Strengthening women's resilience to climate change in Kanem province, Chad

Women in rural areas make up 40% of the total population. They are the pillars of agricultural production and food security in general. In Kanem, in the Sahelian zone, in the field or behind the cattle, it is on them that the survival of the population depends. In this agro-pastoral community, women are the driving force behind agro-pastoral production and are responsible for cooking with what nature offers. They therefore strive to protect it so that the animals have good pasture, are well-stocked and produce good milk for the household diet and for marketing the surplus. Nomadic women know the land well and are at the forefront of observing the phenomenon of global warming. With the adverse effects of climate change, these women are helplessly witnessing a drastic drop in their agro-pastoral production (harvest covering only 3 months of the year's needs, forage deficit of 40%) and a deterioration of their living conditions. The income devoted to children's education is decreasing and the disappearance of the medicinal plants they mastered has a negative impact on the health of their livestock. Desertification, the lowering of the water table and the silting up of ouaddis[1] are the striking results of climate change. Indeed, women are forced to walk long distances (several kilometres) to fetch fuel (firewood) and water, increasing not only their domestic workload but also their exposure to safety risks.

The caste system, which is still very present in Kanem, mainly concerns the "Haddad" group ("the blacksmiths"). Their social and economic marginalization would be accentuated by the impact of climate change as local natural resources dwindle. The highly patriarchal social system with decision-making powers and control of resources concentrated in the hands of men leaves women in a situation of chronic vulnerability.

The confrontation of climate change impacts with the adaptive capacities of women's livelihoods has highlighted their high vulnerability due to their strong dependence on seasonal agro-pastoral activities.

In 2012, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recognised the essential role of indigenous peoples in the fight against global warming. By ratifying the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1993, Chad committed itself to protecting the environment at the international level. A National Action Programme for Adaptation to Climate Change (NAPA - Chad) was drawn up in 2009 to identify the urgent and immediate needs of the population to cope with the negative effects of climate change.

It isin this context that ACF has been implementing socio-economic resilience projects for the past few years for the benefit of women, whose growing enthusiasm and motivation for market gardening, livestock breeding, processing and marketing of agro-pastoral products and by-products and other income-generating activities, village savings and loan associations, etc., no longer need to be demonstrated. The presence of the Ouaddis, the local know-how of women, the existence of rural and cross-border markets are all opportunities that these women must exploit to a greater extent to adapt to climate change. However, the exploitation of ouaddis by women remains limited due to: i) poor access to land; ii) poor mastery of production techniques, iii) the high level of difficulty in developing these sites and manually draining water, iv) the lack of adequate agricultural equipment, v) the continuous degradation of the productivity of ouaddis due to silting, etc.

STRATÉGY FOR INTERVENTION ON THIS ISSUE :

Several studies have confirmed the vulnerability of women to climate change and the emergence of new multidimensional and multisectoral needs to be adapted to their specificity in order to strengthen their resilience.

Through this project, ACF is continuing the sustainable support to women in Kanem in building their resilience to climate change, which has been underway for several years and has already produced good results. ACF intends to provide responses to specific needs identified during the implementation of the programmes already in place, which are

• Sustainable improvement of the productivity of agro-pastoral production basins

To limit the damage and develop the available local potential, urgent action is needed. Indeed, the ouaddis, which are the fields and agricultural land of the Kanem region, are threatened by silting (with a reduction in the exploitable surface area, a shrinking of the major river bed, a risk of overflowing water and flooding of the banks, crop land and houses). Similarly, the water table is increasingly deep (with a drawdown requiring adequate, sustainable and environmentally friendly means of extraction), poor management of irrigation water (in particular the wastage of water, a scarce resource in the Sahel, poor equipment and lack of training), as well as a drop in soil fertility (leading to a loss of yields, The lack of technical support (insufficient state technical agents, poor agropastoral extension, disconnection from innovative techniques), and finally the non-diversification of crops (no fodder crops even though the area is also pastoral, little use of spirulina, little development of arboriculture and agroforestry), etc.

• Sustainable improvement of access to savings and credit :

The women of Kanem do not diversify their income-generating activities very much, which makes them very vulnerable to climate shocks. ACF has initiated with them activities of transformation of products and by-products. These initiatives need to be improved, innovated and strengthened by exploiting new, non-agricultural opportunities such as the development of salt pans (exploitation of natrons), small-scale trade, the manufacture of improved stoves to reduce wood consumption and protect women and their babies from the carbon monoxide released by the smoke, etc. In addition, microfinance institutions should be encouraged to set up in the area to support the initiatives of women's groups.

• Sustainable improvement of access to climate information and environmental preservation:

Women engaged in seasonal agro-pastoral activities need access to climate forecasts in order to plan their campaigns accordingly. The absence of "Climate Thematic Groups" among women does not favour this access. This is why the organisation of women into several environmental clubs will be an innovation that will encourage them to search for, produce and share climate data but also to popularise the community nursery approach. The use of local community radio stations will be an asset for more impact.

ACF will use a climate change adaptation approach focusing on sustainable management of natural resources through the promotion of innovative initiatives with a sustainable impact on the environment, such as hydro-agricultural developments, solar irrigation systems, the valorisation of indigenous knowledge and the introduction of innovative crops. The Farmer Field Schools oriented towards the agro ecological transition in relation to the analysis of agroecosystems, the practice of combating silting, the mechanical and biological fight against desertification, the manufacture of bio pesticides, etc. will be popularised.

[1] Valleys in arid or semi-arid areas suitable for market gardening activities