The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund has awarded a grant of $9.48 million to implement the Community and Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation in the Wetlands of the Sahel Catchment Basins Project.  

The financial support comes from the Climate Action Window (https://apo-opa.co/4i6v3Hi) -- a climate change financing mechanism backed by the African Development Fund, the concessional lending window of the African Development Bank Group.  

The funding will address a range of climate and human-induced challenges affecting the Sahel's main river catchments. The Sahelian wetlands of the catchment basins in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Senegal are subject to ongoing degradation due to unsustainable exploitation practices, ineffective management of natural resources and the low resilience of agro-sylvo-pastoral and fishery systems, aggravated by the effects of climate change. 

The first stage of the project aims to strengthen actions for the conservation and sustainable management of ecosystems in fragile zones, by conducting a study of the vulnerability of Sahelian ecosystems to climate change. This study will be carried out in the eight wetlands in the intervention area with the close involvement of local stakeholders. The priority green economy sites and activities resulting from this study will be supported to empower women's and youth groups.  

The second component promotes the equitable and sustainable management of water resources and the development of agroforestry and fisheries production by strengthening community capacities and local governance. 

The third component of the project aims to build the capacities of the Climate Commission for the Sahel Region (CCRS), improve local climate services and develop early warning systems for better anticipation of climate-related risks. 

The aim of the fourth component is to ensure the smooth coordination of the project by setting up and running a regional Project Management Unit (PMU), attached to the CCRS, as well as taking charge of the project's personnel, administrative accounting and financial management, and governance bodies through regular meetings of the regional steering committee, national and regional technical supervision, and coordination with institutional partners. It also aims to ensure realistic planning, rigorous monitoring of implementation, performance evaluation and capitalizing on best practices. 

In Burkina Faso, the project will operate in the Oubri and Kuilsé regions, covering two cross-border catchment basins (Volta and Niger). In Mali, the project will involve the Bougouni (Yanfolila) region, comprising six protected areas (two classified forests, one gallery forest/springhead, two wildlife reserves and one wetland). In Niger, it will be implemented in two wetlands classified as Ramsar sites (the Dallol Bosso and the Mare de Tabalak) which form part of the Niger basin. In Senegal, the project will be implemented in the Senegal River Biosphere Reserve, notably in the departments of Saint-Louis and Dagana.