First phase of USAID/Senegal “Wula Nafaa” program generates nearly $2.5 million in new revenue, 1,700 new jobs
Stakholders
from the USAID/Wula Nafaa project perform a sketch on local governance issues
during the closeout ceremony in Tambacounda. Photo by S. Telingator, USAID/Senegal.
|
DAKAR, Senegal, May 2008 – With a marked increase in local revenues and a newly decentralized management approach to community forestry, the USAID/Wula Nafaa program ended the first phase of implementation in Tambacounda, Senegal.
As a means of addressing the struggle against poverty, the USAID/Wula Nafaa program was designed around the areas of biodiversity, natural products commerce and good governance and reforms. At the end of the project, USAID/Wula Nafaa was able to claim an increase of 96 % in revenues for 3,598 enterprises operating in the agricultural sectors of the targeted sectors. It generated about $2.5 million in new revenues in 2007 for rural producers and the creation of 1,700 new jobs.
Additionally, its efforts helped strengthen the legally recognized, community-based, and sustainable natural resources management plans through the implementation of 20 local conventions covering over 2.7 million hectares and three forest management plans covering 77,000 hectares.
Wula Nafaa (which means Benefits of the Forest) began in 2003, based on the concepts of Nature, Wealth and Power. The program successfully demonstrated that if a community fully exercises its own rights to manage its natural resources, and if these efforts benefit the stakeholders at every stage, this would contribute to improved and more sustainable natural resources management.
“The USAID/Wula Nafaa program has demonstrated that, in spite of limited resources, thanks to sound management practices local communities can be more responsible for the use of their own resources,” stated Kevin Mullally, USAID/Senegal Mission Director.
The project’s many successes during its five-year implementation period include:
- A 1.129% increase in revenues of 150 charcoal producers.
- A $3 million increase in exports of natural products.
- 265 tons of laalo mbepp at a value of $1 million exported in France.
- 15,000 tons of cashew nuts valued at $7.2 million dollars exported.
Loud cheers and a standing ovation from the local community marked the end of the closeout ceremony which included presentations from Governor of the region, and the Director of USAID/Senegal, Kevin Mullally. The ceremony also recognized the achievement of the all-female Koba Club, located in Kégodou, Senegal, who, as a participant in the USAID/Wula Nafaa program, won this year’s top honor, le grand prix 2008 du Président de la République, for its exceptional performance in the promotion of local cereals, especially during the current food crisis.
Preparations are under way for the second phase of USAID/Wula Nafaa, which will reach into new rural communities in other areas, building on the successes of the first phase. It will also target the fishing sector as an opportunity to develop the revenues generated by local fishing communities along the Atlantic sea coast.
# # #
|
|
