The journey is not yet finished (138)

President Burkina Faso Blaise Compaore

The journey is not yet finished (138)

(Part one hundred and thirty-eight, Depok, West Java, Indonesia, October 3, 2014, 07:00 (GMT)

Burkina Faso in Africa are now receiving assistance from the African Development Bank for reforestation and reducing the number of poor people.

BURKINA FASO RECEIVES $11.5 MILLION TO INCREASE FOREST CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND REDUCE RURAL POVERTY

 With African Development Bank (AfDB) (http://www.afdb.org) support, Burkina Faso has received an $11.5 million grant from the Climate Investment Funds’ (CIF) Forest Investment Program (FIP) (https://www.climateinvestmentfunds.org/cif/node/5) to undertake the Gazetted Forests Participatory Management Project for REDD+* (https://www.climateinvestmentfunds.org/cif/sites/climateinvestmentfunds.org/files/AfDB_Burkina_Faso_FIP_Project_Document.pdf)  to create critically needed transformation of 12 of its gazetted forests.

With 48.8 per cent of its land mass covered by forest, Burkina Faso is a country heavily dependent on its forest sector for socio-economic development; but today, with growing deforestation, the country is suffering from increased biodiversity loss and degraded soil production. The FIP- and AfDB-supported project is designed to contribute to a triple-win transformation: building carbon sequestration capacity in the forests, improving local people’s resilience to climate change, and reducing their poverty by diversifying their income sources, developing gazetted forest wood and non-wood products such as almond and shea processing and beekeeping.

The main outcomes expected from the project are development of an MRV (measurable, reportable, verifiable) system for REDD+, improvement of forest governance, securitization and management of 284,000 hectares (ha) of gazette forests, and establishment of a socio-economic support infrastructure for neighbouring municipal councils. The project is designed to directly benefit 5,400 producers including 2,700 women, and indirectly benefit nearly 850,000 people – half of them women – in council areas adjacent to the project sites.

“The project is in direct support of the country’s strategic priorities for its vast forest sector, which include improved governance, environment-friendly socio-economic development, and sustainable management of forest resources and wooded areas,” stated Laouali Garba, AfDB’s Task Manager of the project. “We are pleased to have the chance to support Burkina Faso in this ambitious undertaking and to help ensure a combined transformation of poverty reduction, climate resilience, and low-carbon development.”

Burkina Faso Map

Project components include:

•          Reinforcement of forest governance, including the REDD+ legal framework and administrative capacity building through training and scholarships and standards revision;

•          Participatory development and management of gazetted forests, including forest securitization and development through demarcation, boundary marking and development of 12 gazetted forests totally 284,000 ha, building stakeholders’ operational capacity, support for neighbouring communities through construction of five community facilities nearby;

•          Project coordination and management, including procurement and financial management, monitoring and evaluation, and auditing.

With this project, the approval process for projects in AfDB’s FIP portfolio is complete, and the Bank will work with its partner countries and the FIP to begin full-fledged implementation and a growing improvement in sustainable management and climate-friendly development of African forests.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

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History of Burkina Faso

Recent archeological discoveries at Bura in southwest Niger and in adjacent southwest Burkina Faso have documented the existence of the iron-age Bura culture from the 3rd century to the 13th century. The Bura-Asinda system of settlements apparently covered the lower Niger River valley, including the Boura region of Burkina Faso. Further research is needed to understand the role this early civilization played in the ancient and medieval history of West Africa.

Loropeni is a pre-European stone ruin which was linked to the gold trade. It has been declared as Burkina Faso's first World Heritage site.

From medieval times until the end of the 19th century, the region of Burkina Faso was ruled by the empire-building Mossi people, who are believed to have come up to their present location from northern Ghana, where the ethnically-related Dagomba people still live. For several centuries, Mossi peasants were both farmers and soldiers. During this time the Mossi Kingdoms successfully defended their territory, religious beliefs and social structure against forcible attempts at conquest and conversion by their Muslim neighbors to the northwest.

Bukina Faso Peoples

French Upper Volta[edit]

Main article: French Upper Volta

When the French troops of Kimberly arrived and claimed the area in 1896, Mossi resistance ended with the capture of their capital at Ouagadougou. In 1919, certain provinces from Ivory Coast were united into French Upper Volta in the French West Africa federation. In 1932, the new colony was split up for economic reasons; it was reconstituted in 1937 as an administrative division called the Upper Coast. After World War II, the Mossi actively pressured the French for separate territorial status and on September 4, 1947, Upper Volta became a French West African territory again in its own right.

A revision in the organization of French Overseas Territories began with the passage of the Basic Law (Loi Cadre) of July 23, 1956. This act was followed by reorganizational measures approved by the French parliament early in 1957 that ensured a large degree of self-government for individual territories. Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French community on December 11, 1958. On July 11, 1960 France agreed to Upper Volta becoming fully independent.[1]

Burkina Faso Peoples

The Republic of Upper Volta[edit]

The Republic of Upper Volta declared independence on 5 August 1960. The first president, Maurice Yaméogo, was the leader of the Voltaic Democratic Union (UDV). The 1960 constitution provided for election by universal suffrage of a president and a national assembly for 5-year terms. Soon after coming to power, Yaméogo banned all political parties other than the UDV. Yaméogo's government was viewed as corrupt and said to perpetuate neo-colonialism by favoring French political and economic interests which had allowed politicians to enrich themselves but not the nation's peasants or small class of urban workers.[2]

The government lasted until 1966 when - after much unrest including mass demonstrations and strikes by students, labor unions, and civil servants - the military intervened and deposed Yaméogo in the 1966 Burkinabe coup d'état. The coup leaders suspended the constitution, dissolved the National Assembly, and placed Lieutenant Colonel Sangoulé Lamizana at the head of a government of senior army officers. The army remained in power for 4 years; on June 14, 1970, the Voltans ratified a new constitution that established a 4-year transition period toward complete civilian rule. Lamizana remained in power throughout the 1970s as president of military or mixed civil-military governments. After conflict over the 1970 constitution, a new constitution was written and approved in 1977, and Lamizana was reelected by open elections in 1978.

Burkina Faso Troops

Lamizana's government faced problems with the country's traditionally powerful trade unions and on November 25, 1980, Colonel Saye Zerbo overthrew President Lamizana in a bloodless coup. Colonel Zerbo established the Military Committee of Recovery for National Progress as the supreme governmental authority, thus eradicating the 1977 constitution.

Colonel Zerbo also encountered resistance from trade unions and was overthrown two years later on November 7, 1982, by Major Dr. Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo and the Council of Popular Salvation (CSP). The CSP continued to ban political parties and organizations, yet promised a transition to civilian rule and a new constitution.

Factional infighting developed between moderates in the CSP and radicals led by Captain Thomas Sankara, who was appointed prime minister in January 1983. The internal political struggle and Sankara's leftist rhetoric led to his arrest and subsequent efforts to bring about his release, directed by Captain Blaise Compaoré. This release effort resulted in yet another military coup d'état on August 4, 1983.

After the coup, Sankara formed the National Council for the Revolution (CNR), with himself as President. Sankara also established Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs) to "mobilize the masses" and implement the CNR's revolutionary programs. The CNR, whose exact membership remained secret until the end, contained two small intellectual Marxist-Leninist groups. Sankara, Compaoré, Captain Henri Zongo, and Major Jean-Baptiste Lingani - all leftist military officers - dominated the regime.

Burkina Faso City

Burkina Faso[edit]

On August 4, 1984, Upper Volta changed its name to Burkina Faso, meaning "the country of honorable people." Sankara, a charismatic leader, sought by word, deed, and example to mobilize the masses and launch a massive bootstrap development movement.

Five-day War with Mali[edit]

Main article: Agacher Strip War

On Christmas Day 1985, tensions with Mali over the mineral-rich Agacher Strip erupted in a war that lasted five days and killed about 100 people. The conflict ended after mediation by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Côte d'Ivoire. The conflict is known as the "Christmas war" in Burkina Faso.

Many of the strict austerity measures taken by Sankara met with growing resistance and disagreement. Despite his initial popularity and personal charisma, problems began to surface in the implementation of the revolutionary ideals.

 INCREASE FOREST CARBON SEQUESTRATION

Modern-day Burkina Faso[edit]

Children of the 1983-1987 revolution.

The CDRs, which were formed as popular mass organizations, deteriorated in some areas into gangs of armed thugs and clashed with several trade unions. Tensions over the repressive tactics of the government and its overall direction mounted steadily. On October 15, 1987, Sankara was assassinated in a coup which brought Captain Blaise Compaoré to power.

Compaoré, Captain Henri Zongo, and Major Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lengani formed the Popular Front (FP), which pledged to continue and pursue the goals of the revolution and to "rectify" Sankara's "deviations" from the original aims. The new government, realizing the need for bourgeois support, tacitly moderated many of Sankara's policies. As part of a much-discussed political "opening" process, several political organizations, three of them non-Marxist, were accepted under an umbrella political organization created in June 1989 by the FP.

Some members of the leftist Organisation pour la Démocratie Populaire/Mouvement du Travail (ODP/MT) were against the admission of non-Marxist groups in the front. On September 18, 1989, while Compaoré was returning from a two-week trip to Asia, Lengani and Zongo were accused of plotting to overthrow the Popular Front. They were arrested and summarily executed the same night. Compaoré reorganized the government, appointed several new ministers, and assumed the portfolio of Minister of Defense and Security. On December 23, 1989, a presidential security detail arrested about 30 civilians and military personnel accused of plotting a coup in collaboration with the Burkinabe external opposition.

Reduce Poverty in Burkina Faso

A New Constitution[edit]

A new constitution, establishing the fourth republic, was adopted on June 2, 1991. Among other provisions, it called for an Assembly of People’s Deputies with 107 seats (now 111). The president is chief of state, chairs a council of ministers, appoints a prime minister, who with the legislature’s consent, serves as head of government. In April 2000, the constitution was amended reducing the presidential term from seven to five years, enforceable as of 2005, and allowing the president to be reelected only once. The legislative branch is a unicameral National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) consisting of 111 seats. Members are elected by popular vote for five-year terms.

In April 2005, President Compaoré was re–elected for a third straight term. He won 80.3% of the vote, while Benewende Stanislas Sankara came a distant second with a mere 4.9%. In November 2010, President Compaoré was re–elected for a fourth straight term. He won 80.2% of the vote, while Hama Arba Diallo came a distant second with 8.2%.

In February 2011, the death of a schoolboy provoked an uprising in the entire country, lasting through April 2011, which was coupled with a military mutiny and with a strike of the magistrates. See 2011 Burkina Faso uprising.

The only left forest

2011 Burkinabè protests

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2011 Burkinabè protests were a series of popular protests in Burkina Faso.

On 15 February soldiers mutinied in the capital Ouagadougou over unpaid housing allowances;[1] President Blaise Compaoré briefly fled the capital and sought safety in his hometown of Ziniaré.[2] By Sunday 17 April, the mutiny had spread to the town of Pô in southern Burkina Faso;[3] there were also protests over a court's decision to sentence several officers to prison sentences.

Protests[edit]

The mutiny followed popular protests over rising prices in several cities across Burkina Faso,[2] and protests starting 22 February over the death of a student in police custody in February, as well as the shooting of several other protesters. Five student protesters were reportedly killed in February.[4] France24 suggested that Burkina Faso could be caught up in a full-scale uprising similar to that seen in several North African and Middle Eastern countries, proposing the rise of a "Burkinabè Spring".[5]

On 22 April, a coalition of 34 Burkinabè opposition parties called for a rally on 30 April to demand President Compaoré's resignation.[6]

By 27 April, farmers were protesting in Bobo-Dioulasso over low prices and merchants rioted in Koudougou over the closure of 40 shops due to unpaid rent. The house of Koudougou's mayor and its police station were burned.[7] Later, that same evening, riot police joined the widespread mutiny in Ouagadougou.[8]

Four young demonstrators protesting the police mutiny on 28 April were injured when police fired live ammunition to disperse protesters after they torched a police station in Ouagadougou.[9]

On 29 April, President Blaise Compaoré announced he had negotiated with the army and they had agreed to put a stop to the mutinies and protests ravaging the country.[10]

Some 3,000 protesters attended the opposition rally on 30 April in Ouagadougou, which lasted for hours despite the hot weather. Several local pop music stars joined the protest, performing and calling on Compaoré to step down. Several protesters carried signs comparing Compaoré to ousted Tunisian strongman Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who was toppled in a January revolution.[11] Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara, an opposition leader, said the rally was to demonstrate the desire of the Burkinabè people for reforms so that wealth from Burkina Faso's natural resources is distributed more evenly, not just benefiting those who are already rich and powerful.[12]

Health Minister Adama Traoré said on 30 April that six people had died so far as a result of the mutinies, including an 11-year-old reportedly shot and killed while at school.[12]

On 1 May, an affiliation of trade unions and civil servants in Ouagadougou canceled a planned march to commemorate May Day and protest the government due to concerns about bolstered security and the risk of agents provocateurs infiltrating the demonstration.[13]

On 15 May, soldiers fired their guns in the air through the night, apparently to protest the tardiness of reforms and benefits promised to the army rank-and-file.[14]

Three people were reportedly killed and 136 were injured during major daylong protests by students and soldiers in Ouagadougou on 24 May.[15] Students also protested in Gaoua and Bobo-Dioulasso in support of a teachers' strike, torching ruling party offices in Gaoua.[16]

The teachers' union and the government reached an agreement on 25 May, the day after the violent demonstrations, to raise wages in exchange for an end to the strike.[17]

Soldiers mutinied again on 27 May in Tenkodogo and 1 June in Bobo-Dioulasso,[18] among other cities and barracks particularly in eastern and northern Burkina Faso, firing into the air for hours on end in both daytime and nighttime hours. Shooting reportedly quieted in the north by 27 May after continuing throughout the weekend, but it had again spread to other parts of the country by that time.[19]

On 3 June 2011, at least seven people were killed as pro-government forces quelled the protests and mutiny in Bobo-Dioulasso,[20] including a 14-year-old girl. An army spokesman said 109 were detained in the government's strongest effort yet to end the mutiny.[21] Traders upset by mutineers' extensive looting in Bobo-Dioulasso called for the government to offer swift recompense for their losses.[22]

The government said it replaced all 13 regional governors as of 9 June, appointing three army officers among others to replace them in a bid to ease tensions.[23]

Aftermath[edit]

With the protests quieted,[24] Reforms Minister Bongnessan Arsene Ye said on 23 June that the government established a 68-member committee to consider changes to the constitution. However, opposition leader Benewende Stanislas Sankara, a key figure in the protest movement, said the opposition had declined to be represented in the committee over concerns that the changes to the constitution would allow President Blaise Compaoré to further extend his term of office rather than creating a more democratic process in Burkina Faso.[25] (Continoe)