GREEN CROSS BURKINA FASO & GREEN CROSS JAPAN

TREE PLANTING PROJECT

CONTENTS OF REPORT

Introduction

1. The situation of negociations with Green Cross Japan
2. Field activities

1. Sensitization meetings
2. Construction of anti-erosion barriers from April to June
3. Evaluation of tree planting activities for the 1998 campaign

1. Perspectives and recommendations

Annexe : Activity schedule pour the next three months (Jul.-Aug.-Sept. 1999).

INTRODUCTION

The present activity report on the Tree Planting Project covers the period from April to June 1999. It outlines the negotiations between Green Cross Burkina Faso (GCBF) and Green Cross Japan (GCJ) over the 1999-2000 tree planting campaign, and points out activities carried out with regard to the follow-up and evaluation of the project on the whole. Finally, we shall try to draw some useful lessons from the period covered and consider new perspectives.

I. The situation of negotiations with Green Cross Japan

In our previous report covering the period from March 1997 to November 1998, we proposed to our partner GCJ an activity program and a budget.

In March 1999, a delegation from GCJ composed of Mr. Kawamoto and Mr. Sunano accompanied by Ms. Sophie Barbey of Green Cross International (GCI) visited the project in Burkina Faso. By this visit, GCJ and GCI have shown a great interest in our country and in our people, and we wish to express our gratitude to them.

At the present stage of negotiations, an agreement has been found over the budget.

In accordance with the suggestion made by GCJ, we are going to design the nursery project as a separate project that will be submitted to GCJ and discussed later on.

II.1 Sensitization meetings

To conduct activities successfully, the central organ of GCBF has made various trips on the field in all regions of the project. Those trips were meant not only to thank the populations for their warm welcome to our guests from GCJ and GCI, but also to prepare the present campaign. We carried out sessions of self evaluation for the 1998 activities and through this, the populations explained their success as well as their failures.

The field trips were very intensive in the Yatenga Province where, due to the hard climate conditions, there was a need to construct anti-erosion barriers in order to ensure a better conservation of soils and waters and thus ensure a maximum success for trees already planted.

II.2 Construction of anti-erosion barriers from April to June

In the Yatenga Province where there is a severe deficit and irregularity of rainfall, the best way to make tree planting successful is to construct anti-erosion barriers. This enables a good management of rain water and an effective fight against erosion. So, besides the sensitization and training activities, the following barriers were constructed:

• Sambtinga: anti-erosion barriers over a surface of 40 ha
• Yabonsgo: over a surface of 30 ha
• Rikou: over a surface of 29 ha
• Ouahigouya: over a surface of 50 ha.

Those barriers were constructed not only on tree planting sites, but also on individual lands.

II.3 Evaluation of tree planting activities for the 1998 campaign

An evaluation of the success rate of the previous tree planting was effected at the beginning of June 1999 before the launching of the next campaign, after the long dry season. The evaluation was done according to sites and tree species. The following table gives the results obtained:

Table I : Evaluation of the 1998 tree planting campaign

 

Villages	Tree species	Nbr. of trees	Success rate
I. COMOE - Bounouna     - Kossara	- Anarcadium - Kaya Senegalensis - Anarcadium - Kaya Senegalensis	700 200 500 300	68% 95% 85% 88%
II. YATENGA - Sambtinga * Site I     * Site II   - Yabonsgo       - Rikou	- Acacia Senegal - Leucaena - Eucalyptus - Acacia Senegal - Neem - Parkinsonia - Neem - Acacia Senegal - Eucalyptus - Neem - Parkinsonia - Eucalyptus	1 000 20 3 000 2 000 2 000 300 2 250 3 400 200 2 300 500 100	90% 85% 92% 85% 87% 90% 88% 85% 52% 82% 81% 85%
III. KADIOGO - Kienfangué	- Eucalyptus - Acacia Senegal - Parkia Biglobosa	6 000 1 000 1 000	74% 58% 92%

The evaluation was done with the populations. It can be noticed that the success rate is above 80% in most cases; except Rikou where there is a rate of 52% for the Eucalyptus and Kienfangué where there is a rate of 58% for the Acacia Senegal.

In Yabonsgo, the rate for the Eucalyptus was mostly determined by the attack of termites and animals.

The Acacia Senegal is mostly destroyed by hares and termites, but due to its hardiness, it grows again in the rainy season.

The high rate of success is also due to the fact that dead trees are replaced one or two months after the planting campaign, which proves the interest that populations have for tree planting. For the 1998 campaign, the land was deeply ploughed before planting, which allowed a better infiltration of water and nutrients. Trees planted after ploughing and less than one year old are 1.30 m high.

III. Perspectives and recommendations

According to experts and peasants, ploughing is highly needed on such kind of poor and dry lands.

It is important to follow the tree planting schedule in order to take a maximum advantage of the rains of July, August and September.

The adapted ‘local’ species have extremely high success rates; it is the case of the Kaya Senegalensis, Parkia Biglobosa. The Parkinsonia also has a satisfactory success rate. It is more and more recommended to plant trees species which have survived over the hard seasons of drought.

Concerning the Acacia Senegal, it is difficult to draw conclusions, due to the significant gaps between the success rates.

The populations raised the need to renew the working tools such as shovels, picks, wheelbarrows, etc. As a matter of fact, the construction of anti-erosion barriers has caused their tools to wear out fast, especially in the Yatenga.

We finally recommend that the tree planting activities are launched promptly, as we hope the rainy season to be actually settled in July after the uncertain start in the period of May-June.