Mme Mamane Amina Tidjani
AFR100 Focal Point, Niger
Scaling up land rehabilitation and protection of upstream watersheds through Sustainable Land Management practices (SLM) and soil and water conservation in association with development of irrigated agriculture in lowlands is a priority for Niger as it is located in dry lands of Sahel region.
Establishing multiple programs aiming to scale up Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) in association with agricultural development and food security initiatives, to boost current rate of restoration from 60,000 ha/yr to 200,000 ha/hr will help to achieve ambitious new targets of restoration by 2030. FMNR Increased soil organic matter and fertility, thus tree roots absorb nutrients from deep in the soil and convert them to soil organic matter via leaf and fruit drop.
Restoring degraded natural forests have been a priority in Niger and the country became one of the first countries globally to adopt Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration or FMNR as the best practices to reverse trends of degradation in Niger natural forests.
Stakeholder involvement
Niger is a Sahelian country situated in the desert zone and is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. In fact, Niger is the 2nd most vulnerable country and the 46th least ready country. Niger has engaged a working group for land restoration made of relevant ministries/agencies, local and international organizations advocating for restoration in Niger. Members of the working group inform on relevant policies and decisions related to land degradation and solutions of restoration. Some stakeholders are interested in land restoration of Niger while others prefer to put their collective efforts through Great Green Initiative aiming to restore land regraded in Sahel region.
A coordinating mechanism/platform
The Government committed to land restoration through AFR100 and Great Green Wall Initiatives. Through these 2 forums, Land restoration activities are coordinated to reduce the level of degradation in this region. Government of Niger, Land owners, NGOs and Civil Societies originations (SCOs) join hands together to effect plan, monitor and coordinate the agreed activities.
Partnership
The main partners in land restorations are Ministry of Environment, Urban Sanitation and Sustainable Development (Sustainable Land Use Directorate), National Agency for the Great Wall (ANGMV), National Agency for the Financing of Territorial Communities (ANFICT) et Agrhymet Regional Centre (CRA), Local communities and land owners, development partners and donors, Local and International NGOs. The restoration is also supported by Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative (ELTI), the international Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), New Partnership For Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and TerrAfrica.
Great Green Wall Initiative
The GGW initiative’s ambition is to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land; sequester 250 million tons of carbon and create 10 million green jobs by 2030. This will help communities living along the Wall to grow:
Five countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal) in Western Africa are part of the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel initiative, and have committed to restoration under this framework.
Great Green Wall Accelerator
The Great Green Wall Accelerator will be coordinated through the Pan Africa Agency for the Great Green Wall (PAAGGW) with support from UNCCD. It aims facilitate collaboration among donors and stakeholders involved in the Great Green Wall Initiative and to help all actors to better coordinate, monitor, and measure the impact of their actions. To date, multilateral and bilateral organizations have raised more than USD 19 billion for this initiative.
Niger is committed to slow land degradation and to accelerate the scaling up of forest landscape restoration and sustainable land management by 2030 to contribute to multiple sustainable development goals, including improved food security, reduction of rural poverty, sustainable production of wood fuels, expansion of irrigated agriculture and increased resilience to climate change.
