Ouagadougou, July 7-10, 2025
3rd National Workshop on Ecosystem Natural Capital Accounting.
Organized by the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) and the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Sanitation (MEWS) of Burkina Faso, this event falls within the regional COPERNICEA project and marks an important step in the integration of ecosystem services into public decision-making. This workshop will present and validate the data and tools developed for Burkina Faso.
This workshop brings together representatives of public institutions, experts, researchers, regional partners, and civil society actors and aims to validate the results of the Ecosystem Natural Capital Accounting (ENCA) implementation process in the country. It highlights the relevance and importance of these accounts for territorial planning, sustainable natural resources management, and their integration into public policies.
The opening ceremony featured presentations by Mr. Félix IBRANGO, representing the Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Sanitation (MEWS), and Ms. Abir BEN ROMDHANE, Environmental Expert and Head of the Biodiversity Division at the OSS. Both emphasized the strategic importance of valuing natural capital and highlighted the central role of reliable, spatially-based, and regularly updated data in guiding decisions, particularly in the sectors of agriculture, water management, and climate change adaptation.
Discussions highlighted the importance of working in synergy, between national institutions and with regional partners, in order to capitalize on the achievements and improve the results obtained. Cross-fertilization dynamics between COPERNICEA and other regional initiatives such as GMES&Africa and Digital Earth Africa will also be leveraged to strengthen the use of spatial data and digital tools in environmental monitoring. A call has also been launched for national ownership of the tools developed within the framework of the project.