WASHINGTON, May 25, 2023 - The World Bank has approved a $150 million International Development Association (IDA)* credit to enable Mali to restore degraded landscapes and promote climate-resilient growth in more than 87 communes across the country.
The aim of the Landscape Restoration Project is to restore the ecological integrity of lands and operate on a large scale by implementing subprojects in the Malian section of the Great Green Wall. It will also improve people’s lives by providing job opportunities and promoting capacity building in areas related to natural resources management. The project’s approach focuses on the nexus between natural resource degradation, climate change impacts, and social conflicts, seeking to simultaneously restore social, natural, and cultural capital. The project will work to strengthen national capacity for the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and includes a conflict prevention strategy in its area of intervention. Sustainable investments will be made in degraded landscapes to restore their physical and social functions and enhance climate resilience. The project will also build productive alliances to improve market access for non-timber forest and fisheries products.
“In Mali, the security crisis has exacerbated the effects of climate change on livelihoods and the conditions of access and use of natural resources,” said Clara De Sousa, World Bank Country Director for Mali. “This project is part of the World Bank Group Climate Change Action Plan 2021-2025, which aims to support transformative investments, strengthen the resilience of socioecological systems, and improve the lives of men, women, and youth living and working on land and in environments vulnerable to climate shocks,” she added.
According to Taoufiq Bennouna, Senior Natural Resources Management Specialist and Task Team Leader, “This project demonstrates the World Bank’s commitment to support the Great Green Wall initiative, restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, and create 10 million green jobs by 2030.”
The investments are intended to rehabilitate more than 400,000 hectares of degraded land and create green jobs, while improving women’s access to income opportunities through the enhancement and promotion of non-timber forest products, the development of fishery products, the protection of local cultural heritage, and the preservation of the identities of the Malian people.
The project will benefit nearly 2.3 million people, particularly rural communities, and vulnerable populations, such as climate-impacted agricultural migrants, transhumant herders, and internally displaced persons. Some 87 communes will be targeted in the regions of Kayes, Koulikoro, Segou, and Mopti.
*The International Development Association (IDA) is the World Bank institution that provides aid to the world’s poorest countries. It was established in 1960 and provides grants and low- to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty and improve the lives of poor people. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 76 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to 1.6 billion people. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $21 billion over the last three years, with about 61% going to Africa.
