REGIONAL WORKSHOP

LAND DEGRADATION, CLIMATE CHANGE AND MIGRATION IN WEST AFRICA

POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR BUILDING RESILIENCE AND PREVENTING SECURITY CHALLENGES

18-19 May 2016

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Government of Burkina Faso, with the support of the GM of the UNCCD, IOM and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), are organizing the regional workshop Land Degradation, Climate Change and Migration in West Africa: Policy Implications for Building Resilience and Preventing Security Challenges, taking place in Ouagadougou in May 2016.

The main objective of the workshop is to identify strategies to address the challenges related to the nexus between climate change, Desertification, Land Degradation & Drought (DLDD) and migration at national and regional level, as well as to highlight and analyze the policy implications for building resilience and preventing security challenges. The workshop will be the occasion to exchange and discuss among government officials from Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal, high-level representatives of the ECOWAS, experts and international partners around the following topics:

1. Analyzing how DLDD, climate change and migration are interlinked in West Africa,

2. Exploring how resilience-driven mobility as well as the availability and access to resources, institutional networks and social capital influence the demographics of the region,

3. Discussing potential innovative financing sources and mechanisms to promote SLM in migration-prone areas,

4. Acquiring a better knowledge on good practices and prospects for an improved involvement of migrants and diaspora in land rehabilitation and adaptation to climate change initiatives,

5. Paving the way for designing regional and national policies that comprehensively address root causes of migration driven by DLDD and promote opportunities for people on the move within the region,

6. Discussing how to strengthen regional and international cooperation to monitor new trends of migration and prevent security challenges,

7. Identifying ways and means to intensify the dialogue between ECOWAS, its Member States and its international partners, namely the European Union, on DLDD, climate change and migration.

8. Assessing how international partners such as the EU and NATO can contribute to project more stability in the region through capacity building and training.