ALM UNDP

Summary:

Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa. The Sahara desert and the semi-arid Sahel zone cover approximately 80 percent of the country’s land. The climate is Sahelian and unfavorable due to its low altitude. The rainy season lasts three to four months, from June to September, and the dry season lasts eight to nine months.

Temperatures vary from 19˚C in the cool season to 35˚C in dry season. The project takes place in Houtchi and Dan Djaoudi villages in the municipality of Roumbou. The population is approximately 1,831 people making up 305 households. The main economic activities are rainfed agriculture, including wheat and sorghum, and livestock breeding.

These activities are primarily carried out by women to complement products coming from other agricultural crops such as gumbo, pepper, cotton. The adverse impacts of climate change in the region are leading to water scarcity, drought, soil degradation, decrease in fodder production, death of livestock and decreases in agricultural yield. As a result, the population now relies heavily on the exploitation of their natural resources, such as the commercialization of firewood, for their livelihoods.

This CBA project aims at protecting the Tarka ecosystem by providing the surrounding communities with livelihood alternatives other than the exploitation of natural resources. The project was formulated through a participatory process carried out by the NGO EIP and involving a variety of stakeholders. The project supports the provision of livestock to vulnerable households to increase their food security and to provide alternative source of income. This help decrease the pressure on the natural resources of Tarka. In this respect, the following activities are being implemented:

• * Raising awareness of climate change risks and adaptation strategies
• * Creating an organization of women into cooperatives and a federation
• * Increasing the livelihoods of women by allocating genetically improved goats to them as a source of income
• * Training of beneficiaries in livestock management
• * Organization of a trip to study and share experiences

This UNDP/GEF CBA project will be implemented through a participatory and community approach, taking into consideration the daily concerns of the population. Strategies implemented for reducing the adverse impacts of climate change will be discussed and evaluated based on their efficacy.

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