FOLUR : List of Child Projects Burundi China Colombia Côte d'Ivoire Ethiopia Ghana Guatemala Indonesia Kazakhstan Liberia Malaysia Mexico Papua New Guinea Peru Tanzania Thailand Ukraine Vietnam Global Child Project GEF-7 CHILD PROJECT CONCEPT Burundi CHILD PROJECT TYPE: FULL-SIZED CHILD PROJECT PROGRAM: IP FOLUR Child Project Title: Burundi Coffee Landscape Restoration and Resilience Project Country: Republic of Burundi Lead Agency World Bank GEF Agency(ies): World Bank Total project cost (GEF Grant): $6,000,000 Total Cofinancing: $46,000,000 Country Context Burundi’s geographic and demographic characteristics, exacerbated by climate risks, have subjected the rural lands to immense pressure. Much of the country’s terrain is hilly and mountainous, with natural forests once covering 30–50 percent of its territory. However, high population density (approximately 470 per square km) and rapid growth (3.3 percent per year over the past two decades) have put substantial pressure on forests and agricultural lands: forests have been cleared for agricultural production, accounting now for only 6.6 percent of the country’s territory. Coffee production and exports in Burundi account for 80 percent of the country's total exports, making the country the 13th largest Arabica producer globally. Coffee production covers 70,000 ha nationally with very good agronomic conditions for Arabica cultivation. Coffee is identified by Burundi’s National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP) as a top priority sector for investments with a Coffee Sector Development Strategy approved in 2015. It plays a vital role in the country for job creation, food security and poverty reduction, and is earmarked as a priority sector for investments in the NAIP. However, coffee cultivation is also the lead cause of deforestation in the country. Steep hillsides have increasingly been brought under cultivation without erosion control, and with significant land fragmentation into small plots (about 0.5 ha per household on average), intensive farming practices have increasingly become unsustainable in terms of preserving soil fertility and integrity. This is affecting top soils and cultivable land, thereby increasing the pressure to convert and utilize remaining forests, including forests within protected areas. Coffee has historically been promoted as unshaded monocrop; however, more sustainable techniques such as multicropping (for example, with banana) and shade-grown systems (cultivation between trees) are gaining interest by the private sector, in line with the government’s strategy to promote ecological coffee production and strengthen the country’s position on specialty coffee markets. The sector has opened to private investors for transformation and export, and has seen the emergence of producer organizations, private sector-led governance structures, as well as an expansion of business networks. Indeed, since 1986, the coffee industry has been one of the priority sectors targeted for deregulation and privatization as part of the structural adjustment program. Due to the civil war and subsequent recovery challenges, this process, including privatization of state entities and several washing stations, experienced delays, but subsequently led to positive developments, including: (i) the establishment of the Coffee Sector Regulatory Authority (ARFIC), which inter alia promotes ecological coffee production and certification, and the multi-stakeholder value-chain association Intercafé (see https://afca.coffee/portfolio-item/intercafe-burundi/); (ii) an effective deregulation of de-pulping, milling and export activities; and (iii) the construction of new washing stations and milling units by private investors and the washing station management company SOGESTAL. While it is too early to assess the entire benefit from the coffee privatization process and market reforms, there is evidence that the overall impact on producer prices has been positive, albeit inequities in price transmission remain. The national coffee producers’ confederation CNAC is structured from the bottom-up by the associations at the hills level, unions of associations, cooperatives, federations and the CNAC at national level. Its main functions are to be the voice for the coffee growers in matters that affect them and to offer extension services to their members in both growing and processing coffee. CNAC is composed of over 3,200 associations of coffee growers representing about 109,000 individual members. The Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Burundi has been engaged in research and development and dissemination of information on sustainable coffee cultivation techniques, sustainable landscape management techniques, and other production systems. Landscape restoration is a key pillar in Burundi’s 2018-2027 National Development Plan and its strategies for forest conservation, sustainable land management and emission reduction. It is also reflected in the territorial land use plans of project-targeted provinces. At the global level, Burundi has ratified the three Rio conventions and has in place an NBSAP and a NAPA which emphasize the importance of forests and adaptation of farming practices, and highlight the impact of soil erosion. Burundi also has in place a 2012 National Climate Change Policy and a National Strategy and Action Plan on Climate Change. Its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the UNFCCC is a reduction in GHG emissions by 23 percent and 12,000 ha/yr reforested. It is a participant in the UNCCD LDN Target Setting process and under the Bonn Challenge it has a reforestation commitment of 2 million ha. Project Overview and Approach Provide a brief description of the geographical target(s), including details of systemic challenges, and the specific environmental threats and associated drivers that must be addressed The geographical target of the project is the Kibira National Park and surrounding coffee landscapes in the municipalities of Matongo (Kayanza Province) and Musigati (Bubanza Province). These are mainly degraded coffee production areas formed on five hills with a total area of 6,120 ha. These landscapes are crucial for sediment control in the Victoria and Tanganyika Lakes and are an important food source for a population of around 64,000. The consequences of deforestation and land degradation have been costly to the population, the economy and the environment. Indeed, the population depends significantly on the land resource: not only is it the source of food, income, and energy for the vast majority, it is also particularly vulnerable to devastating events. Deforestation and intensive agriculture on hillsides without proper erosion control, and the illicit exploitation of protected areas due to the reduced availability of wood resources outside them have disturbed soil integrity and compromised the water retention function of the soil upstream. Thus, landslides and floods are frequent, causing substantial damage to the infrastructure and human lives downstream. Compounding the effects of soil erosion, intensive agriculture without adequate use of fertilizer has also affected crop yields. Thus, production has stagnated over the last two decades and is lagging below population growth, hence threatening rural households’ food and nutrition security and livelihoods. Soil erosion also has led to the shrinking of water bodies, such as Lake Tanganyika and the northern lakes, and siltation and drying up of various rivers, including those feeding hydroelectric dams. Deforestation and land degradation also have caused the loss of biodiversity of national and global importance. The extinction of animal and plant species has notably been observed in places such as Kibira National Park and other protected areas and reserves due to changes in habitat as a result of the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources. Burundi has a history of extreme climate-related events. It is the fourth most vulnerable country and the 20th least ready country when it comes to combating climate change effects and coping with natural disasters such as droughts, wildfires, floods, and landslides. Historical data show that Burundi has experienced alternating cycles of excess and deficit rainfall nearly every decade over the last six decades, as well as overall increased mean temperature, with the dry season getting longer. Past extreme weather events, including the severe floods in 2006 and 2007 and severe droughts in 1999–2000 and in 2005, affected over 2 million Burundians and accounted for losses exceeding 5 percent of GDP. With climate change, the frequency and intensity of severe meteorological and hydrological events are likely to continue escalating, amplifying the risks of further soil erosion and crop yield reduction. Efforts toward sustainable food systems, deforestation-free value chains and landscape restoration will address Burundi’s multifaceted challenges of rural poverty, nutrition, food security and local land use. Deforested and degraded land must be actively rehabilitated to restore hydrological functions of the soil systems. Measures to prevent future upstream soil erosion and downstream catastrophes also need to be introduced. To increase the efficiency of its agrarian economy, climate-smart planning approaches need to be introduced, and there should be wider adoption of improved agricultural practices. Finally, measures to prevent further deforestation in natural habitats adjacent to coffee landscapes must also be taken. Describe the existing or planned baseline investments,