International Union for Conservation of Nature Country: Chad PROJECT DOCUMENT Final version Restoring ecological corridors in the Mayo-Kebbi Ouest, Chad, to support multiple land and forests benefits - RECONNECT Brief Description of the project The proposed GEF-funded project “Restoring ecological corridors in the Mayo-Kebbi Ouest, Chad, to support multiple land and forests benefits (RECONNECT)” will be implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).This project will support the adoption of best-practices in forestry and the management of agro-sylvo-pastoral systems in the Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Region (MKO) of Chad. The MKO is one of the two most densely inhabited regions of the country. Most of its primarily rural population lives below the poverty line and relies on farming and livestock for their survival and livelihoods. The natural environment of the MKO is continuing to be negatively affected by a combination of natural factors and human practices, including overexploitation. This has resulted in significant increases in the loss, degradation and fragmentation of natural forest areas. Current land use practices are some of the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the MKO. In addition, unsustainable practices have contributed to a decrease in the productivity of land and the disappearance of large mammals over much of the area. These natural factors and the evolving socio-ecological context in the MKO are resulting in increased competition and confrontations over the region’s natural resources. The proposed project aims to improve sustainability and expand positive impacts of natural resource management techniques by providing existing local structures and systems the skills, knowledge and means to operate and establish or strengthen best-practices in the management of the MKO’s natural forested areas and agro-sylvo-pastoral systems. The project is structured to align with and reinforce the practices for local governance of natural resources implemented by the Government of Chad in partnership with GIZ and the European Union. This project is highly consistent with the Government of Chad’s national priorities, plans, and policies and is consistent with GEF-6 focal area strategies for land degradation (LD), climate change mitigation (CCM) and sustainable forest management (SFM). Given the high proportion of the population of the MKO that is dependent on local natural resources for their livelihoods and other ecological services, the project will engage the diverse set of social groups in the MKO to address these trends and adopt more sustainable natural resources management systems. Adopting best- practices in forestry (including soil and forest restoration) and the management of agro-sylvo-pastoral systems will provide an important means for the MKO and Chad more broadly to maintain and increase their carbon stocks, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon sequestration. It will also offer additional co-benefits by minimizing the negative environmental impacts of these systems. 1 List of Acronyms BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany CCD Comité Cantonal de Développement / Canton Development Committee CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CTD Collectivité Territoriale Décentralisée / Local territorial community CVS Comité Villageois de Surveillance / Safeguard Village Committee ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESMP Environmental and Social Management Plan ESMS Environmental and Social Management System EU European Union EX-ACT Ex-Ante Carbon-balance Tool – FAO FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FPIC Free prior informed consent GEF Global Environment Facility GGO IUCN’s Global Gender Office Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit / German GIZ technical cooperation IFC International Finance Corporation Instances Locales d’Orientation et de Décision / Local Decision and ILOD Orientation Authorities IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature JICA Japan International Cooperation KfW Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau / German financial cooperation MKO Mayo-Kebbi Region Ministère de l’Environnement et des Pêches / Ministry of the Environment MEP and Fisheries Resources NGO Non-governmental organization PAAS Project Appraisal and Approval System Programme d’Appui au Développement Local et à la Gestion des PADL-GRN Ressources Naturelles / Support to Local Development and Natural Resource Management Projet « Aires Protégées Résilientes au Changement Climatique » / PARCC « Protected Areas Resilient to Climate Change » Project Projet Conservation et Gestion des Ressources Naturelles / Natural PCGRN resource conservation and management project 2 PCMS Project Complaints Management System PDL Plan de Développement Local / Local Development Plan PFO Point Focal Opérationnel / Operationnal Focal Point PGS Project Guidelines and Standards PIF Project Identification Form PPG Projet Preparation Grant Projet de Renforcement de la Résilience et de la Cohabitation Pacifique PRCPT au Tchad / Strengthening resilience and peaceful cohabitation in Chad Programme de Développement Rural Décentralisé du Mayo Dallah, du PRODALKA Lac Léré et de la Kabbia / Decentralized rural development in Mayo Dallah, Léré Lake and Kabbia Region PRODOC Project Document Resilience Adaptation Pathways and Transformation Assessment RAPTA Framework RBA Rights-based approach SABV Schéma d’Aménagement de Bassin Versant / River Basin Master Plan SAT Schéma d’Aménagement de Territoire / Land Planning Document Schéma Directeur de la Décentralisation / Decentralization Planning SSD Document STAP Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel ToR Terms of references UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 3 Restoring ecological corridors in the Mayo-Kebbi Ouest, Chad, to support multiple land and forests benefits - (RECONNECT) – Project Document Table of contents 1 Project Profile .................................................................................................................................. 6 1.1 Project title ............................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Project Number (GEF ID / IUCN ID) ....................................................................................... 6 1.3 Project type (FSP or MSP) ...................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Trust Fund ............................................................................................................................... 6 1.5 GEF strategic objectives and focal areas ............................................................................... 6 1.6 IUCN programme priority ........................................................................................................ 6 1.7 Geographical scope ................................................................................................................ 6 1.8 Project executing agency/ies .................................................................................................. 6 1.9 Duration of project (including expected start and end dates) ................................................. 6 1.10 Project cost (Summary) ........................................................................................................... 6 2 Project Results Framework ............................................................................................................. 7 3 Background and situation analysis (Baseline course of action) .................................................... 15 3.1 Background and context ....................................................................................................... 15 3.1.1 Environmental and Socio-economic context ................................................................. 15 3.1.2 Institutional, sectoral and policy context ....................................................................... 18 3.2 Global environment problem ................................................................................................. 22 3.3 Threats, roots causes and barriers analysis ......................................................................... 23 3.3.1 Threats .......................................................................................................................... 23 3.3.2 Root causes .................................................................................................................. 26 3.3.3 Barrier analysis .............................................................................................................. 28 3.3.5 Summary of the threats, root causes and barriers ........................................................ 29 3.4 Stakeholder analysis ............................................................................................................. 29 3.5 Baseline analysis and gaps ................................................................................................... 38 3.5.1 Past and planned national actions and projects ........................................................... 38 3.5.2 Past and planned regional actions and projects ........................................................... 41 3.5.3 GEF interventions ......................................................................................................... 42 3.5.4 Gaps to be filled ...........................................................................................................