CECI is proud to announce the launch of an international climate cooperation project in Burkina Faso, thanks to $999,999 in financing from the Government of Quebec’s Green Fund as part of the 2013–2020 Climate Change Action Plan.
Working with women shea butter producers from the rural regions of Centre-Ouest and Hauts-Bassin, this cooperation project in Burkina Faso aims to improve their resiliency to climate change. With support from the Ouranos consortium and Canadian business GECA Environnement, the project will be carried out in close collaboration with partner organizations from Burkina Faso so as to ensure the fight against climate change is truly taken up locally.
“We are very happy to receive financial support from the Government of Quebec to implement this project. CECI has been working in Burkina Faso since 1985, and shea butter production is one of its most important areas of intervention in the country. Through the promotion of best practises and the acquisition of new, more efficient techniques, considerable progress has been made over the years with respect to environmental stewardship. This project falls within this context and will allow the targeted communities, especially the women, to better prepare for the impact climate change will have on their environment and, by extension, on their social and economic life,” explained Claudia Black, CECI’s Executive Director.
In Burkina Faso, shea production is the main source of income for close to 1.5 million people, 90% of which are women. However, the industry is faced today with many challenges brought about by climate change. Increasing temperatures, extreme weather events and attacks from parasites have all been contributing to the progressive extinction of shea plantations. Furthermore, with wood being its main energy source for cooking food and processing shea butter, the region is facing a serious deforestation crisis. The country’s efforts to make the industry more resilient to climate change are hampered by the lack of meteorological data, which would help manage climate-related risks in shea’s value chain more efficiently.
Specifically, the financial support will allow CECI and its partners to:
Provide the actors of the industry with meteorological data and weather scenarios specific to the region and relevant to shea production. This will allow better informed short- and long-term decision-making to adapt to climate change;
Offer training on agroforestry techniques adapted to future weather;
Provide training and technical support to implement alternatives to firewood, including solar dryers, plant waste briquettes, and improved pyrolysis technology for organic waste to produce and use biochar, which is also useful to restore degraded farming land.
About CECI:
Founded in 1958, CECI is an international cooperation organization with a mission to combat poverty and exclusion through sustainable development projects in Asia, Africa, and Central and Latin America. To this end, CECI offers capacity building for the economic development of disadvantaged communities, and supports initiatives for gender equality, against violence, for food security and for climate change resilience and adaptation, engaging resources and promoting knowledge-sharing.
About the Green Fund:
Among other things, the Green Fund, where 100% of the proceeds from the carbon market auctions are deposited, funds the initiatives of the 2013–2020 Climate Change Action Plan. These initiatives aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve Quebec’s capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change. To this day, the carbon market has generated over 2.4 billion dollars for Quebec to support its businesses, municipalities, institutions and citizens as they transition to a more carbon-sober future.
About the International Climate Cooperation Program:
With 18 million dollars in funding over five years, the International Climate Cooperation Program is in place to support Quebec organizations from the private, international solidarity and research sectors in their projects aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to help those francophone countries most vulnerable to climate change adapt to its consequences. The program is coordinated by the Ministry of Sustainable Development, the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change.
To learn more about the International Climate Cooperation Program:
http://www.mddelcc.gouv.qc.ca/programmes/coop-climatique-internationale/
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This project is being implemented thanks to the financial support of the Government of Quebec, as part of the 2013–2020 Climate Change Action Plan, through the Green Fund.
