Markounda: A field assessment of access to natural resources in the Central African Republic Solidarités International commissioned ArkoConsulting to conduct a gender-sensitive situational analysis on access to natural resources and their management in the Markounda sub-prefecture, in the northwest of the Central African Republic, as part of its program addressing water, hygiene, and sanitation needs. The Markounda sub-prefecture, bordering Chad, has approximately 37,400 inhabitants in a context of persistent security fragility (presence of armed groups such as Anti-Balaka and ex-Séléka) and increasing competition for natural resources between host communities and displaced populations. Only 50 percent of villages have protected boreholes, and 33 percent have access to safe drinking water. Conflicts between farmers and herders over water and grazing land, uncontrolled deforestation, and artisanal mining further strain limited resources. Between November and December 2024, ArkoConsulting deployed a mixed data collection approach: 160 household surveys administered via KoboToolbox on tablets by a team of four enumerators over five days in the field, focus groups with homogeneous groups (women, men, young women, displaced persons), semi-structured interviews with village chiefs, water point management committees, women's organizations, government officials (ANEA, ACDA, ANDE, FNEC), and health and protection services, as well as participatory mapping of access points to resources. The household sample was stratified by gender of the household head (30 percent women), displacement status (40 percent displaced), and age group, covering the localities of Markounda, Badama, Bétazi, Bondjomo, Boulo, Kadjama, and Bondoro Kota within a 100-kilometer radius. The final report, accompanied by a stakeholder debriefing, provided Solidarités International with a gendered assessment of access to natural resources to inform its WASH interventions in the area.
