Bance, V.

Boundaogo, M.

DeClerck, Fabrice A.J.

Elias, Marlène

Estrada Carmona, Natalia

Gyengani, G.A.

Jones, S.

Mulligan, M.

Ouédraogo, I.

Soesbergen, A. van

Traoré, A.

Estrada-Carmona, Natalia

Soesbergen, Arnout van

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Pathways out of Poverty for Burkina Faso’s Reservoir-dependent CommunitiesThe project brings together aninterdisciplinary team of researchersfrom Bioversity International, King’sCollege London, SNV NetherlandsDevelopment Organisation, andUniversité Ouaga 1 Pr Joseph Ki-Zerbo. The 15-month study is situatedin two water reservoirs in the centre-east region of Burkina Faso.Bioversity International is a CGIAR Research Centre. CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. www.cgiar.orgBioversity HeadquartersVia dei Tre Denari 472/a00054 Maccarese, (Fiumicino)Rome, ItalyTel. (39) 06 61181Fax. (39) 06 61979661Email: bioversity@cgiar.orgwww.bioversityinternational.orgFindings1) Innovation Platforms can raise the visibility of the knowledgeand interests as well as the self-awareness of actors (e.g. womenhorticulturalists) whose stake in decision-making (e.g. regardinguse and management of reservoirs) is under-recognized.2) Creating separate working groups based on socialdifferentiation (e.g. gender, social status, and generation) canfoster more equitable innovation spaces; yet, the richness ofInnovation Platforms lies in ultimately bringing groups together tocreate a dialogue across difference.3) Supporting community and institutional (government, NGO)actors to define their own problems and solutions enables themto gain ownership over the proposed solutions, and to cultivate acommon vision that extends beyond the scope and lifespan of ashort-term (externally-led) project.Effecting ChangeProject participants have gained capacities to analyze theirproblems and develop equitable collective solutions. Previouslyunder-recognized groups (e.g. women horticulturalists) haverealized the value of their participation for defending theirinterests. They have created a sub-group to advise (male-dominated) water user committees, and are thus assuming newroles in local reservoir governance. Men too have acknowledgedthe value of women’s participation in decision-making.Participants report having changed their perceptions and practiceswith respect to (gendered) reservoir use, and sensitizing othersabout the impacts of their use. Relations among users andbetween communities and government services, NGOs, etc. havebeen strengthened. All actors better understand their own role incollective reservoir management, and have aligned their actions.Study aimWorking with communities facing the triple challenge of poverty, limited anddeclining common pool resources, and tensions among resource users, the studyaims to develop and pilot participatory approaches that facilitate the equitable andsustainable collective management of small water reservoirs. We specificallyinterrogate the role of shared knowledge in shaping inclusive, collective decision-making to resolve resource management challenges, and the use of low-cost socialand environmental monitoring tools to allow ongoing assessments that informgovernance.Research approachDrawing on ‘contact theory’, co-development of knowledge isachieved through Innovation Platforms (IPs) that foster multi-leveldialogue and negotiation of shared solutions and field days tobuild capacities in low cost monitoring techniques. Local womenand men from different social groups (ethnic, class, generational,and livelihood groups from several localities) come togetherunder a managed set of social conditions to discuss problemswith the reservoir and identify solutions that satisfy the interestsof diverse users. Communities dialogue with local NGOs andtechnical government services (water technicians, extensionworkers, etc.) to discuss the feasibility and potential effectivenessof envisioned solutions. Together, they develop action plans andimplement prioritized solutions. Lessons are distilled from theprocess to inform broader efforts to manage water reservoirs formultiple purposes.Primary Audience• Research participants, including water users, local NGOs, civilsociety organizations, and technical government services;• Institutional stakeholders at the national (agricultural, water,environmental ministries and water management institutes)and international (e.g. Volta Basin Authority) levels.These stakeholders are all playing specific roles in developing,implementing, and monitoring the innovations proposed.Marlène Elias, Mansour Boundaogo, Aurokiatou Traoré, Sarah Jones, Idrissa Ouédraogo, Victor Bance, Guillaume Alfred Gyengani,Natalia Estrada Carmona, Mark Mulligan, Arnout Van Soesbergen, Fabrice de ClerkClosing workshop    Feb 2019IP4: Implementation Oct 2018IP3: Prioritisation Jul 2018IP2:       Solutions    May 2018IP1:     Narrative     Feb 2018Innovation Platform Workflow ‘Power of Partnership’ Conference, New Delhi, 5 December, 2018

Pathways out of poverty for Burkina Faso’s reservoir-dependent communities

https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/10568/99306/1/Bioversity_WaterBF.pdf

Pathways out of poverty for Burkina Faso’s reservoir-dependent communities

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