Benin/Resilience to climate change: Bassila has its own project

This Friday, December 27, 2024, the Bassila town hall officially launched the activities of the Bassila and Pénéssoulou (Donga) classified forests climate change resilience project in the central region of Benin. A project specific to the commune of Bassila, which the local mayor describes as a privilege and a great opportunity.

The aim of the project is to strengthen the resilience of beneficiaries whose livelihoods continue to deteriorate significantly as a result of climate change. This is despite the use of existing endogenous adaptation methods. Specifically, the project will help to build the capacities of the most vulnerable small-scale farmers in terms of good practices for adapting to climate change; to develop value-added chains in the agricultural and livestock sectors; and to improve the quality of life of the beneficiaries.value-added chains in promising sectors to diversify the sources of income of the most vulnerable communities, and to strengthen the local governance and management framework for adaptation to climate change.

The project's area of intervention is exclusively the commune of Bassila, notably the central arrondissement and Pénéssoulou. The project's direct beneficiaries are community organizations. The total budget for the project is 1,760,727,000 FCFA, financed by the Climate Change Adaptation Fund and implemented by the Fonds National pour l'Environnement et le Climat (FNEC). The project will be implemented over four years, from 2024 to 2028, by the Agence Territoriale de Développement Agricole du pôle 4.

For Mr. TASSOU ZAKARI Filikibirou, Mayor of Bassila, his commune is very honored to benefit from this project. "The commune of Bassila is the third largest in Benin. More than half of its surface area is occupied by classified forests. The anarchic exploitation of timber is considerably reducing the surface area of these forest stands. As a result, local populations tend to extract more resources from the forests, at the risk of upsetting, in the current climate of climate change, the fragile balance between the sustainable satisfaction of their essential needs and the services provided by the ecosystem. The project is an opportunity for the entire commune of Bassila and Pénéssoulou. The project opens up a new era in Bassila, boosting agricultural production, increasing incomes and creating jobs. The Bassila Communal Council is determined to work with ATDA 4 and FNEC to achieve the project's objectives", stressed the Mayor.

The Chargé de Mission of the Prefect of Donga, representing the Prefect, Mr. Salihou HAROUNA, noted that the project fits in well with the objectives of sustainable development and the vision of the government of the Head of State, Patrice TALON.

Source: www.gouv.bj/