Gender-Transformative Wetlands Conservation in Lake Chad Basin by Alinea

This project employs a gender-transformative approach to overcome barriers faced by women and girls in participating in and benefiting from nature-based solutions (NbS) and biodiversity conservation. Its Theory of Change posits that enhancing adaptive capacity in vulnerable communities and ecosystems will boost natural, social, and economic capital to sustain NbS and alleviate poverty. This involves rehabilitating wetlands and agro-pastoral spaces through inclusive, community-led efforts, with women and youth promoting sustainable ecosystem use and climate-smart practices. By engaging men, the project aims to elevate women’s status, decision-making power, and access to resources, while fostering women’s and youth leadership in environmental peacebuilding and conflict reduction at RAMSAR sites.

Here, the aim is to enhance the climate resilience of ecosystems and marginalised communities, particularly women and youth, in the Lake Chad Basin region through nature-based solutions (NbS). It focuses on improving the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity by communities vulnerable to climate change, especially women and youth, in BLT protected areas registered under the RAMSAR Convention.

The initiative seeks to empower women and youth in agropastoral communities within and near target RAMSAR sites, enabling them to adopt and benefit from sustainable governance and climate-resilient agricultural livelihoods. Additionally, it promotes leadership among women and youth in environmental peacebuilding around these sites, contributing to regional stabilisation and enhancing ecosystem and community resilience in the BLT area.

Key outputs include conducting assessments of selected RAMSAR sites to prepare for rehabilitation actions and developing stakeholders’ capacities to apply local knowledge in ecosystem-based climate risk assessments. Protected area management plans are reviewed to integrate climate and biodiversity linkages, while wetlands and degraded lands are rehabilitated and protected.

Technical support is provided to the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and national authorities to develop biodiversity monitoring infrastructure, and climate change impact assessments are produced for ecosystems and services. National strategies are reviewed for climate change components, and a gender-sensitive value chain analysis is conducted to identify barriers to finance for women and youth.

Training and mentoring are offered to women and youth for forming producer groups, developing business plans, and accessing climate finance. Micro-grants support wetland-based income-generating activities, facilitating access to climate-smart agriculture technologies and micro-finance programs. Assessments for restoration readiness are conducted, and community leaders are mobilised to support women’s leadership in adopting NbS.

Community dialogues explore pathways to peace through NbS, and conflict-sensitive natural resource management strategies are developed in pilot sites. Training enhances negotiation skills and leadership for women and youth, and youth organisations are trained to influence regional peace processes. An action plan is developed to build consensus among LCBC, RSF, and stakeholders, with technical assistance and capacity building provided on gender and youth-responsive adaptation programming.