First tree planted during kick-off of reforestation project in Burkina Faso
27 September 2018On September 15, the water committee of the River Kou (Comité Local de l'Eau Kou) in Burkina Faso, planted the first tree during a kick-off of the reforestation project. This project has financially been made possible by the Blue Deal program and the Faso Koom project.
The official ceremony was chaired by High Commissioner of the province of Houet and Chair of the water committee Kou, and attended by the Regional Directorate for Water and Sanitation (Direction Regionale de l'Eau et de l'Assainissement/Hauts-Bassins) and inhabitants of the municipality of Bama.
In total, 700 trees will be planted, including bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris), palm trees (Elaeis guineensis) and Acacia (Acacia nilotica) around the shores of the River Kou, in order to prevent river bank erosion and to recover the ecosystem. In October, World Waternet and a delegation of the Faso Koom project will visit the project site.
With the Blue Deal, the Dutch Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Infrastructure and Water Management and the Dutch water authorities have set the ambitious goal to provide 20 million people in 40 catchment areas worldwide that are better protected against water and have access to sufficient, clean water.
Faso Koom is a project that kicked off in 2016, which entails a cooperation between four Dutch regional public water authorities and five Burkinabe water authorities. World Waternet is the project’s coordinator on behalf of regional public water authority Amstel, Gooi & Vecht.