Burundi is facing a continuous and accelerated degradation, among other things due to climate change, of its natural environment, the harmful effects of which are reflected in particular in the reduction of the production capacity of the agricultural sector, while 90% of the population lives in rural areas. The development of agricultural production is also constrained by the isolation of many rural areas. Measures to combat erosion, reforestation and soil restoration, as well as to open up strategic rural areas, must therefore be implemented urgently, but the needs in this area far exceed the Government's budgetary resources.

It is within this framework that the Government negotiated and acquired grants from the FEF (Fragile States Facility) and the GEF (Global Environment Facility) to finance the Watershed Management and Climate Resilience Improvement Project (PABVARC) in Burundi.

Designed for a period of five years, this Project took place in six provinces (Bujumbura Rural, Bururi, Gitega, Karusi, Makamba and Rutana) for watershed management activities and at the national level for actions to support the hydrometeorological system.