The project “Support for Effective Cooperation and Coordination of Cross Border initiatives” – SECCCI, was implemented jointly by UNDP, IGAD and UNEP between 2018 and 2021, in three cross border clusters of the Horn of Africa, between Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. The project was made possible by the European Union Trust Fund, through the "Collaboration in Cross-Border Areas of the Horn of Africa” Programme funds, and co-funded by the UNDP Regional Programme for Africa. Due to the historical exclusion and neglect of some borderland areas, and an underestimation of local and regional complexities, the SECCCI project represented for the partners involved an innovative approach, and therefore proved a challenging endeavor to complete.

Equally, the project has proved to be a precious source of lessons to learn, from which best practices can be distilled and applied to similar cross-border and borderlands interventions in the future. This newly created Africa Borderlands Centre, championed by UNDP Africa, is evidence of renewed interest and focus on borderlands throughout Africa.

Spilling from the SECCCI experience, several initiatives and exercises have been conducted to collect, discuss and consolidate best practices that might help development partners to be more effective, agile and relevant, when supporting governments to better integrate borderlands communities. It is anticipated that with candid considerations to these experiences, development interventions in borderlands will better serve borderland communities, allowing them to thrive and fully express their potential.

A few of the main lessons learned from the SECCCI Project are highlighted below. It is worth noting that these lessons learned point to the extreme complexities of working in remote, often insecure and less known areas, with one or more national borders adding to the complexity.

Operational logistics can be an extreme sport

Operations and logistics are very complex in remote areas and where more countries are involved, and they require not only adequate financial support and specialized human resources, but also imply cross-border projects require longer term perspectives, as the change process in borderlands might take longer to achieve compared to projects implemented in other areas. In addition, a tailored and robust cooperation agreement with local implementing partners will mitigate several field implementation challenges such as access, transportation, heavy administrative operational rules and regulations.

Complex made simple

Project governance structures and processes need to be as simplified and compartmentalized as possible, to encourage agility that accommodates unforeseen eventualities in the field such as unexpected challenges (natural disasters, conflicts, COVID-19 movement restrictions…), and in general the very likely requirement to manage the project remotely for long periods. In addition, borderlands development processes imply a higher number of stakeholders, and will likely have a joint nature in terms of implementing partnership. Very functional and agile governance and decision-making mechanisms are therefore crucial. An important success factor is to rely on and involve existing mechanisms, actors and frameworks; in the case of SECCCI and in the Horn of Africa, the role of IGAD is central.

Success is in knowing all the risks

Often, in remote and volatile areas such as borderlands, a solid risk analysis and appropriate mitigation measures become even more necessary to increase chances of success. For example, borderland areas are more prone to instability and possibly violence, partly because of the governance gaps. Borderlands are also often affected by natural phenomena that are more heavily felt in these areas and can seriously affect implementation. The government engagement in high sensitivity border areas can change over the course of the project, and communities’ participation can be hampered by many conflicting priorities. In general, the risk analysis and definition of mitigation measures are two exercises that need to be taken very seriously and constantly monitored and updated.

Partners are key

When working in borderlands, and particularly in a cross-border perspective, projects often include activities touching to very sensitive aspects for the respective governments, in particular when it comes to mobility, natural resources management, trade regulations, etc. In the case of SECCCI, this was particularly true for the water component under the responsibility of UNEP. With this in mind, it is a good practice for cross-border projects to put very concrete efforts in stakeholders’ engagement and participation, at local, national and regional level. A good practice would be to make sure there is a co-funding engagement by participating governments. This also becomes an important tool to strengthen viability and sustainability of gains in the long term.

One general rule seems to be that given the added complexities of border areas and dynamics, compared to more central geographic areas, and given the complexity of managing cross-border projects from an operational standpoint, the project design, implementation strategies and project governance mechanisms should be as clear, agile, focused and as simple as possible.

To further refine, consolidate and widely share lessons learned from the SECCCI project and from other cross-border initiatives, the Africa Borderland Centre is conducting an exercise aimed at collecting experiences, best practices, lessons learned, tools and templates for borderlands and cross-border programming. This guidance tool will support UNDP COs, UN agencies and development actors in improving the quality and impact of projects and programmes in support of borderland communities in Africa.

By Simone Baccaria

Programme Manager

The Africa Borderlands Centre