General

FAO has asked Sida for funding of 75,000,000 SEK to carry out the project named "Global transformation of Forests for People and Climate: A Focus on West Africa " during the period 2019 – 2023. The intervention builds on FAO’s existing support in the ECOWAS region and targets on three priority focus areas, namely Knowledge of the state of forest ecosystem dynamics; Forest and land related laws, policies and strategies at the sub-regional level; and Demonstration and dissemination of sustainable forest and land use practices. These focus areas were identified in the Convergence Plan endorsed by member states of ECOWAS. The expected overall results encompass all ECOWAS member countries while specific outputs and activities refer to a selection of countries that show similar ecological characteristics and challenges. ECOWAS is a key partner for implementation of the intervention together with forestry and environmental units in government agencies, NGOs and CSOs concerned with forests and land use, Indigenous peoples and local communities who reside in or near forested areas, and academia and research institutions. Based on the request from ECOWAS so as to formally report on the contribution of Sweden in the region, ECOWAS and Sweden will sign MoU in support of this project. Sida and FAO will sign a separate Contribution Agreement, under the existing FAO-SIDA Framework Agreement, signed in 2017. During the inception phase of the project, outstanding issues will be clarified and agreed upon between the partners.

Objectives

The overall objective of the contribution is to strengthen decision-making on forests and land management, and to strengthen capacity at a sub-regional level through ECOWAS and other sub-regional partners to implement elements of the regionally agreed plan called the Convergence Plan. Achieving this objective will positively contribute to the livelihoods and climate change resilience thus contributes to the achievement of the SDGs and the Paris Agreement, identified as the broader impact. In addition, identifying lessons learned and best practice will contribute to a longer-term impact through sharing in other sub-regions and globally. This intervention builds on FAO’s existing support in the region and targets three priority focus areas of the Convergence Plan, around which all the project outputs are clustered (Knowledge of the state of forest ecosystem dynamics; Forest and land related laws, policies and strategies at the sub-regional level; and Demonstration and dissemination of sustainable forest and land use practices). The expected overall results encompass all ECOWAS member countries while specific outputs and activities refer to a selection of countries that show similar ecological characteristics and challenges.  

General

The overall objective of the intervention is to foster safe, sustainable, and dignified living conditions for displacement-affected communities prone to conflict over natural resources and due to inadequate adaptable and diversified livelihood options resulting in additional barrier in accessing basic services. The project will be implemented in South Kordofan State and North Darfur State.

Objectives

The overall objective of the CASPIR project is to provide improved safe, sustainable, and dignified living conditions for displacement-affected communities as result of enhanced, diversified, and more adaptable livelihoods productivity due to inclusive, efficient land governance. The overall goal of the project is to improve the living conditions of communities in South Kordofan and North Darfur fostering diversification and adaptability of livelihoods systems through efficient, sustainable, and inclusive natural resources governance, with specific focus on land. In order to achieve the objectives, the project is designed along two long-term outcomes: Outcome 1: Increased peaceful co-existence among targeted communities as result of reduced conflicts over natural resources; and Outcome 2: Increased sustainability and adaptability as well as diversification of livelihoods options among the targeted communities.

General

Climate change and biodiversity loss are increasingly presented as an interconnected environmental crisis in need of a global scaling up investments for its mitigation. While the urgency is based on ecological evidence and receives state, corporate and civil society support, the rolling out of green investments at the local level can be highly problematic. Green initiatives tend to be implemented in economically and politically marginalized regions, and reproduce existing social and environmental injustices through dynamics of dispossession. The proposed project’s purpose is to provide novel insights into emerging conflict dynamics over land-based resources in the wake of green investments in the East African drylands. Its specific aim is to study how multiple stakeholders engage in conflicts that emerge at the intersection of green energy investments and conservation efforts on one hand, and pastoralist community’s control over communal land resources through ongoing land reform policies that aim to provide tenure-security for local communities on the other. This will be achieved through a multi-site ethnography in two counties in northern Kenya, with data being collected through a strategic combination of questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups, supported by document analysis. The results are expected to produce advice and identify lessons for wider East African drylands, which share similar challenges to secure community land tenure in the face of green investments.