Women Empowerment and Environmental Restoration for Conflict Prevention in the Sahel

Project Brief:

Women Empowerment and Environmental Restoration for Conflict Prevention in the Sahel

Economic empowerment of women and youth, advocacy and coalition for environmental actions and climate change resilience is key for sustained actions on climate change and conflict prevention. ACRL-Religions for Peace with support from Bread for the World (BftW) is implementing a 3-year project in the Sahel region, dubbed ‘Women Empowerment and Environmental Restoration for Conflict Prevention in the Sahel’. The goal of the project is to contribute towards the restoration of the environment and conflict transformation in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal by strengthening the voices of religious leaders.

This will be achieved through working with the leadership of the National Interreligious Council (NIRCs) of Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal and their women and youth networks. IRC Burkina Faso has fully fledged women of faith and interfaith youth network who will work on this project. In Mali, ACRL-Religions for Peace will facilitate the formalization of the women and youth networks in collaboration with the newly created NIRC to facilitate their carrying out of this project. In Senegal, ACRL-Religions for Peace connections with influential religious leaders that will catalyse the establishment of NIRCs in tandem with women and youth networks.

The project targets the training of 206 women and 200 youth leaders in climate change adaptation through the leadership of faith institutions/ regional coordinating bodies of the NIRCs. In the project period, we anticipate for a total of 1.8 million trees will be planted through 18,000 congregants that will be trained by the women and youth leaders.

In February 2022, ACRL-Religions for Peace launched the Sahel Project in Bamako, Mali. This event was attended by Religious Leaders, women and youth drawn from Inter-Religious Council of Mali (IRC Mali) and the proposed women and youth networks. A commemorative tree was planted by Dr. Yaya Traore, who graced the occasion a representative of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Mali to symbolise the launch of the project in the Sahel region. The launch was aired in the national TV, Cherifla Station.

In the course of the project implementation, ACRL-Religions for Peace will document each phase and process to provide for learning, peer exchange and experience sharing amongst the 3 countries. This will further provide a knowledge base for faith communities and actors interested in working in environment and conflict related interventions.

Project photos:

Figure 1: A group photo of the participants during the launch of the project in Bamako, Mali.

Figure 2: Dr. Francis Kuria- SG, ACRL-RfP watering the planted commemorative tree as a symbol of the launch of the project in Mali.

Figure 3: A photo of the introduction meeting of the Sahel Project in Mali.

Figure 4: From Left to Right: Sheikh Issa Traore -Coordinator, IRC Mali, Pastor Talfi Ag Mohamed – representative, Evangelical Church,  Dr. Francis Kuria – SG, ACRL-RfP, Dr. Yaya Traore – representative, Minister of Religious Affairs, Mme Djelika Sacko- representative, UNAFEM and Fr. Ha Jo Lhore – representative, Catholic Church.