IRC partners with CBA & LVMH to address climate change in Central Africa

The Circular Bioeconomy Alliance (CBA), the luxury goods company LVMH, and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) have joined forces to combat climate change in Central Africa and promote sustainable cotton growing.

The Circular Bioeconomy Alliance (CBA), a King Charles III project, and the opulent clothing retailer LVMH are collaborating with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to address the effects of climate change on the Lake Chad region in Central Africa.

The alliance aims to assist sustainable cotton farming, which provides local populations in Chad with a crucial source of income while restoring the biodiversity of the area around the lake that has been damaged.

The new four-year program intends to assist sustainable cotton production in Chad’s Logone Occidental and Lac provinces because cotton is an important cash crop for the area and an estimated four-fifths (80%) of Chadians are employed in the agricultural sector.

On 4,800 hectares of land surrounding Lake Chad, more than 500,000 indigenous trees will be planted in an effort to restore the ecosystem. Through local farmers’ associations, the program will also support other agricultural value chains, such as the production of timber and fruit, and facilitate access to markets.

David Miliband, the president, and CEO of the IRC, said that the IRC is delighted to join forces with CBA, LVMH, and partners to restore biodiversity, heal degraded soil, and strengthen local livelihoods through sustainable and resilient farming solutions in Chad.

Following this, Ali Amadou, the deputy director of programs for IRC Chad, emphasized the possibility of sustainable cotton farming to lessen the effects of climate change on the area’s land use. He claimed that local populations in the provinces of Logone Occidental and Lac could conserve water, stop soil erosion, and safeguard vulnerable ecosystems by using sustainable farming practices.

CBA chair Marc Palahí, said that the program is unique to the Alliance [CBA] because it shows how the need to decarbonize economic sectors like the fashion industry can function as a stimulus to restore degraded environments.

Hélène Valade, LVMH environmental development director, said that the group has committed to making the protection of biodiversity and combating climate change an absolute priority and being an exemplary actor of change, targeting to implement regenerative agriculture in all its strategic supply chains.

IRC, CBA, and LVMH hope that this collaboration will help to regenerate the area around Lake Chad and create resilient and sustainable communities in Central Africa.