Tunisian farmer revives parched village with EU funding
Parched crops on one side and lush green plants on the other, a small farming project in northwest Tunisia demonstrates how foreign funding coupled with dogged local efforts can help tackle the impact of climate change.
A local dam built by woman farmer Saida Zouaoui in the village of Ghardimaou after years of effort has turned her into a local hero for her fellow smallholders, who say it helped increase their production despite a six-year drought.
Zouaoui's stone and cement dam was constructed with European Union funding and technical support from the International Labour Organization, illustrating how such assistance is helping vulnerable nations adapt to climate change.
The Cop29 climate summit in Azerbaijan this November will focus on global funding by wealthier, high-polluting nations to help poorer countries adjust to a warming planet. But deep divisions remain over how much should be paid, and who should pay it
"We must adapt to climate change," Zouaoui, 44, said as she cleared fallen branches and debris from a stream flowing off the dam.
"We know the region and its water-related issues, but we must come up with solutions and not lose hope."
As a child, Saida Zouaoui saw both her father and grandfather attempt to build a makeshift reservoir using sandbags in her village of Ghardimaou near the Algerian border.
But without proper infrastructure and money, their effort failed. And in the meantime, Tunisia's water stress worsened.
EU funding
But she persisted.
Read more on RFI English
Read also:
Wildlife populations plunge 73 percent amid warnings of biodiversity crisis
Norway launches world’s first commercial carbon storage vault
How France is cooking up ways to turn the tables on food waste