Investing in Integrated Water Resources Management in Côte d’Ivoire to Promote Climate Adaptation and Peace

Sagba, a village in Côte d’Ivoire’s Bounkani region, near the Burkina Faso border, faces growing pressures from climate variability, unsustainable resource use, and migration, threatening livelihoods and stability. Erratic rainfall, prolonged dry seasons, and unsustainable land use, compounded by weak infrastructure, have caused sharp declines in staple crops like yam and millet, deepening poverty and food insecurity. 

Climate change is heightening pressures on ecosystems and livelihoods, exacerbating competition over water and land, particularly due to weak governance. In transboundary and water-scarce areas, conflicting demands from agriculture, settlements, and ecosystems – compounded by fragmented institutional frameworks – fuel resource conflicts, socio-economic instability, and environmental degradation, putting added pressure on the ability of local communities to adapt to the changing climate. 

Locally led and community-driven approaches are central to UNEP’s strategy for addressing the nexus between climate change, environmental degradation, and insecurity. Established in 2017, the EU-UNEP Partnership on Climate Change, Environment, Peace and Security aims to support countries and communities, particularly in fragile and crisis-affected regions, to identify environment and climate-related security risks at the community, national and global levels, and to programme effective risk reduction and response measures.  

Since its inception, over 33 projects have been or are currently being implemented across 15 countries in seven regions, namely, Central and South America, the Middle East, West and Horn of Africa, Central and South Asia. These initiatives prioritize locally led actions that integrate climate resilience, peacebuilding, and security, with a focus on nature-based solutions. 

Integrated Water Resources Management at the heart of UNEP’s intervention in Bounkani 

UNEP’s work in Cote d’Ivoire exemplifies this integrated and locally led approach, which leverages water governance as a tool to promote peacebuilding, social cohesion and climate resilience.  

In the community of Sagba, water scarcity was identified by local communities as a key driver of conflict, a situation likely to worsen due to the escalating impacts of climate change. In response, UNEP, working in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and national and local authorities, has led the development of a participatory water initiative, addressing the specific needs of the local communities. 

The project, Strengthening Resilience to Climate-Related Risks for Peace and Socio-Economic Stability in Northeastern Côte d’Ivoire, under the Partnership’s umbrella, promotes locally led Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) as a strategic entry point for promoting climate adaptation and peacebuilding. IWRM is a process that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources to maximize economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. 

The project employs a complementary strategy to mitigate climate risks and reduce resource-based tensions by strengthening institutional capacities for climate risk management and enhancing community resilience. By ensuring equitable water access, inclusive participation, and coordinated governance, the IWRM project aims to help communities address overlapping climate-conflict risks while strengthening social cohesion, governance, and sustainable livelihoods. 

Since its launch in November 2024, the project has targeted several activities, aiming at first expanding water access, to later foster peaceful coexistence and increase social cohesion. The construction of integrated agro-pastoral water points in Sagba and Téhini have provided reliable access for both farming and livestock needs, helping to ease tensions between farmers and herders by reducing pressure on scarce water resources, a key conflict driver worsened by climate variability, migration, and land-use pressures. 

The water points are also instrumental for building a more inclusive resource governance involving traditionally marginalized communities. Once conditions allow, youth-led reforestation efforts are planned around water points to restore degraded land and improve water retention, further embedding environmental action within community-led peacebuilding. 

The project also sought to integrate gender and youth inclusion throughout its design and implementation, placing traditionally marginalized groups as active agents of resilience and transformation. For instance, women’s livelihood and leadership activities were supported by the project, designated zones around the water infrastructures are being allocated to women’s cooperatives, enabling 200 women to engage in market gardening. Women now comprise at least 40 percent of local water management committees, with leadership strengthened through dedicated capacity-building. Economic empowerment initiatives such as soap-making, have also strengthened livelihoods and expanded the role of women and youth in local development efforts. 

The EU–UNEP Partnership will continue to collaborate with stakeholders at the local, national, regional, and global levels to scale up such integrated approaches and locally led solutions that address the interconnected challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and instability, particularly in the most vulnerable and fragile settings.