ICRISAT News; June 5 2024

In rural communities, women play a crucial, yet often overlooked, role in agricultural production and sustainable land management. Women's associations, if provided with equitable opportunities, are poised to drive significant economic development through traditional and innovative utilization of natural resources.

Recognizing this, the SERVIR West Africa (SERVIR WA) program, supported by USAID and NASA, and implemented by ICRISAT and partners, is leveraging Earth Observation data and geospatial tools to identify and amplify economic opportunities for women in select municipalities.

As part of its commitment to communal-level services in Burkina Faso, SERVIR-WA, in collaboration with ISESTEL (Institut Supérieur d’Études Spatiales et Télécommunications), is developing a platform to bolster communal development plans by providing precise data and information on land occupancy (land use, land cover), levels of land degradation, infrastructure, and income-generating opportunities for women from natural resources.

In recent years, data and information have been produced and stored in an accessible geoportal platform, and users were trained in data processing and implementation. These users can be categorized into three main groups:

Classic End-Users and Decision-Makers: This category comprises individuals who not only utilize the data but also hold decision-making authority. Their engagement is crucial for ensuring effective utilization and sustainability of the platform.

Technical Services: Consisting primarily of institutions dealing with environmental concerns such as the Livestock Department and Agriculture Department, these entities play a pivotal role in leveraging the platform to address various environmental challenges.

Community Engagement: Beyond institutional stakeholders, community involvement is integral to the platform's success. Educated youth, organized into clubs to support data collection and production, contribute significantly. Additionally, the participation of traditional chiefs and women's associations across all communes underscores the inclusive nature of the initiative.

In addition, land degradation neutrality (LDN) has been measured for all the communes to indicate the level of effort needed for sustainable communal development. A network of stakeholders, including women and educated youth, is being developed to support communal development through women's associations and SERVIR Clubs. By the end of 2024, the service aims to reach an Application Readiness Level 5, with land use plans and local charters geared to improve current LDN values. This involves sensitizing and training actors on LDN objectives and risks incurred with old land use practices through seminars and workshops, disseminating best land utilization practices and the national strategy of land restoration, conservation, and improvement for Burkina Faso.

The anticipated outcome is enhanced end-user capability in utilizing geospatial technologies for data collection, processing, dissemination, and sharing with online users.

The women's associations' geolocation data are now available online at the following link: http://servir.isestel.org.

See https://pressroom.icrisat.org/empowering-womens-associations-to-combat-land-degradation-and-achieve-carbon-market-success