My volunteering with CECI: an experience full of achievements and lessons learnt !

Introduction to the NBS Guinean Forests project

Climate change is significantly threatening the Guinean Forest ecosystem in West Africa, with profound impacts on both nature and humans. These effects are evident in temperature and rainfall fluctuations, as well as the disappearance of certain tree, insect, and animal species. Women farmers, who already face precarious conditions, are experiencing declining agricultural yields, affecting their income and livelihoods.

The NBS Guinean Forests Project was established to support nature-based and biodiversity-driven climate change adaptation, with a particular focus on gender issues. It aims to empower women in their agricultural activities within the Guinean forests of West Africa. The project is implemented by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), with financial support from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC). It operates across three countries: Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana.

A key project priority is sequencing environmental DNA, in collaboration with the International Barcode of Life (IBOL), to create the sub-region's first database of plant and animal species. This research aims to enhance communities' understanding of their ecosystems.

In partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the project is also restoring degraded plant cover in target areas. A biodiversity credit payment system is being developed to support sustainable ecosystems across project landscapes.

All activities prioritize the participation and empowerment of women, strengthening their leadership and capacities.

NBS Guinean forests in Guinea

In Guinea, the project has undertaken several actions contributing to its objectives, including:

• The setting up of a national advisory committee that brings together various components of the local and national administrations, as well as representatives of civil society and communities. This meets the imperative need to include all sections of society, as advocated by the inclusive approach adopted by the project.

• The study of household vulnerability to climate change, in partnership with IUCN.

• Gender plus analysis, to measure the impact of climate change differentiated by gender and diversity, and how women and girls are adapting to it, in partnership with the National Coalition of Guinea for Women's Rights and Citizenship (CONAG-DCF).

• A study of the knowledge, practices and perceptions of the target communities with regard to climate change and biodiversity, to help develop adaptation strategies that are culturally and socially relevant, in partnership with the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF).

• A study to assess restoration opportunities, based on a participatory approach aimed at identifying the specific needs of (disaggregated) communities with regard to the restoration of degraded areas, in partnership with IUCN.

• Analysis of the rice market system to support and help develop viable and innovative business models that promote climate change adaptation, leadership and women's empowerment in partnership with the Groupe de Techniciens pour la Promotion Agricole et Rurale (GROUP.TECH-PAR).

‘Rice is part of the Guinean DNA’, the climate change specialist told me. In just a few decades, rice has become part of the Guinean diet and culture, and a staple food. Many agricultural groups produce rice, and women are very much involved in the processing and sale of local rice. It should be emphasised that we are encouraging and seeking to strengthen : 

• Promoting intensive organic rice cultivation in rotation with market gardening.
• Empowering women to profit from non-timber forest products.

• Setting up demonstration plots with the involvement of women's groups in their preparation, together with training in the manufacture of biofertilisers and biopesticides. The demonstration plots, which will be preceded by a study to assess restoration opportunities with a view to identifying the needs and preferences of communities in terms of market gardening and the restoration of degraded landscapes, will make it possible to identify the most appropriate type of biofertiliser, thereby helping to strengthen farming methods that respect and preserve nature. The most common crops will be grown there, as well as forest tree nurseries (as a means of restoring degraded areas) which will then be sold to women's groups who will have been trained in commercial techniques and who will receive support in this area.

• The development of a strategy to raise awareness among target communities on issues relating to gender, adaptation to climate change and the empowerment of women.

• The creation of a framework for exchange and consultation between various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation (MATD), the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD), the national funding agency for local authorities (ANAFIC), and other organisations such as the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF), all of which are involved in developing a gender-sensitive local climate change adaptation policy based on nature-based solutions. The aim is to integrate this policy into the local development plans of the communities in the target landscapes and to translate it into actions to be funded as part of the local authorities' annual investment plans. This will ensure that the results achieved by the project are sustainable. It should be noted that CECI had previously actively contributed to the inclusion of gender and social inclusion issues in the strategic document, the guide to integrating adaptation to climate change into local authority budget planning.

• Support for the formalisation of 50 women's groups, with the involvement of young people from the localities concerned. These groups can now take advantage of opportunities for subsidies or technical or organisational assistance that will enable them to develop their activities and grow. This action by CECI-Guinea is having a real impact on the groups. By providing them with this official document, it is making a major contribution to building their capacities.

All these studies and consultations have a common goal, which is to lay the foundations for genuine decentralised cooperation in line with the State's sectoral guidelines for harmonious and sustainable development, taking into account the specific needs and strategic priorities of women.

We can already see that the training on gender issues provided with the help of our partner ABANTU, and the resulting awareness-raising work in the field, are raising awareness within the communities, who, for example, are paying more attention to the presence of women at our various meetings. They also associate the effects of climate change (hot weather, flooding, violent winds, drought and drying up of rivers, disappearance of tree and animal species, low yields) with the actions of some of their members in the forest (cutting and burning wood, for example).

One very positive result worth highlighting is the fact that a group that has been sensitised and is currently being supported as part of the demonstration plots, has decided on its own initiative to organise an activity to, in turn, sensitise other women in its community to the challenges of climate change. This shows that communities are open and ready to work together to find realistic solutions to their problems.

If you would like to play an active role in the fight against exclusion and poverty and have a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable communities, make a donation to CECI by clicking on the following link:

Khadidja Sall Raisin

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