Sustainable Asset Valuation of Land Restoration and Climate-Smart Agriculture in Burkina Faso
In this integrated cost-benefit analysis, the NBI Global Resource Centre demonstrates the potential of nature-based infrastructure to restore land and combat desertification in Burkina Faso, aiding communities with climate change adaptation and producing wide-reaching socioeconomic benefits.
Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, is experiencing severe impacts of climate change: increasingly extreme rainfall and flooding events, coupled with prolonged droughts. The result is the complete devastation of agriculture, with 46% of the country's arable land now degraded. Year on year, 105,000 to 250,000 hectares of land degrades, threatening food security, health, and rural communities' well-being.
These challenges have also displaced many Burkinabè, especially as 80% of the population relies on agriculture. Displacement rates have surged by over 7,000% since 2018, making Burkina Faso one of the fastest-growing displacement regions globally.
In response, Burkina Faso's Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance, supported by the NDC Partnership, are proposing a land restoration project using nature-based infrastructure (NBI). Targeting the Sahel, Boucle du Mouhoun, Eastern, and Cascades regions, the project aims to regenerate 37% of the country's land, benefiting over 26,000 households and indirectly aiding over 600,000 individuals. The initiative also focuses on gender-responsive NBI, supporting nearly 8,000 women.
Using spatial analysis, climate data, Excel-based modelling, and financial analysis, this integrated cost-benefit analysis demonstrates the massive potential of NBI to restore land and combat desertification, promote sustainable agricultural practices, and reduce climate-related displacement, overall aiding communities with climate change adaptation.
We found that
- The nature-based and hybrid interventions perform better than the grey infrastructure alternative, while delivering further socio-economic benefits. For every USD 1 invested, NBI delivers USD 14.8 in benefits.
- NBI increases carbon storage, helping with climate change mitigation, generating an avoided cost of USD 28.1 million, and offering potential financing opportunities through carbon credits.
- NBI avoids the displacement of people from their homes, increases stability, and reduces the potential for conflicts and violence through reliable income sources and food security.
- The implementation of the NBI can be replicated, scaling across Burkina Faso and beyond, to effectively combat droughts and desertification and sustain rural livelihoods.
Participating experts
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