GCCA+ West Africa: Major advances in building climate resilience

Adoption of the ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy

The GCCA+WA project has accompanied the strengthening of the regional institutional framework for climate action by supporting the ECOWAS Commission in the development of its Regional Climate Strategy (RCS). The strategy document was validated at the end of April 2022 by the environment ministers of ECOWAS member states. It was then officially adopted at the 88th ordinary session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers held from 30 June to 1 July 2022 in Ghana, after being endorsed by the ECOWAS Parliament.

‘The main guidelines of this document are primarily concerned with the institutional and legal framework for implementation. This governance framework of the strategy will serve as a motor to drive all the actions of reflection, mobilisation of resources and coordination, while respecting the subsidiarity of the different intervention levels on the ground. The ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy must be an infusion that is absorbed by each community and each citizen to question our way of doing things in relation to our environment’, said Sékou Sangaré, former Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources at the ECOWAS Commission.

Highlighting the options for adapting to climate change

Also included among the project's flagship actions is the funding of fifteen (15) pilot agriculture projects, for a total grant amount of 3.2 million euros. These projects, implemented in 11 countries in the region, aim to identify potential innovations for climate change adaptation and mitigation. They are implemented in conjunction with 15 ARAA pilot projects supported by the Agroecology Project financed by AFD and the European Union in order to cover the 17 ECOWAS CILSS countries together.

The pilot projects assist farmers, etc. in deploying technologies and approaches for sustainable land management and resilience to climate change. In Cape Verde, for example, irrigation is a key issue.  ‘Without any rainfall for the past 4 years, water scarcity is forcing us to adopt increasingly smart solutions to mitigate water needs while increasing productivity. We're testing techniques: testing innovative agroforestry systems and simple but sought-after technologies such as small water tanks (cocoons) where water is released gradually, ensuring water availability for plants over a longer period of time. This is the objective of the agroforestry systems project that's engaged in the fight against climate change on the island of Santo Antão in Cape Verde’ recalls Amilton Lopes, leader of the Agrofloresta project selected by GCCA+WA and implemented by the NGO ADPM.

To date, more than 18,000 producers are adopting climate-smart farming practices promoted by the pilot projects. The GCCA+WA project has outlined a strategy for regional capitalisation of the results of the 30 pilot projects in the 17 ECOWAS CILSS countries in 2021. This capitalisation, which is currently underway, focuses on the success factors of adaptation and will feed into the regional agricultural policy (ECOWAP) and the regional climate strategy of ECOWAS. The main products and results of this capitalisation will be discussed with regional stakeholders on 4, 5 and 7 October 2022 during a regional workshop and disseminated to the main targets during the COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Promoting capacity building of regional climate stakeholders

Since 2020, the GCCA+WA project has also been supporting the ECOWAS Commission in establishing the ECOWAS Regional Support Group for International Climate Negotiations (GRANIC). This group of experts contributes to building the capacity of climate negotiators from ECOWAS Member States. In addition, GRANIC contributes to building common positions to strengthen unity and the West African voice in international climate negotiations. As an example, with the support of the GCCA+ WA project, the expert group participated in the Bonn climate conference which took place from 6 to 16 June 2022. The GRANIC members and advisor accompanied the delegations of the ECOWAS member states to formulate common positions and convey the priorities of the region (adaptation, loss and damage, mitigation, climate finance, etc.). Following the Bonn conference, GRANIC updated a briefing note for the delegations of ECOWAS Member States including the results of the negotiations which included the important issues for West Africa for COP27.

In addition to supporting the capacity building of West African climate negotiators, the GCCA+ WA project supports the training of West African executives on climate change. In total, 48 managers and professionals have been trained in the two classes of the Master's degree in Climate Change and Sustainable Development (MCCDD) of the CILSS-CRA, the project's partner. Similarly, capacity building activities have been carried out with technical executives to ensure that the 17 West African countries will have updated and harmonised hydroclimatic databases by the end of 2022.

Strengthening the mobilisation of climate funds to the region

From 2019 to 2021, the GCCA+ WA project facilitated capacity-building sessions in climate project development for the benefit of 12 ECOWAS countries. 293 representatives from different sectors, both public and private, involved in climate action participated in these sessions. In order to support direct climate resource mobilisation efforts in the region, the project assists institutions in the region in their accreditation process. These include the accreditation of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) to the Green Climate Fund, as well as the accreditation of the ECOWAS Commission as an observer to the same Fund. Through the project, ECOWAS has also published the first regional mapping of financial flows to the ECOWAS-CILSS region in 2019, which will be perpetuated through the implementation of the regional climate strategy.

2022, the last line for the GCCA+WA project and heading for COP27

The year 2021 was when the milestones were set for achieving the GCCA+WA project results. At the regional level, the project can pride itself on being well on its way to regional scientific and policy 'firsts', as well as on significant advances in the visibility of the region in terms of contributions to negotiations, and on the programmed ramping up of the region's alignment to future financial flows in an inclusive way.

The project is preparing to support the presence of West African institutions (ECOWAS CILSS BOAD UEMOA EBID) at COP 27. This global climate meeting will be an opportunity for GCCA+WA to share the major results of general interest of the project with the international community.

See you at the COP27!

To find out more, consult the project sheet GCCA+ Afrique de l'Ouest