AND CLIMATE DISCUSSIONS, WHILE THE REGIONAL FOCUS IS THE ‘RING AROUND EUROPE’, INCLUDING THE SAHEL. EVEN THOUGH THE NATIONAL DISCOURSE IN THE NETHERLANDS IS MAINLY CONCENTRATED ON COUNTERING MIGRATION TO EUROPE, DURING THE PAST YEAR WE HAVE HAD MANY DYNAMIC DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE SAHEL AT THE MINISTRY. IN THIS SPECIAL WE WILL HIGHLIGHT THIS (NEW) ATTENTION WITHIN THE NETHERLANDS TOWARDS THE SAHEL.

SAHARA – A SERIES BY BRAM VERMEULEN In November 2018, Dutch VPRO series Sahara by Dutch Africa-correspondent Bram Vermeulen was broadcasted on television. I (Fiona) met Bram Vermeulen and his team at the airport in Niamey in July when they were shooting the series. They were on their way to Agadez and I was on my way to Ouagadougou for a planning meeting with the team in Burkina Faso. We were both equally surprised to meet other Dutch people at the airport, so we had coffee and discussed their trip and mine. The Sahara series were widely seen and discussed in the Netherlands as it also touched upon the ‘other side’ of the migration debate. In interviews after the series in

both de Volkskrant and NRC, Vermeulen rightfully pointed out that the migration debate should focus more on numbers instead of feelings. He gave the example of the amount of Nigeriens coming to the Netherlands: a yearly statistic of -1 (where 2 came in and 3 left). In this series the impressive inhabitants of the Sahara and the Sahel give us a glimpse into their daily lives in this remote, often harsh, but beautiful part of the world.

NEW EMBASSIES AND NEW STRATEGIESWith the opening of three new embassy offices (detaches from the official embassy in Mali) the Dutch are looking for an integral approach, together with European partners such as Luxemburg,

Belgium and France. They want to tackle issues of migration, insecurity, education and land degradation and are doing so with their new Sahel strategy. After having numerous talks at the Dutch Ministry, it also seemed important to talk to embassies. In 2018, we talked to the new ambassador of Chad and Niger, and with the current one in Senegal. In Senegal and in The Hague it was noticeable that many policy makers asked why our approach would work, when other regreening projects (bois du village and others) of the ’80s and ‘90s had failed to ensure sustainability of trees planted. Our main answer in all these discussions is the importance of letting local partners and the farmers they work with be the main drivers of regreening. Ensuring possibilities for them to invest in their land (i.e. having the right to own land and trees), increases options for market development for the sustainable production of timber and non-timber forest products, which – in the end – could also mean that more people choose to stay.

INSECURITY AND RED ZONES – WORKING IN THE SAHEL Next to the issues of land degradation and desertification, the Sahel is increasingly experiencing more instability and insurgency from militant and ‘jihadist’ groups. Poverty, pressing effects of climate change, increased radicalisation and increasing ethnic violence are affecting peace and stability

throughout the region and move beyond the conflict in Mali, which escalated in 2012. In 2018 alone, Burkina Faso has seen numerous attacks on military posts and now also on civilians, whereas Niger has declared a state of emergency for more even regions in the country. The state of emergency reflects back in so called red zones foreigners are prohibited to travel to, because governments can no longer ensure safety. The increasing conflict in the Sahel has a complex nature and needs more explanation than just three phrases here. Scholars working on the topics of ethnic conflict and militarisation, are warning that the toxic combination of a young population that is not listened to, repressing governments and old nomadic and sedentary conflicts will increase conflicts if not properly addressed. Furthermore, ever since 2012, they have warned that militarisation (i.e. the UN MINUSMA mission in Mali and other foreign military forces in the region, including the armies from the G5 Sahel countries: Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Chad) is enforcing violence and radicalisation, rather than fixing it.

De Bruijn, van Dijk and Sangare note in a recent opinion piece as a reaction to an RFI published article how: “In October 2014, Malian Fulbe nomads organised a big meeting to appeal to the Malian state and the international community to ask for assistance in their region. They foresaw huge problems. The result of this meeting that was a call for help was no reply nor action. Their reaction was hence to organise their own defence. The youth retreated in the bush, in much dispersed groups, and organised with the help of social media and SMS. They started to attack their

own elites and the state agents (police, service techniques and military units) who they considered as traitors too. The answer of the state was repression. What do we expect from a population that is not listened to? A population that is dissociated from its own elites? Latent conflicts have become wars between the farmers and the herders and between herders themselves around natural resource, and the state has become an absent entity that discriminates and defines the Fulani-nomads as terrorists.”

The above situation relates to the conflict in Mali, but can be directly translated to the Burkinabe and Nigerien context. Thankfully, our partners are still able to implement their activities and have not been affected by insurgencies and

attacks in Burkina Faso and (the borders with) Mali. Despite this, we are following the situation closely and will adjust our activities to ensure the safety of our partners and the communities they work with. We are, however, also highly convinced that community-led FMNR activities, including social contracts between farmers and cattle herders for the use of land and trees, are a positive counter narrative and development against this increased instability in the Sahel.

46 47SpecialSpecial

Our main answer in all these discussions is the importance of letting local partners and the farmers they work with be the main drivers of regreening

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A sneak peek into 2019

48 49PreviewPreview

THE COMING YEAR IS A VERY EXCITING ONE FOR THE “COMMUNITIES REGREEN THE SAHEL”- FAMILY, WHICH WE JOINTLY CRATED AND STRENGTHENED IN 2018. WE ARE OPENLY COMMUNICATING AND SHARING RESPONSIBILITIES ON A NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, WHILE WORKING TOWARDS OUR COMMON GOAL.

N ow that all countries are up to speed, have a working consortium in which everyone knows what to expect from one another, and have

prepared and executed their base-line studies, it is a matter of rolling up our sleeves and getting to work! In 2019, we have a lot of interesting things coming up.

INSPIRATION AND LEARNINGIn January 2019, there is the first inspiration trip to the miracle of FMNR in Niger. From January 23-31, Omer (SPONG), Mamadou and Lancelot (IED Afrique), Toudou and Abasse (CRESA), Paul and Fiona (Both ENDS), Chris (advisor to the program), and people from the service technique in Niger are travelling from Niamey to Zinder to get inspiration on what it actually is we are talking about: regreening on a massive scale, led and managed by farmers themselves. The main goal for us all is to set the stage for our vision. Next to the trip in Niger in January, we are anticipating multiple exchange visits on a national level, as planned, but to also a broader exchange visit is to be organised on a regional level between champion farmers of all countries. The idea is to get Sakina and Ali from Maradi (Niger) – now officially part of our ‘family’ in Niger as trainers as well as champion

farmers from Kaffrine (Senegal) – to meet Yacouba Sawadogo and his son’s local organisation, in Yacouba’s forest in Yatenga (Burkina Faso) to exchange ideas and lessons learned and think about how we can increase the scale.

INTERNATIONAL DISCUSSIONS AND NATIONAL MEET-UPSIn 2019 we aim to be present at several international discussion fora as a consortium. This year we foresee our presence at the third Beating the Famine conference in Bamako, Mali in February. Moreover, SPONG, will be the host of Desertif’actions 2019, the pre-UNCCD COP, which will be held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in July. Naturally, we will have a strong presence of our partners there to share lessons learned and to encourage decision-makers to adopt more bottom-up regreening approaches. Also, some of the partners will share their knowledge about FMNR as a way to adapt to climate change at one of the Board Meetings of the Green Climate Fund. And last but not least, some partners will be travelling to India for the 14th UNCCD COP.

Next to these international meetings, partners foresee having national discussions with their Ministries of Environment concerning the importance of the Green Climate Fund, and their national engagement.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY: HECTARES HECTARES HECTARESHowever, of course, next to all the sharing, linking, learning and conferencing, our partners will mainly be doing what they do best: train farmers on Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration, help communities

Loukmane - Ali - Yacouba - Sakina @ Beating Famine

Service technique - Niger

organise themselves in inclusive village committees to monitor their fields, work on understanding their market potential and exploit their trees in a way to sustainably produce timber and non-timber forest products, use rural radio networks to “preach” the word of FMNR and its benefits, and work together with local and national governments and their implementing partners (service techniques) to make sure the farmers have a policy environment in which they can scale up, not scale down.

Trip through Niger, January 2019

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Programme coordination and technical backstopEnabling environmentIndirect costsSubtotal Both ENDS

Technical implementation

Project staff ActivitiesEnabling environment

Project staff International networksActivitiesAccess to market

Project staff ActivitiesProgramme coordination and supervision

Indirect costs

Subtotal Niger

Inception phase

Project staff - Inception paper Technical implementation

Project staffActivitiesEnabling environment

Project staffActivitiesAccess to market

Project staff ActivitiesProgramme coordination and supervision

Indirect costs

Subtotal Senegal

Inception phase

Project staff - Inception paperTechnical implementation

Project staffActivitiesEnabling environment

Project staffActivitiesAccess to market

Project staffActivitiesProgramme coordination and supervision

Indirect costs

Subtotal Burkina Faso

GRAND TOTAL

203,00041,00018,685

262,685

212,72752,000

25,000 6,00010,000

30,0006,000

28,000

21,835

305,835

25,00015,000

59,500 13,000

13,0001,000

5,000

18,500

9,050

151,050

25,00015,000

59,50013,000

5,0002,744

5,000

18,5007,300

151,050

870,620

172,05725,17015,500

212,727

53,89843,817

12,5011,2204,649

14,6093,214

72,068

20,336

226,312

20,37818,500

14,877 2,159

5,0001,500

6,800

17,80012,66499,678

24,00015,000

51,00019,364

2,2562,744

3,825

19,67510,000

147,864

686,581

2018This first annual report has been developed as a result of the first year of “Communities Regreen the Sahel”, a programme funded by DOB Ecology and coordinated by Both ENDS. This programme aims to scale-up Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration in Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal to ensure food security and increase biodiversity and community resilience.

Editor: Masja HelmerDesign: Margo Vlamings

Date: March 2019

PHOTO CREDITSMost pictures in this report have been made by:Lancelot Ehode Soumelong, Sayouba Bonkougnou, Didier Alou Tidjani, Abasse Tougiani, Masja Helmer,Roos Nijpels, Fiona Dragstra, Staff of local partners and facilitators in communities

Where possible or applicable we have asked the people on the picture consent for the use of the picture for communication purposes.

50 51Financial report

SENEGAL

BURKINA FASO

Both ENDS

BUDGET ACTUAL

Colophon

NIGER

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