Sahelian countries including Burkina Faso face multiple challenges related to climatic conditions. Setting up effective disaster management plans is essential for protecting livelihoods and promoting sustainable development. Soil and water conservation measures (SWCMs) are emerging as key components of such plans, particularly in Burkina Faso. However, there is an insufficiency of studies exploring their potential as green infrastructures in the Sahelian context and this research aims to contribute to filling this gap. We used national data, remote sensing, and GIS tools to assess SWCM adoption and the potential for climate resilience. Stone ribbons emerged as the most widely adopted SWCM, covering 2322.4 km² especially in the northern regions, while filtering dikes were the least widely adopted, at 126.4 km². Twenty years of NDVI analysis showed a notable vegetation increase in Yatenga (0.075), Oudalan (0.073), and provinces with a high prevalence of SWCM practices. There was also an apparent increase in SWCM percentages from 60% of land degradation. Stone ribbons could have led to a runoff reduction of 13.4% in Bam province, highlighting their effectiveness in climate resilience and flood risk mitigation. Overall, encouraging the adoption of SWCMs offers a sustainable approach to mitigating climate-related hazards and promoting resilience in Sahelian countries such as Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso, a Sahelian country, has witnessed an increase in flooding events over the last few decades. With increasing concerns about climate change, the frequency and severity of flooding events in the country are expected to rise. Effective flood risk mitigation requires information collection in relation with socioeconomic factors like poverty. However, while previous studies have explored the association between floods and poverty at the intra-urban and household levels there is still limited understanding of this association on regional and national scales, especially in a country with data constraints. Therefore, this study aimed to provide valuable insights by mapping flood-sensitive areas, quantifying potentially exposed populations and investigating the relationship between poverty and flood exposure in Burkina Faso through a poverty index. To achieve these objectives, Geographical Information System (GIS) tools were employed with remote sensing data, including nighttime lights and flood extent. In 20 years, the number of people potentially affected by floods increased by 43.9 % on a national scale. Sahel, North-Central, Boucle-duMouhoun, and North regions would be the most vulnerable to a 50 years return period target flood. Areas with higher proportions of poverty were South-Central, North-Central, North, and Sahel following the results of the poverty index between 2000 and 2015. The relationship between floods and poverty was confirmed on a national and regional scale and most of the flood-affected regions also happen to have a high poverty index. Furthermore, this study sheds light on the vulnerability of the northern regions of Burkina Faso.