International Development Grant

Resilience of ecosystems and women's leadership in the Sahel

Project Number: CA-3-P012350001

Status: Operational

Country/Region:

Burkina Faso 33.33%
Niger 33.33%
Mali 33.34%

Maximum Contribution: $6,008,100.00

Start Date: March 24, 2023

End Date: March 31, 2027

Duration: 4.0 years

Project Description

The ’Resilience of Ecosystems and Women's Leadership in the Sahel’ project aims to strengthen the capacities of women communities and local organizations to identify the ecosystem and biodiversity vulnerabilities on their territories. It also intends to identify nature-based solutions as climate-change adaptation tools and integrate them into community development plans. A more sustainable and equitable use of the restored or saved ecosystems will help decrease the number of conflicts linked to natural resources and strengthen social cohesion in the Liptako-Gourma region. Project activities include: (1) providing nature-based solutions conflict resolution and advocacy training for women and marginalized groups; (2) providing technical and financial support to implement community development plans; (3) providing monitoring mobilization and citizen action training for women and marginalized groups. Direct beneficiaries are 867 932 members of the communities of the Liptako-Gourma region in Burkina Faso Mali and Niger for which 69% of them are women and 101 059 of them are internally displaced persons.

Expected Results

The expected outcomes of the project include: (1) increased use of nature-based solutions to fight against climate change for which the community development processes are women-led; (2) increase nature-based solutions that are women-led and locally adapted for ecosystem conservation restoration and sustainable use; and (3) improvement of the economic social and cultural environment of women to increase their influence in decision-making processes at the local regional and national levels.

Progress & Results Achieved

Results achieved as of March 2025 include: 1) made available 655 hectares of agricultural land (105 in Burkina Faso and 550 in Niger) to women youth and internally displaced persons to grow food increase their incomes and strengthen their skills through model sites; 2) produced and planted 80 000 fruit and forest tree seedlings to support reforestation and promote natural soil regeneration; 3) trained 673 people including 244 women on the impacts of climate change and gender issues to enhance their skills and participation in community development processes; 4) conducted 22 vulnerability assessments including 7 specifically focused on climate change (CCA) to better understand risks and adapt accordingly; 5) sensitized 490 men on women’s leadership and held 269 awareness sessions to promote sustainable social transformation through training community mobilization and gender equality advocacy; 6) trained 416 women to use the "Re-Greening Africa" app which collects data on vegetation planted species and agroforestry practices with the goal of restoring one million hectares. These results contribute to strengthening the resilience of communities in Burkina Faso Mali and Niger to climate change.

Key Information

Executing Agency:
CECI - Centre for International Studies and Cooperation

Reporting Organization:
Global Affairs Canada

Program:
WGM Africa

Last Modified:
September 19, 2025

Development Classifications

DAC Sector:

Bio-diversity 50%
Environmental education/training 50%

Aid Type: Project-type interventions

Collaboration: Bilateral

Finance Type: Aid grant excluding debt reorganisation

Selection Mechanism:
Unsolicited Proposal

Policy Markers
Level 1 Gender equality
Level 2 Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting)
Level 1 Participatory development and good governance
Level 1 Climate change mitigation
Level 2 Climate Change Adaptation
Major Funding (>$1M)
Budget Breakdown
2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31 $6,008,100 CAD
Geographic Information
000
Project Number: CA-3-P012350001