News
A collective dynamic for ecosystem resilience and women's leadership in the Sahel
March 3, 2025Since April 2023, the RÉELS project has been making progress in the Liptako-Gourma region, a cross-border area spanning Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, where climate and security challenges are particularly pressing. Through a participatory and inclusive approach, the project aims to strengthen ecosystem resilience while placing women at the heart of climate adaptation solutions.
A community-driven approach
One of the fundamental principles of the RÉELS project is its implementation by and for communities, with a transformational leadership role for women in all activities. To ensure effective deployment, the project relies on community liaisons, local organizations, and state technical bodies (agriculture, rural engineering, women's promotion, etc.). This cascading approach facilitates local ownership of initiatives and enhances their sustainability.
Religious and traditional leaders also play a key role. Their involvement in the project, through the positive masculinities approach, helps break down sociocultural barriers and fosters the social acceptance essential for successful interventions. Their engagement ensures that women play a central role in the development and implementation of climate adaptation solutions. Additionally, their support promotes better integration of conservation and climate adaptation practices within local communities and increases women’s participation in local environmental governance structures.
Women are disproportionately affected by climate change compared to men. This is due to the household tasks and responsibilities they bear, such as collecting water and firewood. The depletion of natural resources caused by climate variability increases women’s and girls' unpaid workload and affects their income sources.
Joint actions for greater impact
The RÉELS project is based on joint actions carried out with various CECI partners, including IUCN, CIFOR-ICRAF, and WILDAF. This collaboration helps pool expertise and adapt strategies to local realities. Regular activities with partners are organized to assess the impact of initiatives and adjust interventions based on community needs.
Despite a complex security context, local organizations manage to maintain a presence on the ground and continue project activities. This ability to adapt is essential to ensuring the project’s continuity and guaranteeing that the solutions put in place effectively address the needs of the population.
Strengthening women’s leadership in the face of climate challenges
A key component of the project focuses on women's leadership in climate change adaptation. CECI and its partners support them through training in civic engagement, advocacy, and leadership. In collaboration with several universities, research initiatives are being conducted to document and promote resilience practices led by women. These studies help recognize their central role in ecosystem preservation and strengthen their participation in environmental governance structures.
Training cycles are being implemented to equip women with climate-smart techniques and technologies for ecosystem restoration, conservation, and sustainable management. These trainings, delivered by trainers from within the communities, ensure better knowledge ownership and transmission in villages.
Some achievements after 10 months of implementation:
- 75,000 women trained in leadership and civic engagement.
- 600 hectares of degraded land under restoration using climate-smart technologies and techniques.
- Over 800 women involved in implementing climate change adaptation actions and restoring degraded land.
- 18 community vulnerability assessments to climate change conducted or underway. These assessments help communities better understand the climate risks affecting their resources. This knowledge then enables the development and implementation of solutions tailored to the specific needs of women and their communities, with the technical and financial support of the RÉELS project.
- 1,000 producers—mostly women—trained in agroforestry resources that help them better adapt to climate change.
- More than 300 male leaders participated in awareness sessions on the importance of women's leadership and economic empowerment, applying the positive masculinities approach.
The RÉELS project is implemented by CECI and its partners, with financial support from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.