BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
The Government of Côte d’Ivoire has aligned with the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) to unveil additional $24 million funding through the Integrated Programme for Development and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Niger Basin (PIDACC-BN).
Disclosed during a programme monitoring mission to assess progress and prepare for the next phase of investment, the project was specifically targeted at addressing climate shocks in Côte d’Ivoire.
The additional funding comprises a loan of US $6.87 million from the AfDB, a loan of US $12.6 million and a grant of US $1.9 million from the Climate Investment Funds' Forest Investment Programme, as well as a counterpart contribution of US $2.7 million from the Ivorian government.
While additional funding will help Côte d’Ivoire and its partners to accelerate the restoration of forest cover in the former ‘cocoa belt’, it is expected to strengthen the resilience of rural communities and contribute to national efforts to combat the effects of climate change.
During the mission, one hundred tricycles were handed over to seedling production groups, and twenty-three motorbikes to rural extension workers, to strengthen operational capacity.
The PIDACC-BN programme was launched in 2018 to strengthen communities’ climate resilience, restore degraded ecosystems and promote the sustainable management of natural resources.
It covers the nine countries of the Niger Basin (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Chad) even as Niger Basin Authority (ABN), based in Niger coordinates activities for the region. But in Côte d’Ivoire, the programme operates in the national sub-basin of the River Niger as well as in the Centre region, benefiting more than 1.8 million people.
The new phase of the programme, to be funded by the additional investment will cover five regions in central Côte d’Ivoire (Gbêkê, Bélier, Iffou, Moronou and N’Zi) and will directly benefit around 30,000 people, mainly women and young people.
On the planned investments, the project will cover the production of over seven million forest seedlings, establishment of 6,000 hectares of agroforestry systems, restoration of nearly 3,300 hectares of forest plantations, as well as support for livestock farming, market gardening and agro-processing.
The project is in line with Côte d’Ivoire’s National Development Plan, likewise the 2024–2033 ten-year strategy, as well as the AfDB group’s ‘Four Cornerstones’.
Chief of Staff and General Conservator of Water and Forests, Elvire Joëlle Zouzou assured the availability of funding, partners and technical expertise to fast-track the projects.
Zouzou, who represented the Minister for Water and Forests, Jacques Assahoré Konan added: “We have the funding. We have partners. We have the technical expertise. Above all, we have communities expecting results. It is now up to us to turn these resources into sustainable results.”
Chief Programme Officer for West Africa at the AfDB, Tandina Abdoulaye was excited that the bank is supporting the new phase of the programme.
“The encouraging results achieved to date demonstrate that well-targeted investments can restore ecosystems, strengthen the resilience of populations and pave the way for sustainable development for the benefit of communities,” Abdoulaye added.
Comments
Post a Comment