NEWS AND EVENTS

9 - 11 April 2002

Workshop on Integrating Land Degradation Concerns in Local and National Development Policies in Eastern Africa

This PDFA multistakeholder workshop was convened at the Hotel International, Kampala , Uganda at Hotel 9 - 11 April 2002. The workshop brought together close to 30 participants from Uganda , Kenya , Ethiopia , Tanzania and Zambia as well as representatives of regional organizations .

The workshop reviewed the land tenure regimes and land use policies of the countries and recognized different types of land tenure regimes in the three countries. Actual and potential biodiversity threats to biodiversity and international waters have also been identified. The links of the project to the countries' development policies and strategies has also been well established. The implementation strategies of the project, notably, policy development, model policy development, establishment of demonstration sites and capacity building have been discussed and various improvements suggested. Technical aspects of GEF funded project, e.g., incremental cost, log frame analysis, monitoring and stakeholder participation plans were discussed and framework developed.

After two days of deliberation both in plenary and working groups, the multistakeholders workshop concluded that the proposed MSG GEF project: "Integrating Land Degradation Concerns in Local and National Development Policies" addresses a critical priority issue of the three countries, and is timely and important. Objectives of the project fit into and reflect the priorities of the national development policies, strategies and environment oriented action plans of the respective countries.

While appreciating the work done by PAES so far, the workshop recommends the following actions to be taken to improve the quality and content of the project:

• The scope of the project should be widened, as it needs to address land degradation problems beyond the arid and semi-arid areas it was designed for. Highlands and all areas under cultivation as well as forest and wetland areas need to be incorporated in the project. The project should also operate at all levels i.e. local, districts, national and regional). Depending on resources (money, persons, time), it should address all policy issues related to all kinds of land use categories
• The link between objective number one, i.e., "Build a dynamic policy system that responds to changes in natural resources and land use on continuous basis at the community and local levels" and objective number two, i.e., " Develop land use policy model that is flexible and adaptive to different socio-economic conditions and establish demonstration centers" need to be clarified.
• The objectives of the project need to be modified to include: (i) the need to support ongoing initiatives to develop land management and land use policies through capacity building and availing tools and methods that help in developing sustainable land use policies. (ii) The participatory nature of policy development, in particular, the importance of deriving policy from community-based initiatives and practices need to be highlighted.
• The functions of demonstration centers, scale of operations, and the research community-linkage should be made explicit. Issues of how the demonstrations sites are going to be managed and what is to be demonstrated need to be fully described and made clear.
• Specific site selection for demonstration sites should be postponed and be made in consultation with district and local authorities. However, common criteria for site selection in the three countries should be applied. Suggested criteria by the workshop included: (i) diversity in agro-ecological zones and broadly defined farming systems; (ii) Population settlements and their socio-economic characteristics; (iii) Not only extent but rate of land degradation and extent of population affected by land degradation; (iv) Different land tenure systems (or, property rights regimes); (v) Different land use regimes defined following UN convention; and (vi) Innovative community-based (or, individual-based) land use and management practices. This implies that the project could start with one center in each country and establish demonstration sites in the implementation process.
• The project should develop a well-articulated exit strategy. In particular, mechanisms that need to be in place to sustain activities in the sites should be explained fully.
• Once the project is approved, each key stakeholder should be consulted and agreement on modalities of implementation reached, including signing of partnership agreements/MOUs. As some agencies/institutions could be difficult to deal with (either at the personal or institutional level), continuous efforts should be made to evolve partnership agreements and commitments without unduly disrupting the implementation schedule of the project.
• To oversee the implementation of the project, regional and national steering committees would need to be established. The regional steering committee could be composed of two members from each country drawn from the key stakeholders.
• The project has rightly placed emphasis on the establishment of networks and on regular consultation. Accordingly, participants of this workshop from the three countries could constitute the first network of experts and officials that need to be consulted for subsequent development of the project brief. Each network member should be committed to providing the necessary feedback on the specified time.

For further information:

Please contact: Sauda Katenda at info@paes.org