Strengthening governance and sustainable management of natural resources in the Comoé and Taï regions
Project description
Title: Governance and sustainable management of natural resources in the Comoé and Taï area, Côte d’Ivoire
Commissioned by: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Côte d’Ivoire
Co financed by: European Union
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER)
Implementing partners: Agricultural extension agency (ANADER), Cotton and Cashew Council (CCA), Forestry Ministry (MINEF), Ministry of Animal and Fish Resources (MIRAH), Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MINEDD), Ivorian Parks and Reserves Authority (OIPR), Foundation for the Parks and Reserves of Côte d’Ivoire (FPRCI)
Overall term: 2020 to 2024
Context
Agriculture accounts for 22 per cent of Côte d’Ivoire’s gross domestic product (GDP) and generates over 50 per cent of all export earnings. Moreover, two thirds of the Ivorian population are directly dependent on agriculture. Agriculture is therefore a determining factor in the country’s economic development and is crucial for its future.
However, people are not exploiting the natural resources sustainably: extensive land use, soil degradation and deforestation are endangering the economic basis of the future. Even the two Natural World Heritage sites –Taï National Park (TNP) and Comoé National Park (CNP) – are threatened by the increasing degradation of natural resources in the periphery of the parks. Biodiversity within the park boundaries is threatened above all by poaching and gold prospecting. Yet the farming, animal husbandry and fishing businesses of the local population depend to a large extent on the ecosystems of both parks. When harvests or prices fluctuate, this dependency and the lack of domestic processing of agricultural produce constitute significant risks for rural households.
The growing population is placing further pressure on the region’s natural resources and biodiversity. Farming, forestry and pastoralism in particular are competing for land. Non-formalised land-ownership and rights to the use of resources are exacerbating the problems. The actors and institutions in the Comoé and Taï regions are not sufficiently capable of organising the sustainable use of natural resources integratively and cooperatively.
Objective
The integrated governance of the Comoé and Taï regions has been improved to enable the use of natural resources in the long term, increase agricultural productivity and professionalise the management of protected areas.
Approach
The project helps rural producers in the Comoé and Taï regions become more self-organised and efficient. It also implements innovations such as new techniques for tree care to improve agricultural productivity while conserving resources. Furthermore, the project is aimed at improving management of the protected areas. In addition to this, it provides advice about developing and implementing local agreements on governance and the sustainable use of natural resources.
The work focuses on four areas:
- Capacity building for local groups in the governance of natural resources and agricultural productivity in the form of technical and organisational advice
- Capacity building for the administrative authorities of the national parks in the form of technical and organisational advice
- Provision to the government of experiential knowledge of development cooperation
- Introduction and dissemination of agroforestry measures
Last update: February 2021