Badia Rangelands Development Project

Badia Rangelands Development Project

This is the first large-scale, fully participatory development project in the Badia rangelands and is an integrated effort to preserve and improve the living conditions of the Bedouin community. The project’s main aim is to rehabilitate an area totalling about one third of the Badia rangelands and re-establish its productive capacity. In the past, the Badia’s natural resources supported the activities of Bedouin herders and their households, enabling them to provide for their needs. But as the steppe land became increasingly degraded through over-use and other factors, herders’ incomes diminished drastically and their living conditions deteriorated.

The project encourages herders in traditional and newly-formed associations to work together to make the rangelands more productive and protect the environment. Activities include:

• rangeland development through reseeding and planting
  
• livestock development through improved herd management, improved feeding and veterinary services, and the genetic improvement of animal breeds
  
• improvement of rural infrastructure such as water supplies and rural access roads
  
• community development to strengthen local institutions, foster participation and improve the literacy levels and socio-economic status of women
  

A CARE grant supports the participatory approach by financing training for herders and programme staff. A grant from the Italian Association for Women in Development supports activities fostering business opportunities for rural women.

Source: IFAD