With the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the government of Guinea has officially launched a new project to increase the climate resilience and adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable communities in Guinee forestiere (Forested Guinea).
In the eight municipalities of Koule, Kokota, Niosomoridou, Diecke, Bignamou, Wasseredou, Gouache, and Mousadou, the five-year $8.85 million project is expected to directly benefit more than 651,800 people with a focus on women and youth through the introduction of climate-smart agricultural practices, enhanced access to microcredit, and improved utilization of climate information.
Safiatou Diallo, minister of the environment and sustainable development, praised the commencement of implementation, saying “From rising temperatures to heavy rains, we are already seeing the effects of climate change across the country. Building resilience is an urgent priority and we look forward to working closely with UNDP, as well as local communities and other stakeholders, to ensure the success of this important project.”
Forested Guinea is one of West Africa’s most climate-vulnerable regions, with inhabitants there frequently at risk from landslides, floods, and storms. As the effects of global climate change intensify, these risks—which are already made worse by deforestation and land degradation—are anticipated to get worse.
Farmers are resourceful, but they don’t have access to the knowledge and tools they need to efficiently adjust. While environmental mismanagement of forests is contributing to the general destruction of the natural resources on which communities rely, current agricultural practices are not sustainable.
In order to address the problems, the project will implement climate-smart agro-sylvo-pastoral practices (such as more sustainable land and water management strategies and the use of resilient seeds); enhance community, community-based organization, civil society, and local government access to adaptation microfinance; and enhance the availability and use of climate information by local actors. The strategy will be tested in Forested Guinea with the intention of implementing it nationally once the experiment is complete.
“This project will promote change by directly empowering communities, especially women while strengthening relevant institutions and investments for adaptation,” stated Mr. Luc Jol Grégoire, UNDP Resident Representative in Guinea. In addition, as part of the Climate Promise, UNDP continues to be a significant partner of the government in the creation of a National Adaptation Plan and the implementation of the nation’s Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Climate Agreement.
Funding for the project totaling $8,850,00 comes from the Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Countries Fund.