Burundi (view map)

Burundi is a small landlocked country in central Africa bordered by Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Its main exports include coffee, tea, sugar and cotton.

Since its independence in 1962, the country has witnessed years of class and ethnic violence with major clashes in 1964, the Burundian Genocide in 1972, and further conflicts running from the late 1980s.

This violence continued despite the election of Burundi’s first democratically elected government in 1993 when in 1994 a further genocide occurred between the Hutu and Tutsi groups killing over 300,000 from both sides. During the decades of conflict and unrest, hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes to escape the violence.

Burundi is one of Africa’s most densely populated countries. It is one-third the size of Scotland with a population of over 8.6 million people. Farmland is a valuable commodity and land ownership is the source of most disputes. Pressure on land has been made worse by the return of huge numbers of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) - many are returning to find that their homes have been destroyed or claimed by someone else. The fact that there is not enough land to go round has also lead to worries about food security.

The years of conflict have set back Burundi’s development considerably. The World Bank currently classifies the country as the fourth least developed in the world with over 68% of the population living below the poverty line. The government’s capacity to deliver basic services has been almost entirely destroyed. Despite ceasefires being signed in 2003, 2005 and 2006, peace in Burundi remains fragile. However, a breakthrough was made in December 2008 when the government and the last of the rebel groups signed a power sharing agreement. In January this year, major progress in the peace progress was made when the rebel group began disarming.

The Burundian government has prepared a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) outlining its priorities as promoting peace and good governance, poverty-reducing economic growth, expanding access to basic services, the reintegration of victims of conflict, and combating HIV/AIDS.

SCIAF has been present in Burundi since 1993 and works to reduce the potential for further conflict through the peaceful resolution of land disputes between returning refugees and local residents. This involves working with indigenous organisations to provide non violent conflict resolution skills and training as well as funding projects directly associated with peace building and conflict resolution generally. SCIAF also supports initiatives to reduce pressure on land by increasing agricultural productivity.

SCIAF is currently providing financial and technical support to three partners in the country and in 2007-2008 provided over £80,000 in funding.