Barb met with W. Pauline Yamego Zaba, Evaluation and Management Expert, PIF, Forest Investment Program in Washington, DC, June 1-4, 2019, where they discussed the extensive deforestation that Burkina Faso has experienced and is struggling to curtail and turn around through their replanting and forest management program.
(Burkina Faso is a landlocked nation in Western Africa with a population of over 20 million, which obtained independence from France in 1960. Agriculture provides over 30% of its gross domestic product and occupies 80% of the working population. The Country is subject rot severe flooding and drought. The mining of precious gems and metals, primarily gold, comprise the top exports, mostly to the U.S.)