Barriers to the adoption of green building materials and technologies in developing countries: The case of Burkina Faso

Due to declining resources, increasing population, and increasing pollution, green buildings, which utilize green construction materials and technologies, are emerging as part of the solution to mitigate these issues. Developing countries have understood the importance of incorporating sustainability as part of their national agenda. However, their ability to implement green design has been hampered by existing and/or perceived barriers. This paper strives to understand the barriers to green design and green materials implementation in developing countries, using the case of Burkina Faso, a country of West Africa. To gain insight on these barriers, this paper solicits the perceptions of Burkinabe green design professionals on sustainability issues involved with green design and construction. Five types of barriers are explored related to government, human, knowledge and information, market, and cost and risk-barriers. An extensive literature review as well as the results of a study are used to examine this phenomenon as it compares to the existing literature. Understanding these barriers is the first step to initiate changes in policies and practices aimed at increasing green design in Burkina Faso. In addition, the research methods could be used to encourage further empirical studies on sustainable building practices in West Africa and other developing countries.