The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) undertook on May 28, 2013, to provide financing for the harnessing of drainage basins and improved climate resilience in Burundi. The operation was made official by the signing of two grant agreements with the Government of Burundi. The signing took place in the margins of the Bank's 48th Annual Meetings in Marrakech.
This project, the first of its kind in Burundi, will help to build hill reservoirs in mountain regions, by setting up a water collection system and exchange of hydro-meteorological data. The project is jointly funded by the Bank's Fragile States Facility to the tune of UA 6.23 million (about US $9.594 million) and a grant from the World Environment Fund (WEF) in the amount of US $3.08 million.
The expected results of the project are, among others, the equipping of 26 micro water collection basins, the upgrading of 150 km of tracks, the production of a strategic guide and rehabilitation of 21 weather stations from 21 hydrological water observation points .
Signing for the AfDB, the Vice-President in charge of sectoral operations, Aly Abou-Sabaa, recalled the quality of dialogue that prevailed during project preparation and evaluation. For him, AfDB support is in line with the perception of its mission and strategy, in the bid to check climate change in its Member States in general and particularly in Burundi.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Development Planning of Burundi, Tabu Abdallh Manirakazia, in turn expressed gratitude to the Bank for the incalculable forms of support given to his country. "The beneficiaries of this project are the deprived populations in the rural provinces, Bujumbura, Bururi, Gitega, Karuzi, Makamba and Rutana. These people are in many ways affected by deforestation and land degradation ," the Minister concluded.
