Communities regreen the Sahel: Growing buffers to ensure food security, livelihoods and biodiversity
The programme 'Growing buffers to ensure food security, livelihoods and biodiversity Programme 2017-2027' is funded by DOB Ecology and is designed and executed by a group of 19 organisations in four countries.
This folder has also been translated into French: Les communautés reverdissent le Sahel.
Within this programme, Both ENDS will keep doing what it does best: connecting local organisations to each other and to relevant national and international policy makers, scientists and organisations, informing them about current (inter)national developments relevant to their work, and advocating the incorporation of this method in local and national policies.
Together with our local partners, within the next 10 years we aim to reach the following:
1) A total area of 200,000 hectares divided over three countries) has been restored using Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration by and for communities.
2) There are laws, policies and support programmes in place in three countries (local up to international) that support Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration.
3) Farmers applying Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration are organised and have access to markets for (added-value) FMNR-products.
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Read more about this subject
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Dossier /
Communities Regreen the Sahel
In various countries in the Sahel, vast tracts of land have been restored by the local population by nurturing what spontaneously springs from the soil and protecting the sprouts from cattle and hazards.
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Publication / 29 January 2019
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News / 23 November 2018
Yacouba Sawadogo receives Right Livelihood Award!
Today, the Right Livelihood Awards 2018 will be presented in Stockholm. One of the four people who will receive the prize this year is Yacouba Sawadogo, 'the man who stopped the desert'. Yacouba, a farmer from Yatenga, Burkina Faso, is one of the founders of so-called 'Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration' with which degenerated and dry areas are becoming green and fertile again. According to Both ENDS, Yacouba's award is very well-deserved!
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External link / 19 June 2020
The social practice of regreening the Sahel (Annual Report 2019)
In the first two years of the programme "Communities Regreen the Sahel", more than 10,000 farmers have been trained in Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration and the practice has expanded to more than 44,000 ha. Moreover, the number of agreements by farmers and nomadic pastoralists has increased significantly, which is important to avoid conflict over land use.
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External link / 31 May 2018
Supporting farmer managed natural regeneration to gain ground (Annual Report 2017)
Many people in the desertifying Sahel region have to choose: claim their land back from the desert, or leave their farms behind. In 2017, Both ENDS started a new project here, introducing a method for regreening the landscape: Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR). It has proven itself in Niger, where we worked on FMNR for 15 years. By 2017, 15.000 ha of dryland had been regreened.
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Dossier /
Rich Forests
Rich Forests promotes a sustainable and future-proof production system and supports, among other things, the transformation of degraded land into food forests. With this, people provide for their livelihood, increase their income and at the same time restore soil and biodiversity.
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Publication / 23 December 2019
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Dossier /
The merits of community-based restoration
Globally, the area that is suffering desertification and land degradation is ever expanding. Unsustainable and often large-scale agricultural practices, including the copious use of pesticides and fertilisers, are a major driver of land degradation, aprocess that is further exacerbated by climate change, causing more erratic rainfall patterns, longer periods of drought and unpredictable growing seasons. This is very problematic not only for the hundreds of millions of people who directly depend on land and water for their livelihoods, but also for life on earth as a whole. It is clear that this process must be stopped and reversed, better sooner than later. But how to go about it?
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Event / 12 April 2019, 14:15 - 15:30
'Positive Vibes from the Sahel' on Africa Day in KIT Amsterdam
On Saturday April 13th, the annual Africa day will take place in the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam.
Both ENDS and Voice 4 Thought will organise a joint workhop (in English), titled:
'Positive vibes from the Sahel: from regreening to slam poetry'
Facilitator: Andrew Makkinga
The Sahel region from Chad to Senegal is often seen in the Netherlands as an immensely dry, infertile area where extremists and smugglers serve and where hunger thrives. But there is so much more to tell about the Sahel region.
Over the last decades, a large number of positive social initiatives have been taken up both in the cities and in rural areas. Initiatives that create and stimulate self-esteem, culture, education, climate resilience and prosperity.
Young people are often the driving force behind these movements, which is not surprising considering that almost 70 percent of the population in a country like Niger is under the age of 25.
In this workshop Both ENDS and Voice4Thought want to tell the other story of the Sahel by highlighting some of these positive initiatives, and by showing how they are interlinked and part of a larger, bottom up movement in this area.
Hope to see you there!
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Publication / 30 June 2016
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News / 15 June 2023
Combating drought by protecting saplings
Koussanar, in eastern Senegal, is a small town that is expanding rapidly, surrounded by villages still rooted in rural and nomadic life. The region is hot and dry, which is exacerbated by climate change. The soil in the region is also dry and often exhausted due to a combination of factors such as unsustainable agricultural practices, (peanut) monoculture, intensive agriculture, forest fires and overgrazing. Today, however, the region's farmers and nomadic pastoralists take a different approach. They are working towards a better future by committing to the restoration of degraded land using Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR).
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Transformative Practice /
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration
In various countries in the Sahel, vast tracts of degraded land have been restored by the local population by nurturing what spontaneously springs from the soil. They do this using a method called 'Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR)'.
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Event / 12 December 2024, 13:00 - 14:30
Exploring new avenues of CSO participation in UNCCD processes
Enhancing inclusivity within UNCCD processes and its implementation by strengthening the involvement of civil society organizations (CSOs) and Indigenous Peoples.
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News / 2 December 2024
Both ENDS at UNCCD COP16
Since 1994, Both ENDS has been advocating for inclusive governance in addressing desertification, land degradation, and drought, ensuring local communities have a strong voice in global discussions. As a member of Drynet, a network of over 20 civil society organisations, we champion the inclusion of women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples in land governance and highlight the importance of locally-led initiatives. Our work promotes gender equality, agroecology, and sustainable land management. This landing page serves as a comprehensive hub for all information and updates related to the UNCCD COP16 and Both ENDS' efforts to drive positive change. Here, you’ll find key resources, initiatives, and insights into how locally-led solutions can shape the future of land governance and environmental sustainability.
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Event / 4 December 2024, 18:00 - 19:30
Enhancing the role of civil society in the UNCCD to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN)
Effective local action by land-using communities is at the heart of achieving LDN globally. However, their contributions are often not well recognized or adequately supported by governments and other agencies. Within the UNCCD framework, civil society organisations play a key role in engaging with policymakers in the context of recognizing and supporting these contributions by local communities. The side event will engage participants in a GEF-supported joint Drynet/ IUCN initiative to enhance the capacities of civil society to engage effectively in the achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) within the UNCCD framework.
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Event / 11 December 2024, 13:00 - 14:30
Making strategic impact: Shifting resources and power to women-led initiatives for Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN)
How donors, foundations and other funders can better support women-led initiatives in achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), focusing on challenges, collaboration, and opportunities for improved matchmaking.
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News / 2 December 2024
Ten recommendations for the UNCCD COP16 to strengthen its efforts in combating desertification, land degradation, and drought
For decades, our local partner organisations have been developing and promoting effective ways to combat land degradation, desertification, and drought. This includes regions like the drylands, as well as forests, and wetlands. Supporting these locally-led actions is essential to reversing negative trends. For COP16, Drynet has developed 10 recommendations to strengthen the implementation of the UNCCD. Success at COP16 would mean turning these recommendations into action, fostering inclusive land governance and sustainable land management practices globally. By enabling locally-led actions—particularly those led by women, youth, pastoralists, and Indigenous Peoples—we can build a more resilient future.
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News / 2 December 2024
Advocating for Local Solutions: Both ENDS at UNCCD COP16 to Champion Sustainable Land Management and Gender Equality
As the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) celebrates its 30th anniversary, the global community faces an urgent need to address the escalating challenges of land degradation, desertification and drought. At the forefront of these efforts, Both ENDS has long advocated for inclusive, locally-led solutions to these critical issues. In this interview, Nathalie van Haren and Yordanos Mulder, who will represent Both ENDS at the upcoming UNCCD COP16, share insights into the significance of the conference, the key issues on the agenda, and the crucial role of local communities in shaping effective land governance. They discuss Both ENDS' ongoing work to amplify the voices of marginalised groups and emphasise the importance of sustainable land management practices, particularly those driven by women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples.
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Event / 5 September 2019, 13:00 - 15:00
UNCCD COP14: Communities regreen the Sahel
At the UNCCD COP14 in India, which is taking place from 2-13 September 2019, Both ENDS is co-organising a number of side events.
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Transformative Practice /
Inclusive Land Governance
Both ENDS works with partners around the world to ensure that land is governed fairly and inclusively and managed sustainably with priority for the rights and interests of local communities.