1. Background
Climate change is now the main threat to humanity and global ecosystems. According to the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2023), the global average temperature has already increased by 1.1°C compared to the pre-industrial era, and current trajectories could lead to an increase of 3°C to 4°C by the end of the century if ambitious action is not taken. Africa is disproportionately affected by these disruptions, as the continent is warming approximately 1.5 times faster than the global average. The consequences are manifesting in worsening droughts, intensifying heatwaves, increasingly erratic rainfall, as well as an increase in flash floods and extreme weather events.
2. The outcomes for Africa from COP30 in Brazil
COP30, held in Belém under the leadership of the Brazil, was framed as the Implementation “COP” and the “COP of Truth”—a moment to demonstrate real progress on the Paris Agreement rather than repeat commitments. For Africa and other developing regions, COP30 was especially significant. The negotiations touched deeply on issues central to frontline communities: the integrity of Carbon Markets, the protection of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, the future of food systems, adaptation finance, and the economic risks of unilateral climate-related trade measures.
Although COP30 did not resolve all agenda items of interest to Africa, it delivered important advances across Carbon Markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, the Global Goal on Adaptation, and non-market approaches. It also amplified global recognition of agroecology and opened critical discussions on just transition, the global move away from fossil fuels, and the need for equitable climate finance.
3. Challenges for Burkina Faso and the Sahel Region
The Sahel region is one of the epicenters of this climate crisis. Covering an area of over 5.4 million km², this semi-arid strip stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and is home to between 135 and 150 million inhabitants in 2025. This population is expected to double by 2050, making the Sahel one of the fastest-growing regions in the world. In countries such as Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, fertility remains among the highest in the world, adding to already intense pressure on limited natural resources. With over 80% of Sahelian populations directly dependent on rain-fed agriculture and livestock rearing, vulnerability to climate hazards is particularly exacerbated.
Scientific projections indicate that temperatures in the Sahel could rise by 3 to 5°C by mid-century, while rainfall variability will continue to increase periods of drought alternating with torrential rains. These phenomena are leading to accelerated land degradation and desertification that is progressing each year, with an estimated annual loss of several hundred thousand hectares of fertile soil. In Burkina Faso, the FAO estimates that nearly 34% of the territory is already severely degraded, directly affecting food security and compromising the livelihoods of millions of rural households.
The situation is even more worrying as the climate crisis interacts with other socioeconomic and security vulnerabilities. Burkina Faso is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, marked by more than two million internally displaced people recorded in 2024, a significant proportion of whom are forced into exodus by the scarcity of natural resources and the worsening of conflicts related to land and water. Added to this climate insecurity are demographic and social pressures that jeopardize the stability of the country and the entire Sahel region.
4. Policy Responses to promote Sustainable Development in Burkina Faso
Faced with this reality, several large-scale initiatives have been implemented at the continental and regional levels. The most emblematic remains the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI), launched in 2007 under the auspices of the African Union. It aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequester 250 million tons of carbon, and generate 10 million green jobs by 2030. However, up to now, the results remain below expectations, as only 20% of the targets set have been achieved, despite the $19 billion publicly announced by various donors in support of the GGWI. A significant portion of the pledged amounts remains to be realized with the fragmentation of funding, weak governance mechanisms, and the exclusion of local communities significantly limiting the effectiveness of these measures.
In Burkina Faso, has put in place a number of national policy programmes to strengthen resilience to climate change and promote inclusive sustainable development. Following the implementation of the second National Economic and Social Development Plan (PNDES II), the country has embarked on new strategic frameworks. The Action Plan for Stability and Development (PA-SD, 2022–) sets national priorities for security, social cohesion, and sustainable economic recovery. The National Development Policy (PND), now being adopted, focuses on creating resilient and balanced public interventions across regions.
At the same time, several recent sectoral strategies are consolidating this momentum, including the National Sustainable Development Strategy, the National Social Protection Strategy (SNPS 2024-2028), the National Green Economy Strategy, the National Land Restoration and Reforestation Strategy, and the National Sustainable Land and Forest Management Program. These frameworks are based on concrete actions carried out with the support of technical and financial partners such as FAO, IFAD, UNCCD, GEF, UNDP, UNEP, GEF, AfDB, BOAD, and several bilateral cooperation agencies. These include, among others, the implementation of the Green Sahel Program supporting land restoration and the promotion of sustainable sectors, and the Scaling-up Resilience in Africa’s Great Green Wall (SURAGGWA) project financed by the Green Climate Fund, which is mobilizing significant resources for climate adaptation in the Sahel.
However, despite the relevance of these initiatives, their impact often remains limited by institutional fragmentation, weak planning, coordination, organization and structuring of actors and the lack of community anchoring of programs. The effective involvement of local populations, particularly young people and women, remains insufficient, while they should be at the heart of any sustainable mitigation and adaptation strategy.
5. ECLA and SmartEarth working in partnership
SmartEarth is working together with the Etre Comme Les Autres (ECLA), a non-profit organization registered in Burkina Faso to organize a major regional International Conference on Climate Change in Ouagadougou to be led by ECLA and its partners. ECLA has been active in Burkina Faso for over 30 years and its work focuses on a range of humanitarian and development activities, including youth empowerment, education, health, poverty alleviation, and women empowerment. The planned Conference for 2026 aims to catalyze an inclusive and multi-stakeholder regional dialogue, to pool efforts, strengthen climate governance and anchor the ecological transition in local development dynamics.
This event is organized to meet two requirements. On the one hand, it aims to strengthen the regional and international leadership of Burkina Faso and the Sahel in the global climate agenda, by placing the region at the heart of debates on resilience and environmental justice. On the other hand, the conference aims to give a stronger voice to local communities and field actors, whose endogenous knowledge and practices constitute valuable and often neglected resources in the fight against climate change.
The added value of this conference lies precisely in its ability to articulate three complementary levels. It will highlight the community and endogenous action led by ECLA, which has been developing innovative initiatives for reforestation, agroforestry, vocational training, and the empowerment of youth and women for several years. It will draw on the technical and institutional expertise of partners such as the Carbon Free Africa Network, which specializes in mitigation and adaptation, and its affiliated organization the African Carbon Market Network (ACMN), a key player in the carbon market in Africa. Finally, it will mobilize political decision-makers, regional institutions, donors, and the private sector to create a synergy of actions and financing for the Sahel.
By providing an international platform for reflection, innovation, and climate solutions, the conference will help transform the Sahel into a laboratory for concrete responses to global climate challenges. It will also provide a strategic opportunity to strengthen the visibility and credibility of ECLA and its partners as key players in climate resilience and sustainable development, at the national, regional, and international levels.
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