Pre-feasibility study of a REDD+ project in the Sahel Burkina Faso, Mali

Context of the service

In September 2009, the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), with the support of the NGO GERES (Groupe énergies renouvelables, environnement et solidarités), applied for grants for a project entitled "Combating deforestation and poverty in the Sahel" under a call for proposals from the European Union's Thematic Programme for the Environment and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (ENRTP). The concept note for the draft had been accepted in December 2009. The second stage of this call for proposals was the submission of a project document by March 2010.
As the project focuses in particular on avoided deforestation ("REDD+"), GERES called on ad hoc expertise for a mission to support CILSS in the drafting of the project document, AFD Paris covering all mission costs.
The project was intended to make it possible to (i) strengthen the capacities of Mali and Burkina Faso in REDD+ negotiations, (ii) support them in defining their REDD+ strategies and (iii) implement pilot REDD+ activities focused on sustainable fuelwood management.

Services provided

The following services were provided:
- Setting up a component "Capacity building of West African REDD+ negotiators". Based on the experience gained in capacity building of negotiators from Central Africa on the one hand and Latin America on the other, it was proposed to support the negotiators of the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on the climate negotiations in general and REDD+ in particular: development of position papers, submission, plenary statements, ad hoc technical and strategic notes,
- Setting up a component "Support to Mali and Burkina Faso to develop their REDD+ Readiness Proposals (R-PP)": Functions and committees to coordinate the implementation of R-PP; Stakeholders to be consulted in developing the R-PP; Review of the social, economic and environmental framework to identify the direct causes and underlying factors of deforestation and degradation; Options to combat deforestation and degradation (technical feasibility, social acceptability, environmental effectiveness, economic efficiency); Existing and to be strengthened legislative provisions in terms of land and carbon law; Methodology for calculating the reference scenario; Complete forest carbon inventory system (biomass/foot-based inventory component and surface/remote sensing component),
- Support in the writing of the logical framework, budget and project activities.

Summary of the service

Pre-feasibility study of a REDD+ project in Burkina Faso and Mali: Analysis of the regional context (drivers of deforestation and degradation, initial state of social and environmental data, regional and national policies); Setting up the components "Capacity building of West African REDD+ negotiators" and "Support to Mali and Burkina Faso to develop their REDD+ Readiness Proposals (R-PP)"; Contribution to the writing of the logical framework, budget and project activities.