The environmental situation in Burkina Faso has become increasingly worrying in recent years. Indeed, whether it is the phenomenon of land degradation, pollution and nuisances, unanimity emerges at the level of the various actors concerning the negative consequences of the strong pressures on natural resources over the last ten years.
Environmental impacts are direct and indirect with loss of natural resource capital, soil erosion, depletion of wildlife and flora, and so on. Burkina Faso's current development is not based on sustainable production and consumption patterns, and this puts at risk the rights of future generations.
The economic impacts are also serious. Environmental damage generates economic inefficiencies estimated at about 20% of GDP, or about 760 billion FCFA per year of losses related to environmental degradation. On a social level, these negative impacts particularly affect the poorest households who derive the majority of their income from agriculture, livestock and natural resources in general.
The priority environmental problems identified in the 3rd State of the Environment Report in Burkina Faso are:
- climate change;
- land degradation;
- the degradation of the potential for water resources;
- the unsustainable energy system;
- urban environment problems;
- the erosion of biodiversity.
An analysis of the causes of these problems shows a lack of funding for environmental actions. Although the budget of the Ministry of the Environment has increased slightly in recent years, there is still an average deficit of more than 100 billion FCFA / year for programs related to the environment and natural resources. .
However, Burkina Faso currently has only two main sources of funding for the Environment: on the one hand, the State budget, insufficient, absorbed to a large extent by the administration's operating expenses and not very flexible. On the other hand, external financing marked by their limited duration (projects and programs of 3 to 5 years) and sometimes the complexity or cumbersome procedures. The existing funds in the sector, outside the budget of the administrations, are non-existent or with very weak resources. The part of the budgets of the Territorial Communities devoted to the environment and natural resources is very small.
It is aware of this situation that the Government of Burkina Faso has operationalized the Environment Intervention Fund, established by the various Environmental Codes for 20 years, by the DECREE N ° 2015-838 / PRES-TRANS PM / MEF / MERH of July 13, 2015.
