Selection of Intervention Sites for the Project “Strengthening National and Local Capacities for Better Integration of Environmental Policies in the Fight Against Poverty in Mali”

This document outlines a 2006 study that builds a rigorous, participatory methodology to identify Malian intervention sites where environmental policy can most reduce poverty. It defines ecological and socioeconomic vulnerability indices—combined into a structural index—to rank 49 cercles using rainfall, soils, forage and woody productivity, demographics, health, education, water access, and accessibility, producing three national vulnerability maps. It then selects six representative cercles across vulnerability tiers—Ménaka and Gao; Yanfolila and Bafoulabé; Bougouni and Kita—and, with local authorities, chooses twelve communes for field work, pairing “very poor” and “less poor” cases in each cercle. The report documents data collection, stakeholder meetings, selection procedures, commune profiles, and practical constraints, providing a replicable framework for targeting capacity-building and environmentally grounded poverty-reduction actions.