Burundi

With improvements in the socio-political situation in recent years, 254,100 Burundian refugees have returned from neighboring countries since 2017 through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) voluntary repatriation programme Remnants of the 2015 crisis remain a source of instability and the return of refugees, particularly from Tanzania, is creating tensions owing to competition over inequitably distributed natural resources and access to land. Burundi has a significantly low Human Development Index (ranked 187 out of 191 countries on the HDI in 2022) with a low-income economy. With more than 80 per cent of the population engaged in the agricultural sector, mainly in subsistence farming, Burundi's economy remains fragile and vulnerable to climate shocks and environmental degradation. With the increased number of IDPs and returnees, conflict over land and resources is a major challenge, exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and exposure to natural hazards.

The country already faces a major problem of access to productive land due to a combination of factors, including the very steep nature of watersheds, which makes them very vulnerable to erosion, the loss of soil fertility due to the topography and unsustainable farming practices, but also the excessive fragmentation of cultivated land as a result of inheritance. This problem of access to land, in turn, has a negative impact on the management of natural resources, as it further encourages farming households to adopt unsustainable practices, such as excessive use of chemical inputs, but also the expansion of arable land at the expense of forests and other natural ecosystems.

These developments are taking place against a backdrop of particularly weak legislation on natural resource management. The latter is characterized by a lack of legal texts but also a poor enforcement of existing legislation. Indeed, the Water Code and the Environment Code (last revised in 2021) exist, but they do lack the implementing texts to be fully effective. The Land Code and Forest Code are also available, but they need to be reinforced by implementing decrees and monitoring of compliance. Thus, natural ecosystems face numerous constraints and threats, due notably to the vulnerability of rural and urban communities, as mentioned above, but also to the lack of concerted development planning, the authorities' lack of capacity to enforce the law, illegal gold mining, and insecurity due to the presence of various armed groups. Against this background, the Action aims to strengthen the administration and public authorities in the areas of natural resource management and climate-related displacement, but also to strengthen the latter through participatory governance tools, piloted and managed by the communities concerned.

The Action is in line with the strategic orientations developed by Burundi, as outlined, among others, in the National Development Plan 2018-2027, which includes in its strategic axis 3 the dimension of "human rights and public freedoms", with a special focus on people affected by disasters. It is also in line with the 2022-2032 National Strategy for the Conservation of Protected Areas and the National Strategy for the Sustainable Socio-Economic Reintegration of Disaster-Affected People and the Inclusion of the Batwa in Burundi 2023-2027, led by the Ministry of National Solidarity, Social Affairs, Human Rights and Gender. It also takes into account the National Gender Policy 2012-2025, implemented by the same ministry. It is also in line with Burundi's commitments at the Global Refugee Forum to promote the integration of displaced persons in the country. Finally, the Action contributes to the objectives of the EU Multiannual Indicative Programme 2021-2027 for Burundi, in particular in Priority Areas 1 and 2 (namely (i) inclusive, sustainable and green growth and job creation, and (ii) human development and basic services). The programme is also in line with the EU's strategic priorities and contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 15 ("Life on Land"), 6 ("Water and Sanitation"), 2 ("Zero Hunger") and 5 ("Gender Equality").