GEF Small Grants Programme

1
VRA experiences
Niger
Namibia
By Katiella and Nickey
2
Adjusting Community Based NRM Practices to reduce
climate change risk in the Omusati Region.
The objective of the Project is to increase
community-level capacity to be able to adapt to
climate change through implementation of
sustainable natural resources management
practices at four (4) farming communities in
Onkani arid lands and the surroundings.
3
Outcomes
USD 53,235.28
4
Outcomes
USD 45,954.13
5
VRA Process

• About 50 people invited/participated initially
• Later, only representatives from four targeted
  villages
• People collected with two vehicles
• Lunch provided (traditional dish)
• Other stakeholders invited.. CPP grn..
• Brainstorming done on CC
• CC/Greenhouse explain by CPP experts
• VRA process rationaled
• Other PRA methods blended with VRA - only one
  big piece of paper (ZOPP)
• Three quarters of a day on VRA
• In the end experience appreciated

6
Some lessons

• CC not technically known by villagers
• A brainstorming session on Climate Change
  indicated that the community is not really
  conversant with CC.
• They might have experience CC in their villages
  but never discussed is as such within a bigger
  group or even at home.
• The CC technical terms are new to them.

• Therefore.
• ..the VRA session to be preceded by a thorough
  session on CCA.
• TRANSLATION
• discussion on CC in every community meetings
  starting with the CBA planning sessions and will
  be continued with the implementation of the
  project.

7
The H-Form
8
Supporting Adaptation of Productive Practices
among Pastoral and Agro pastoral Communities in
the Rombou Rural Commune (Dakoro Department)

• Objective The objective of the project is to
  build the capacity of the community to engage in
  livelihood practices that will maintain and
  strengthen ecosystem resilience in the face of
  climate change including variability
• Outcomes Co-Financed
• Traditional wells rehabilitated (co-financing)
• Creation of grain and seed banks to promote
  better-adapted and climate-resilient seeds and to
  provide a buffer against food insecurity stemming
  from increasing climate variability
  (co-financing)
• Outcomes Core SPA
• Water points protected against climate-driven
  siltation, erosion and desertification
  (Tree-planting around water points)
• Alternative NRM practices piloted in the Tarka
  valley to promote ecosystem resilience in the
  face of climate change (Piloting of cultivated
  forage, Piloting of dune fixation measures using
  hedgerows, Piloting of degraded land restoration
  measures)
• Community members trained to implement and
  monitor climate-resilient natural resource
  management practices.
• Lessons learned from project implementation
  integrated into local-level planning

USD 145,000.00
9
Development of sustainable agricultural
techniques for adapting to climate change in
three villages in the municipality of Roumbou,
Department of Dakoro

• Objective The objective of the project is to
  build the capacity of the community to engage in
  livelihood practices that will contribute to the
  reduction of climate change-driven soil erosion
  pressures.
• Outcomes Co-Financed
• Measures piloted to restore degraded land (25
  hectares of degraded land restored, including 5
  hectares of dunes
• Community members trained to implement and
  monitor land reclamation practices.
• Outcomes Core SPA
• Decreasingly sustainable exploitation of natural
  ecosystems and extensive agricultural practices
  replaced with intensive practices which will
  reduce deforestation and be more sustainable in
  the face of long-term climate change pressures.
• A community-managed bank of agricultural inputs
  instituted
• Demonstration of quick-maturing seeds
• 15 community-level brigadiers trained to
  disseminate identified best practices in climate
  resilient agriculture locally
• Agricultural implements provided to the most
  vulnerable households (less than 10 households,
  who would otherwise be forced to subsist on
  clime-stressed ecosystems)
• Lessons learned from project implementation
  integrated into local-level planning

USD 61,000.00
10
SPECIFIC FACILITATION TECHNIQUES

• Background on climate change and explanation on
  the VRA methodology given.
• Questions repeated several times
• More than one facilitator effective and
  culturally appropriate.
• Follow up questions asked which successfully
  elicited detailed information on how climate
  change impacts have manifested themselves in the
  communities.
• Opinions of different gender and age groups
  actively solicited.
• Appropriate use of humour and other cultural
  tools can help to test the accuracy of the
  community answers

11
VRA and Gender

• For most of OIKE projectit is women
• Roles and Responsibilities shared if not
  equal.almost within all set-ups
• Young man and women actively engage but not as
  desired
• SGP principle of gender consideration in projects
  brushed

12
What can done?

• Introduce the VRA at NCC and field facilitators
  levels before the community meeting
• Translate into local languages for all questions
  need to be agreed before going to the meeting.
• Comprehensive scoring system
• Need to limit participant group size
• To prepare and adapt the first question of VRA
  for the target group.
• Baseline-additionality reasoning must be clearly
  understood
• Reduce the number of questions

13
CHALLENGES

• Levels to measure indicators
• Accuracy of the Baseline
• VRA and other existing local ME tools
• VRA quantitative data?

Thanks for listening