Energy and Environment

Strategic Planning & Institution Building

Already following the adoption of the United Nations Plan of Action to Combat Desertification (PACD) in 1977, UNSO supported most of the Sudano-Sahelian countries in the formulation of national action plans to combat desertification. Many interventions to combat desertification practically only focused on the physical dimensions of the problem. On the other hand it became increasingly evident that institutional and political constraints were in most cases key determinants for success or failure of project and programme level actions to combat desertification. The strengthening of national planning capacities, of coordination and of ecological monitoring were thus seen as a key condition for the successful implementation of operational projects and programmes to combat desertification. Complementary to operational projects and programmes, UNSO thus put an increasingly high emphasis on this type of support.

Beyond supporting the development of national action plans, UNSO helped in capacity building events, the strengthening of relevant institutions and the establishment of ecological monitoring capacities. Efforts aimed at helping governments to ensure coherence of planning processes, to coordinate efforts and to optimize the use of limited resources and to integrate the planning of environment related action into macro-economic planning and the process of socio-economic development.

The experience with these programmes confirms that the establishment of adequate institutional capacities and policy guidance can provide the enabling environment for the efforts on sub-national and community level. Combating desertification needs to be based on coherent action on all levels, including an enabling policy and institutional environment relating to pricing policies, regulations relating to landuse and access to natural resources, and others. Efforts to combat desertification need to be integrated into mainstream social and economic policies and programmes. This key lesson is reflected in the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) and in the call for coherent National Action Programmes (NAPs) therein.

Based on the same rational, UNSO initiated the establishment of an informal consultation group of the key international organization working on environmental issues in the Sudano-Sahelian region to harmonize and coordinate the respective frameworks. The group included the World Bank supporting National Environmental Action Programmes (NEAP), FAO supporting the Tropical Forestry Action Plan, UNEP, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) supporting Global and National Conservation Strategies.

The following projects represent a sample of UNSO's experience with strategic planning, institutional support and capacity building:

• Assistance à la modélisation/exécution d'un cadre stratégique de lutte contre la désertification
  (MAU/91/X02), République Islamique de la Mauritanie
  
  
• Appui à la conception et à la mise en œuvre d'un Plan d'Action Environnemental
  (BEN/90/X02), République du Bénin
  
  
• Appui à la mise en oeuvre du Plan Directeur de la lutte contre la Désertification (PDLCD) à l'organisation de la réunion de suivi environnement et lutte contre la désertification
  (CHD/90/X02), Chad
  
  
• Plan National de Lutte contre la Désertification
  (NER/90/X04), République du Niger
  
  
• Appui au Comité National de Lute Contre la désertification (CNLCD)
  (BKF/89/X05), République du Burkina Faso
  
  
• Assistance à la coordination et suivi-évaluation du Programme National de Lutte Contre la Désertification (PNLCD)
  (MLI/89/X03), République du Mali
  
  
• Establishment of a Desertification Control Unit within the Environmental Protection Council
  (GHA/89/X01), Ghana
  
  
• Desertification Control: Preparatory Phase
  (KEN/88/X01), Kenya
  
  
• Establishment of a drought and desertification control division within the National Environment Management Council (NEMC)
  (URT/88/X01), United Republic of Tanzania