By Mawa Karambiri and Koffi Gilbertte
The inclusive and evidence-based approaches to scaling land restoration engagement workshops, held in Mali brought together 50 participants from the government, inter-governmental organizations, NGO, research centers, private sectors, and leaders from rural communities.
Co-designed by the SHARED (Stakeholder Approach to Risk Informed and Evidence-based Decision-making) component of the Regreening Africa project and its partners (Sahel Eco and Oxfam), the workshop took place the October 17th -18th 2022 at Grenada hôtel de l’Amitié Bamako.
Participants at the inclusive and evidence-based approaches to scaling land restoration engagement workshop.
The aim was to present the results and lessons learned from the regreening Africa Project after 5 years of implementation, take stock of current scientific, practical, policy and institutional actions in Mali that contribute to land restoration and multi-scale commitments, strategize how ongoing efforts in Mali can be linked to further support large-scale restoration efforts and plan actions for future programs, strategies, policy entry points and resources that need to be implemented to scale up land restoration locally and nationally.
The workshop was structured around presentations and groups work to allow all participants to engage in practical and interactive discussion.
A community leader shares his insights during the interactive and evidence wall session.
Facilitated by the SHARED team, the participants shared their experiences and perspectives for a brighter future for land restoration in the country. They also made some recommendations aiming to:
- Develop specific legal provision recognizing ANR as an investment and promising land restoration practice,
- Establish a mechanism for sustainable financing of land restoration actions in the country,
- Encourage a strong commitment of local authorities for land restoration actions and establish more coherence of the interventions and across national-local levels.
- Capitalize on the nutritional and therapeutic values of indigenous tree species.
- Strengthen the value chains of non-timber forest products and the cultivation of tree species that enrich the soil
- Operationalize the Great Green Wall alliance and organize a round table for the sustainable financing of the GGW in Mali
- Create a national fund for land restoration in Mali.
For more information on the workshop, including the workshop report and resources please follow this link.
This story was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Regreening Africa and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.