From 22 March to 2 April 2023, a technical team from the FSRP Mali carried out an information and awareness-raising mission for local stakeholders on the Programme and the concept of Integrated Landscape Management (ILM). This mission was part of the launch of activities relating to Integrated Landscape Management (ILM).
In the Cercles of Ségou and Niono in the Ségou region, the Cercles of Koutiala and Yorosso in the Koutiala region and the Cercles of Sikasso and Kadiolo in the Sikasso region, the FSRP Mali national coordination team informed beneficiaries and raised their awareness of the programme's main activities, as well as those relating to GIP in particular. Participatory mapping was used to collect data for the pre-identification of ILM sites in order to define the programme's ILM intervention areas.
The main stakeholders from the deconcentrated departments of agriculture, water and forests, rural engineering, animal and industrial production, hydraulics and meteorology, as well as the administrative and political authorities of the localities visited, gained a better understanding of the GIP approach. This innovative environmental management mechanism enables people to achieve sustainable improvements in the food security and nutritional status of vulnerable rural households and their resilience to climate risks. ILM is a spatial, ecological and socio-economic approach to natural resource management. Its aim is to ensure the well-being of populations through a shared vision supported by all stakeholders. It makes it possible to restore natural resources, improve the profitability of agricultural production and anticipate and even manage conflicts at local level.
The stakeholders and partners in the field, working in groups, drew up mental maps showing, among other things, the rice, maize and shallot/onion production zones. They also listed
relief features, degraded land, insecure areas and non-timber forest products. The solutions developed in this respect relate to the adoption of a common development vision over 25 years, and the preparation and implementation of an integrated development plan for the territory a 5-year period.
A total of 71 priority communes have been selected, based on eleven predefined criteria, to from the programme. The activities planned for the programme's beneficiaries include the restoration of 4,000 ha of degraded land (1,400 ha in Sikasso, as many ha in Kadiolo, Koutiala and Yorosso, and 1,200 ha in Ségou and Niono). In addition, 50 ha of small will be rehabilitated. There are also plans to develop 1,000 ha of flood plains.
In terms of improving the food and nutrition situation in priority landscapes, the programme will support the strengthening of food and nutrition education in each of the municipalities involved.
