AdaptWAP

Status

In progress

Duration of the project

4 years (2020-2024) with an extension until July 2026

Themes

Sustainable Land Management
Resilience of the populations and ecosystems
Climate change adaptation
Multi-Risk Early Warning

Total budget

11 536 200 US$

Beneficiaries

Technical services of the ministerial departments responsible for the Environment of the three countries

Local communities & authorities at the level of the W, Arly and Pendjari parks

Local professional organizations & Professional women's organizations

Local NGOs

Local civil society

Countries concerned

Bénin, Burkina Faso, Niger

Integration of Climate Change Adaptation Measures in the Consolidated Management of the Transboundary Wap Complex

Shared by Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) complex encompasses a mosaic of zones with diverse protection regimes. This unique ecological treasure, celebrated for its biodiversity, is nevertheless under growing strain. Competing land uses, poaching, overgrazing, agricultural expansion, and transhumance undermine its balance. Added to these pressures are bushfires, surface water pollution, unsustainable fishing, the exploitation of forest and non-timber products, and the mounting impacts of climate change and variability, which further deepen its vulnerability.

In response to these challenges, the AdaptWAP project was launched to strengthen ecosystem resilience while enhancing the livelihoods of the populations that depend on the complex. Its strategy is centered on establishing a Multi-Risk Early Warning System (MR-EWS) and implementing concrete adaptation measures tailored to the field realities.

Beyond these technical interventions, the initiative seeks to mainstream climate issues into key strategic documents, build community resilience through early warning mechanisms, and safeguard ecosystems by promoting sustainable infrastructure. Equally important, it emphasizes mobilizing and raising awareness among beneficiaries and partners, ensuring the long-term sustainability of actions and fostering a collective commitment to the preservation of the WAP.

Financial partners

Adaptation Fund - AF

Technical partners

General Directorate of Water and Forests - DGEF, Burkina Faso
General Directorate of Water and Forests - DGEF, Niger
National Center of Management of Fauna Reserves - CENAGREF, Benin

Key Achievements

The Complex management documents developed and adopted by the WAP Ministerial Council :

The Climate Change Adaptation Plan and its methodological guide ;
The technical annexes integrating the adaptation measures in the Development and Management Plans of the W-Arly-Pendjari parks as well as the Development Master Plan of the complex.

Enhancing ecosystem resilience and improving livelihoods of populations:

Validation by communities and local authorities of the locations of corridors, water points, and grazing areas to be developed by the project;
Construction of pastoral wells and creation of grazing areas;
Distribution of irrigation equipment and tools for the conservation and processing of fishery products to local populations;
Launching microcredits for financing income-generating activities.

Training and capacity building of local stakeholders:

Development of thematic training modules for trainers in Environmental Education, Climate Change, Sustainable Land Management, Multirisk Early Warning System (MEWS), and disaster management;
Training of trainers, including teachers and extension technicians;
Capacity building of fishermen and fishmongers in fishing and fish farming techniques, including local trainers and producers;
Capacity building of producers in the WAP neighboring villages on agroforestry techniques, small-scale irrigation, reforestation, and assisted natural regeneration (ANR).

Implementation of adaptation infrastructures:

Hydraulic systems, pastoral wells, demarcation of 35 km of transhumance corridors, fish farming facilities, reforestation, and anti-erosion structures.

Implementation of a Multi-Risk Early Warning System (MR-EWS) - Floods, Drought, and Wildfires

Documents