Territoriale Zukunftsforschung für die Region Sikasso im Jahr 2040 (Mali)[Territorial foresight of the Sikasso region in 2040 (Mali)]

Perspectives and approaches that place territories at the center of development have once again become important in international debate and policy. Among the reasons for this revival are the need to localize sustainable development, to better manage the complex challenges faced by local communities worldwide, and to act for inclusive and equitable development. The German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) wishes to strengthen the implementation of territorial approaches in order to encourage their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Consequently, GIZ's Sustainable Rural Areas sector project has been mandated to facilitate the piloting of a territorial foresight on behalf of the BMZ, in cooperation with the rural development project "Appui au Programme national d'irrigation durable à petite échelle" in Mali. The aim of territorial foresight is to identify and explore the trends, ruptures and factors influencing a given territory, taking into account its socio-economic, technical, ecological and political-institutional dimensions. The regions of Sikasso, Koutiala and Bougouni as a whole, in southern Mali, benefit from favorable natural and human conditions compared with other regions of the country. They have strong agricultural value chains and political and social traditions, which give them advantages in a tense and unstable national context. However, the region is not immune to economic, environmental and social risks and, like the entire Sahel region, faces the challenges of dynamic population growth. This general context of relative stability makes the region a privileged space where strategic planning is possible, but also illustrates Mali's current constraints. The primary objective of this study, which for these reasons focuses on the Sikasso region, is to support the inhabitants, technical services and local authorities of the Sikasso region in a process of reflection and action concerning their territory, by mobilizing the use of the future. The aim is not, however, to deliver a set of recommendations or a strategic program as such, but to provide the region's players with food for thought in their strategic thinking. By exploring the future, it opens up creativity and widens the field of possibilities. The second ambition is to contribute to a more generic reflection on the development of the use of the future in territorial approaches. This type of approach is all the more useful in contexts where decentralization processes are being implemented. The results of the territorial foresight study for Sikasso also provide information on the contribution of territorial foresight to place-based strategic development planning, on the benefits and applicability of territorial foresight in rural development projects, including in situations of political fragility, and to support strategic project management and policy advice in Mali and the Sahel more generally.