In response to the many challenges experienced by the populations of the Sahel in Burkina Faso over the last few years, SOCODEVI is setting up a project to strengthen the resilience of more than 8,000 women and 2,000 young men in vulnerable situations and their communities, while also helping along biodiversity conservation.
The efforts of the Women and Youth Taking Action for Sustainable Ecosystems (FAED) project will foster the region’s socio-economic stability and help better manage natural resources, which are key to promoting sustainable development, diminishing inequalities, furthering social cohesion, and fighting the rural exodus of young people.
In all, the project will have impacts for more than 40,000 people across a dozen communities.
Reforestation as an essential catalyst for the region
The ecosystem restoration and conservation activities under this new SOCODEVI initiative will contribute to improving degraded soils contaminated by farming and mining activities. Moreover, with the FAED project, our teams will be working to strengthen plant and animal biodiversity, capture and store carbon, and preserve water resources.
These efforts will also serve to regulate local microclimates and improve the resilience of families’ agricultural activities. To this end, the restoration models will emphasize the value of local knowledge.
Gender equality still a key concern
Due to the difficult context in the region, women are more limited in their ability to engage in income-generating activities. The Sahelian region of Burkina Faso, which is particularly characterized by patriarchal socio-cultural and religious norms, is the region where gender inequalities are most pronounced.
With FAED’s implementation strategies in the communes of Dori, Gorom-Gorom and Falagountou, the intent is for local farmers’ organizations and co-ops to be strengthened and for political actors to become more committed to equitable and inclusive natural resource governance.
Through the project, SOCODEVI will also adopt a cross-cutting approach to positive masculinity in order to create constructive spaces for dialogue and reflection with men, including activities to deconstruct stereotypes as well as the involvement of influential people. Close collaboration will be established with local partners who possess an understanding of gender equality issues as they relate to local dynamics, power relations and existing tensions in the targeted areas.
FAED is made possible by $24.5 million in funding from the government of Canada over a seven-year period.