1.CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATIONThe economic growth of Burkina Faso over the past decades has been accompanied by accelerated degradation of its natural resources. The state of the land is progressively deteriorating; with continuous loss of natural vegetation and a growing threat to agricultural lands.This degradation is primarily caused by unsustainable agricultural practices; the use of wood as the primary source of energy by the population; extensive livestock farming; artisanal mining; and insufficient landscape governance. Climate change exacerbates these challenges by accelerating soil erosion; reducing ecosystem services; and compromising land fertility. Rising temperatures and environmental pressures intensify drought; deforestation; and desertification; threatening the resilience of ecosystems.Beyond environmental impacts; these dynamics have significant social repercussions. With increasing demographic pressure and the scarcity of arable land; tensions between farmers; herders; miners; and urban actors are likely to escalate; jeopardizing the country's stability and sustainable development. An integrated and resilient approach to natural resource management is therefore essential to preserve ecosystems and ensure sustainable livelihoods for the population.a. REDD+ Jurisdictional ProgramAware of the above; the country; as early as 2010; committed to the process of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation; promoting conservation; sustainable forest management; and increasing carbon stocks (REDD+). Although further developments are still needed; Burkina Faso has made significant progress in implementing the first two phases of the REDD+ process; notably the preparation phase and the pilot investment phase. This progress has allowed the country to move forward with the third phase of the process: results-based payments. This phase is being realized through the implementation of a large-scale REDD+ jurisdictional program to reduce emissions in the AFOLU sector; with the Communal Climate Action and Landscape Management Project for REDD+ (CCALM - P170482) serving as its first initiative. The CCALM is a key support of the result-based payment phase; which is expected to lead to the issuance and sale of carbon credits. The carbon revenues would then multiply the impacts of the CCALM project. The generation and sale of carbon credits from landscape investment is one of the major objectives of the CCALM project.To prepare for the issuance and sale of the carbon credits; Burkina Faso aims to obtain certification under the ART-TREES standard (The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard) to generate high-integrity carbon credits and benefit from carbon financing opportunities.To this end; Burkina Faso now aims to produce the TREES Registration Document (TRD) and the initial TREES Monitoring Report (TMR) to be submitted and validated by the ART Secretariat. Additional information on the jurisdictional program to be submitted to ART-TREES are provided in Annex 1.b. SCALE and World bank engagementThe REDD+ jurisdictional program is expected to multiply the effect of the CCALM Project; which finances landscape governance and investment that reduce emissions. With the REDD+ jurisdictional Program; it is expected that the investment from CCALM will lead to the issuance of carbon credits under the ART standard (methodology TREES); and their sale will provide additional cofinancing that will support the Development Objectives of CCALM.For this reason; the World bank selected the Burkina Faso jurisdictional program to receive prospective support from the World Bank¡¯s new Scaling Climate Action by Lowering Emissions (SCALE) Umbrella Trust Fund. SCALE objective is to catalyze transformative climate action by deploying Results-Based Climate Finance (RBCF) in developing countries. SCALE operates in 3 steps:- Explore the potential for RBCF in connection with a World bank operation to ensure that carbon finance can serve as a multiplier of the Bank impact;- Support the issuance of carbon credits in relation with Bank operations;- Provide payments based on the number of carbon credits that are produced.As such; SCALE helps mobilizing public and private sector investments for low-carbon development; supporting the issuance and sale of verified; high quality ERs that can enhance the Bank operations. The REDD+ jurisdictional Program (to be further developed with prospective SCALE funding) has been identified as an opportunity as it is aligned with the relevant World Bank and country strategies and policies for climate change mitigation and adaptation; and for scaling up access to climate finance with private sector participation. However; before committing further; the World bank needs to ensure that the REDD+ jurisdictional program will be eligible for carbon credit generations. For this purpose; it is essential for the program to be registered under the ART TREES Standard.