With less than a year to go before the Desertif’actions 2026 international summit scheduled to take place in Djerba (Tunisia), Burkina Faso hosted a national preparatory workshop on 19 and 20 June 2025. The meeting, which was held at the SPONG offices in Ouagadougou, brought together various stakeholders involved in the fight against desertification and climate resilience.
Under the theme “Promoting solutions for the resilience of territories and communities in the face of drought”, the workshop provided a genuine framework for multi-stakeholder dialogue. It explored several strategic areas: the transformation of agricultural and pastoral systems, the sustainable management of water resources, and the role of local authorities in anticipating climate crises.
Over the two days, participants – representatives of NGOs, local authorities, farmers’ organisations, the private sector and research – identified the main constraints faced by communities exposed to drought. Working groups were then set up to formulate concrete and appropriate proposals, geared towards strong advocacy actions.
“One of the objectives of this workshop was to identify the levers for using agroecology to improve community resilience. The results are satisfactory, and the ideas that emerged from the group work are a call to action”, emphasised Léa OUÉDRAOGO, Project Manager at the NGO Autre Terre. She stressed the importance of a common message from all the players, to strengthen the impact of the advocacy work.
Boukary Zomodo, chairman of the special delegation of the commune of Yako, agrees: “We have made recommendations to the government, local authorities, civil society and the research community. It’s crucial that everyone involved makes the fight against drought part of their day-to-day activities. Among the key recommendations: greater support for local authorities to take account of environmental issues and the institutionalisation of agro-ecology at ministerial level.
The proposals resulting from this workshop will be incorporated into the international advocacy of civil society at the Desertif’Actions 2026 summit, scheduled for 25 to 28 March in Djerba. They will also be taken to the next COP 30 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), scheduled to take place in Brazil.
Beyond the technical resolutions, the meeting marked a symbolic and strategic step: it strengthened the voice of local communities and affirmed that the fight against drought can only be effective if it starts from the realities on the ground. A conviction now shared by all the participants: resilience is built in the territories, with those who live there.
