The PAGGW strengthens its partnership by signing agreements with the G5 Sahel and CILSS

On 28 July 2018, at the Palais des Congrès in Niamey, Niger, and on the sidelines of the first Ministerial Meeting on the process of operationalising the Climate Commission for the Sahel Region, two collaboration agreements were signed between the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall (PAGGW) and the G5 Sahel, and between the PAGGW and the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS).

The first ceremony for the signing of the Partnership Framework Agreement took place between the Executive Secretary of the PAGGW, Prof. Abdoulaye Dia, and the Permanent Secretary of the G5 Sahel, Mr Mamane Sidikou. It endorses the wish of the two institutions to work for greater solidarity and synergy in their shared area and for the benefit of the populations and communities. This Agreement broadly concerns the implementation of the strategies of the PAGGW and the G5 Sahel through the identification, development, execution, monitoring and evaluation of joint programmes and projects. Specifically, it covers the following areas: (i) Development of operational field activities aimed primarily at implementing climate change adaptation and resilience projects; (ii) Joint conduct of common communication and advocacy actions for visibility and resource mobilisation; (III) Capacity-building at the grassroots level on governance and local economic development in the Sahelian area; (IV) Strengthening of the systems for monitoring and evaluating actions and for Early Warning; (VI) Joint organisation of international, regional, national and local events. This Framework Cooperation Agreement remains open to any other area deemed relevant by the two Parties.

The second signing ceremony took place between the Executive Secretary of the PAGGW, Prof. Abdoulaye Dia, and the Executive Secretary of CILSS, represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary, Mr Issa Ibrahim Lumumba, the Executive Secretary of CILSS having previously signed the said Agreement. It is a Cooperation Protocol that defines the framework and the terms of cooperation and partnership between the PAGGW and CILSS for the achievement of the objectives set in the areas of common interest, in particular the alignment of strategies and Action Plans and specifically on: (i) Strategic and forward-looking thinking for development in the Sahel; (ii) The development of operational field activities aimed primarily at combating desertification in order to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); (iii) The strengthening of grassroots production systems and the scaling-up of proven local production techniques; (iv) The identification and development of scientific research themes and of training actions and exchanges of experience on drought and desertification; (v) The strengthening of environmental monitoring and Early Warning systems through the establishment of GIS, local observatories representative of at-risk ecosystems; (vi) The joint organisation of international, regional, national and local events, in particular within the framework of the multilateral conventions on the environment.

Text and photos by Abakar Mahamat Zougoulou/PAGGW