The Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) (www.GGGI.org) signed a financing agreement on 9th March 2023 in Ouagadougou, to jointly strengthen the resilience and sustainable development of the Kaya-Dori axis in the Centre-Nord region of Burkina Faso.

According to the Korean government's the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus Implementation Strategy to contribute to international efforts to address the root causes of fragility, KOICA is going to promote sustainable development through strengthening the capacity to manage societal, political, economic, and environmental risks.

The project will last for three years with a budget of 3 million US dollars, or about 2 billion XOF. It will be implemented by GGGI in collaboration with the Government of Burkina Faso, the Technical Alliance for Development Assistance (ATAD) and Action for the Promotion of Local Initiatives (APIL).

The project will address issues relating to environmental preservation, access to water, food security, the promotion of women, income-generating activities, sustainable agriculture, and natural resource management. It will complement existing initiatives that support the government in managing the internal displacement crisis resulting from terrorism in the Sahel. However, it goes beyond humanitarian support to build community resilience and sustainable development focused on local green growth strategies.

For the Minister of Environment, Water and Sanitation (MEEA), this project will contribute to its objectives to increase the recovery and sustainable management of degraded agricultural land, greening of local development plans, promotion of solar pumping systems for agricultural production, access to environmentally friendly cooking systems, and the creation of nutritious community gardens.

GGGI will capitalize the project results to design a replicable intervention model for promoting green growth in situations of conflict and fragility.

According to the Governor of the Center-North Region, Colonel Major Zoewendmanego Blaise Ouédraogo: "This project will bring relief to the population of the region by providing considerable support to internally displaced persons (IDPs). It will offer solutions for sustainable livelihoods of 750 direct beneficiary households, and reach more than 18,750 indirect beneficiaries, 60% of whom are women.”

The Country Director of the KOICA office in Côte d'Ivoire covering several African countries, Mr. Dong-wan Woo, stressed the importance for KOICA to strengthen and boost cooperation between Korea and Burkina Faso. He said: "Strengthening resilience and consolidating peace on the Kaya-Dori axis through this project demonstrates that Korea is a friendly country concerned about the future of Burkina Faso’s population.”

Over the past five years, GGGI and KOICA have delivered several joint projects around the world. They include the promotion of renewable energy in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea; wastewater and solid waste treatment in the Lao People's Democratic Republic; the management of the Aral Sea ecological crisis faced by the Republic of Karakalpakstan; the promotion of climate-smart agriculture in Nepal, the Strengthening of Solid Waste and Faecal Sludge Management Capacity for the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area in Uganda and a project in Ethiopia called climate resilient forest and landscape restoration.