Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests
At the outset, I would like to salute and congratulate the organizers of this important event, in particular the Government of the United Arab Emirates, the COP-29 Presidency, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), to whom I extend my warmest thanks for the invitation extended to me.
It’s a great pleasure for me to take part today in this high-level event dedicated to policy and program solutions adapted to countries in situations of fragility and conflict, to address the multiple risks and impacts of climate change on food security, and to build resilient agri-food systems.
The issues on which we are invited to vote are all the more topical in that they are at the heart of the work of the Sahel Climate Commission, which I have the great honor of leading as its Executive Secretary.
The Climate Commission for the Sahel Region was created, under the aegis of the African Union, to coordinate and mobilize regional and international support for the climate challenges facing this vulnerable part of the African continent.
Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
To the question of how the Sahel region is uniting to meet the challenges of climate change and develop a long-term plan for building resilience for food security and sustainable agrifood systems, I am pleased to note that in February 2019 the Commission’s first Conference of Heads of State and Government held in Niamey, Niger, endowed the Sahel region with a Climate Investment Plan.
This plan, whose strategic variations at national level are the NDCs, constitutes the main regional strategic reference framework, taking into account global commitments on climate and sustainable development, while helping to sustainably support resilience, adaptation and pacification in the Sahel.
This Climate Investment Plan, endorsed by the African Union for the Sahel region, is based on the priorities of the Nationally Determined Contributions of the 17 member countries of the CCRS, and is consistent with Agenda 2063 and other regional and international strategic frameworks. Its implementation is based on taking into account global commitments on climate and sustainable development, while helping to sustainably support resilience, adaptation and pacification in the Sahel.
Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
There are, however, a number of bottlenecks requiring appropriate solutions to ensure the efficiency of the resilience and adaptation actions undertaken by the Climate Commission for the Sahel Region and its partners as part of the implementation of this Plan.
Hence the need to consider the role of the international community in supporting and contributing significantly to accelerating the actions needed to reverse the trend.
The main bottlenecks to the international community’s expected support for the Sahel region are the lack of synergy between players, the shortage of bankable projects and poor access to the funding required to support the implementation of planned actions.
With regard to the lack of synergy between players, the CCRS, through its consultation frameworks defined with all stakeholders and a coherent cooperation framework agenda with its partners, is working to help strengthen the coordination of resilience and adaptation initiatives and actions in the Sahel, at both regional and national levels.
With regard to the lack of bankable projects, the CCRS, in conjunction with its partners, has drawn up a roadmap aimed at supporting its member countries through the development of multi-country structuring projects.
I would also like to mention the Program to Strengthen Resilience to Food and Nutritional Insecurity in the Sahel in 9 beneficiary countries, with support from the AfDB, and the project to implement adaptation initiatives in Central and West Africa (PACO), which aims to strengthen the adaptation capacities of 3 CCRS member countries.
Other projects at different levels of maturity are also in the pipeline of the CCRS Executive Secretariat based in Niamey, Niger.
It’s also worth pointing out that there are a number of initiatives perfectly in line with the CLS vision, from various partners in the Sahel, notably the WFP, whose Niger representation has been implementing a remarkable initiative called “Reverdir le Niger” for almost 10 years, a perfect illustration of the fact that it is possible to reverse the effects of climate change on communities and their livelihoods.
In fact, with coherent and integrated actions spanning just under a decade, this initiative has recovered 280,000 degraded hectares and strengthened the resilience of 1.9 million people initially targeted as vulnerable. These are commendable resilience actions that should be supported and promoted through their scaling-up, which requires the mobilization of substantial resources.
As mentioned above, resource mobilization is a major bottleneck for project financing in the Sahel.
Faced with this situation, the Sahel region needs a more appropriate financial mechanism to support the financing of resilience and adaptation actions by countries. With this in mind, the Climate Commission for the Sahel Region welcomes the ongoing process of operationalizing the Sahel Climate Resilience Fund.
However, in view of the imperative need to define rapid and appropriate solutions to this agenda, and pending the effective operationalization of this Fund, whose headquarters is based in Nigeria, the Climate Commission for the Sahel Region, with the support of its partners, is working on the operationalization of a facility designed to mobilize resources within a reasonable timeframe for the benefit of resilience and stabilization in the Sahel region.
I’m delighted with the progress made on this facility, with a study underway and consultations underway with partners, notably with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). I would like to take this opportunity to solemnly invite the World Food Program and all its partners to join in this process of vital importance for the Sahel.
To this end, the CCRS proposes that advocacy actions be jointly planned around this facility at upcoming major international regional agendas.
Also, aware of the enormity of the challenge of implementing sustainable actions, the Climate Commission for the Sahel Region supports the impetus of a reflection in favor of an international deal to promote a new ten-year pact for sustained support to irreversibly win the bet of resilience, adaptation and pacification of the Sahel.
With this in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to solemnly invite the Government of the United Arab Emirates and the World Food Programme, hosts of this event, to fully endorse this agenda.
With regard to the Government of the United Arab Emirates, while reiterating our warm congratulations on the success of the last COP28, which affirmed their commitment to the climate agenda, I would like to take this opportunity to renew our appeal on behalf of the member countries of the Sahel region, concerning the request for support for the construction of the CCRS headquarters, one of the priority actions for its operationalization.
In this respect, I would like to emphasize that, in line with its mandate, it is expected to equip its headquarters with the capabilities to become a regional showcase for climate and environmental diplomacy, and a laboratory for the development of structuring projects for the Sahel.
Also, with regard to the aforementioned promotion of a Ten-Year Pact in support of the Sahel region, I am pleased to point out that the UAE’s adherence to this agenda will strengthen its leadership in international diplomacy and cooperation.
With this in mind, I am pleased to announce the CCRS’s proposal to organize an advocacy event for the Sahel on the sidelines of the next COP in conjunction with the World Food Programme, the Government of the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan, the host country of the next COP.
Thank you for your kind attention, and I reiterate the CCRS’s full readiness to work with all partners to implement the above-mentioned strategic and operational actions, with a view to successfully tackling the Sahel’s resilience agenda.