IFAD’STRATEGY AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMMES TO …

IFAD’S STRATEGY AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMMESTO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION AND RURAL POVERTY

IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Regional Contribution to the

REPORT OFTHE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION

To be Presented at the

FOURTH SESSION OF THE

CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIESOF THE

UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION(Bonn, December 2000)

JULY 2000

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN DIVISION (PL)

INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (IFAD)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION 1

II. IFAD’s STRATEGY AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMMES TO COMBATDESERTIFICATION AND RURAL POVERTY 2

A. Intervention Strategy and Evolving Approaches 2

B. Project Investment Programme in Arid/Semi-Arid Zones 4

C. Regional Technical Assistance Grant Programme 4

• Knowledge Management and Thematic Networking 4• Examples of Desertification-Related Initiatives 5

III. SUPPORT TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION 6

A. Regional Action Programme Support 6

• Enabling Activities 6• Strategic Initiatives 7• Regional Action Programme 7

B. National Action Programme Support 7

• National Action Programme — Cuba 8• National Action Programme — Haiti 8

APPENDIX : SUMMARY TABLES: REGIONAL LENDING PROGRAMME

I. INTRODUCTION

1. IFAD’s core business is to contribute effectively to rural poverty alleviation in borrowingcountries through agricultural/rural development and natural resources management projects andprogrammes financed by loans and grants, whereas combating deforestation, soil degradation anddesertification is at the centre of the Fund’s mandate as an international development and financialinstitution: the target groups of dryland areas represent a principal concern of the Organisation.

2. IFAD mobilises resources and knowledge through strategic alliances with potentialbeneficiaries, governments and other international development agencies as well as with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society and the private sector. While responding to theexpectations of its clients/beneficiaries – the rural poor – and with the direct and effectiveparticipation of these beneficiaries, the Fund seeks to design and execute innovative developmentprojects/programmes that are increasingly sustainable in the impact these investments achieve at fieldlevel.

3. The Fund was selected to host the Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention toCombat Desertification (CCD), in part as a response to the experience accumulated in the area of ruralpoverty and environmental degradation. Reciprocally, IFAD has offered its decisive support to theimplementation of the Convention from the outset – in view of the importance that the Conventionitself concedes to rural poverty reduction and because of the evolving and similar approaches ofintervention: centred on the rural populations and on the effective participation of beneficiaries inproject design and implementation at local level.

4. Consistent with its intervention strategy in the region, IFAD’s intervention in Latin Americaand the Caribbean (LAC) is in constant search for innovative solutions in key areas, particularlynatural disaster management/reconstruction and environmental/natural resources management, withan expansion of efforts in arid and semi-arid zones and fragile ecosystems overall, where intrinsicpoverty and food insecurity prevail and coexist with environmental degradation in both poor andmiddle-income countries.

5. IFAD’s Latin America and the Caribbean Division (PL) provides constant support through itsproject lending and technical assistance grant programmes to: (a) promoting and consolidatingbeneficiary participation approaches as well as partnership development and local capacity building;(b) resource mobilisation with bilateral and multilateral organisations and the private sector; and(c) evaluation of progress and learning from experience while facilitating dissemination and exchangeof information. In this context, the regional division welcomes this opportunity to report on theprogress achieved in supporting implementation of the Convention at national and regional levels.

6. Based on the recommendations made in the context of the decisions taken at the Third Sessionof the Conference of the Parties (Recife, November 1999) (i.e., decision 5/COP 3), this report outlinesthe support provided by IFAD in the LAC region towards implementation of the Convention.Similarly, the report focuses on: (a) the current project investment programme in arid/semi-arid zones;(b) the knowledge management and thematic networking activities undertaken under the RegionalTechnical Assistance Grant Programme; and (c) the facilitating support granted by the Fund in theformulation of the Regional and National Action Programmes, and related enabling and strategicactivities.

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II. IFAD’s STRATEGY AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMMESTO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION AND RURAL POVERTY

A. INTERVENTION STRATEGY AND EVOLVING APPROACHES

7. A distinctive feature of IFAD’s intervention strategy is the premise – already tested in a largenumber of investment initiatives – that alone, no single development strategy or approach can reducepoverty significantly in a region as heterogeneous as Latin America and the Caribbean. Thus at theroot of IFAD’s intervention approach is the notion that flexible demand-driven investment projectsare effective instruments for channelling resources to rural poor communities and for promoting aself-managed development process. This approach – when coupled with support to beneficiaryorganisations – minimises the risk of leaving the weaker segments of the rural population unattended.

8. Evolving Intervention Approaches. In the LAC region, the processes of experience-generation for project replication and expansion have improved over recent years, while focusing on awide range of development aspects and themes. For example, the IFAD regional experience in ruralfinance has evolved from traditional credit interventions to the development of participatory ruralfinancial services. Most projects in the current portfolio have built-in innovative mechanisms for ruralfinancing and the strengthening of rural economies, and for the provision of training and technicalassistance to emerging local financial institutions. Similarly, LAC projects have shifted from theresearch centre-based testing and top-down transfer of technologies to the institutionalisation ofdemand-driven technical assistance systems; and from the fostering of gender awareness to themainstreaming of gender concerns in all aspects of project design, implementation and progressmonitoring.

9. In the same line, the LAC approach to rural development has evolved from integrated multi-component investment projects, to the introduction of community-based flexible financingmechanisms of participatorily-defined development programmes. Finally in all recent projects, andthose reformulated, explicit participation of clients/beneficiaries is a key instrument of development tobe translated in practice in their involvement in the definition of project actions and priorities.Participatory approaches of intervention, involving farmer and women associations and other forms ofgrassroots organisations, may guarantee sustainability of operations after the completion of the projectinvestment phase. These enhanced approaches of intervention are increasingly reflected in the LACproject/programme portfolio in arid and semi-arid zones. The IFAD regional lending programme isone of the central instruments for the financing of projects dealing with rural poverty alleviation inmarginal areas and for the achievement of the objectives of the Convention.

10. The main thrusts of intervention of the Fund in the LAC region – which are consistent with theobjectives and instruments of the Convention – can be summarised as follows:

• Strengthening the Rural Economies and Markets. IFAD supports the development ofefficient rural economies in LAC countries, based, inter alia, on the development andconsolidation of effective rural financial services, the mobilisation of local savings, thebuilding of key economic infrastructure, and the overall facilitation of the reduction oftransaction costs in accessing markets for inputs and outputs. In this regard, the Fund alsopromotes policy dialogue among LAC countries regarding how our institution can collaboratein establishing effective and timely institutional mechanisms to facilitate the access of peasantgroups to the benefits of sub-regional free-trade agreements such as MERCOSUR, NAFTA,CARICOM, etc. These commercial agreements require small farmers to develop new skillsand improve and diversify production.

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• Diversifying Instruments and Mechanisms of Intervention. A growing segment of therural population depends on farm incomes, rural labour markets and seasonal migration.IFAD supports a diversified portfolio of initiatives including, e.g., the creation of rural micro-enterprises, financing of community development funds, expansion of micro-irrigation, andthe creation of market-assisted land distribution schemes. Through selective investment inmanagerial and technical training, basic education and essential health and other services inrural areas, IFAD is strengthening the ability of the rural poor to participate in successful off-farm income-generating activities.

• Maintaining Country Policy Dialogue and Mobilising Resources for the Poor. IFADengages in policy discussions with Member Country governments to achieve a favourableeconomic and institutional environment that facilitates that the rural poor mobilise theirproductive capacities, while opening their access to assets, markets, and resources. In addition,IFAD has placed a high priority on achieving co-financing from other international financialinstitutions (IFIs) and bilateral donors. In this way, the Fund leverages it's financial capacity andachieves a multiplier effect by mobilising international funds to support its objectives in theregion.

• Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Technologies. Today, the vast majority of thepeasant population is located in semi-arid zones, mountainous regions or tropical areas withlow agricultural/livestock potential. IFAD supports institutional mechanisms that promote thegeneration/diffusion of environmentally sound technologies and that raise both the land andlabour productivity of smallholders in ecologically disadvantaged areas.

• Supporting Applied Research and Extension Services. By supporting the development ofdemand-driven and more effective public and private applied research and extension supportsystems at project level, IFAD continues to focus on improving the competitive capacity ofsmall-scale rural producers in national and international markets. IFAD also maintains asubstantive and continued grant-based programme in support of international and nationalagricultural research institutions.

• Targeting Overall, and Fostering Gender- and Ethnic-sensitive Actions. IFAD givespriority to the development and testing of new approaches to issues cutting across countries,such as providing women with equal opportunities and access to productive supportprogrammes. The Fund also supports the development of indigenous populations (AmazonBasin, Andean region and Mesoamerica), based on indigenous management of resources andthe preservation of the natural and cultural environments.

• Strengthening the Institutions of the Poor and Assuring Beneficiary Participation. TheFund strives to assure effective beneficiary participation in project design, implementationand evaluation. This implies, strengthening the institutions of - and for the rural poor(cooperatives, producers’ groups, water associations, etc.) to provide agricultural-relatedservices and to improve access to assets, resources and markets. Finally, IFAD alsocontributes to reinforcing a process of improved governance through highly participatoryprojects linked to government-led decentralisation policies.

B. PROJECT INVESTMENT PROGRAMME IN ARID/SEMI ARID ZONES

11. The current IFAD loan/project portfolio in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region (LAC)is composed of 51 loans/projects distributed in 24 countries and four geographic/economic sub-regions, (a) Mexico and Central America; (b) Andean Region; (c) Southern Cone and (d) AtlanticCoast and the Caribbean. As of end-June 2000, IFAD lending activities in the region are being

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implemented in the following countries: El Salvador with four projects; Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador,Honduras, Mexico, Panama with three projects each; while Argentina, the Dominican Republic,Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela have two projects each at the presenttime. The following nine countries are executing one project each: Belize, Chile, Colombia, CostaRica, Dominica, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines and Uruguay (crf., Appendix,Table 1, IFAD Projects Under Implementation with Impact on Arid and Semi-Arid Zones).

12. Current Project Financing. The current IFAD lending programme in the region amounts toUSD 645.4 million, consisting of 51 loans which were approved between 1989 and May 2000. Thetotal financing involved in the current lending portfolio reaches USD 1 260.1 million, and comprises:(i) IFAD financing for a total of USD 645.4 million (or 51% of total financing); (ii) Governmentfinancing of USD 314.2 million (25%); (iii) External cofinancing of USD 252.8 million (20%); and(iv) Financing by beneficiaries of USD 47.7 million (4%) (Table 2, Current Financing of IFADProjects with Impact on Arid and Semi-Arid Zones).

13. The share of IFAD resources allocated to projects being implemented in arid and semi-aridzones is substantive. It amounts to USD 287.5 million or 45% of the total committed lending. Theseresources are financing 19 projects or 37% of the current portfolio. A significant feature of the currentfinancing arrangements is the increasing presence of beneficiary financing.

14. There are various ongoing projects in the LAC portfolio that aim explicitly to combatingdesertification and which are the source of lessons to be drawn for possible replication and upscalingin other areas of the region and elsewhere. Some of these projects include: Brazil’s Low-IncomeFamily Support Project in the Semi-Arid Region of Sergipe State, Sustainable Development Projectfor Agrarian Reform Settlements in the Semi-Arid Northeast. These projects comprise credit guaranteefunds and other related innovative mechanisms for the financing of community-level activities.Examples of other projects that also deal explicitly with land degradation and desertification are beingexecuted in Haiti (Small-scale Irrigation Rehabilitation), Mexico (Development for RuralCommunities in the Ixtlera Region), and Venezuela (Support for Small Producers in the Semi-AridZones of Falcon and Lara States), where agro-ecologically suitable technologies are being developedfor the benefit of smallholders in dry-land and marginal areas.

C. REGIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAMME

Knowledge Management and Thematic Networking

15. Towards the learning and knowledge development goals of IFAD in the LAC region, theregional technical assistance grant programme (TAG), aims at: (a) encouraging experimental andinnovative initiatives for replication and up-scaling; (b) reinforcing the operational capacity oflending-based projects through specific training and technical assistance; and (c) the generation andsharing of experiences among the Fund’s investment initiatives in the region as well as the access ofrural organisations to external knowledge in the context of expanding thematic regional and sub-regional networks. Despite their small-scale and pilot nature, regional TAGs have a significant impacton institutional strengthening and a multiplier effect on strategic-linkage development, in as much as:(a) Internet-based telecommunications are involved in most of these operations; and (b) importantcofinancing is provided by executing agencies and other partner institutions.

16. IFAD’s regional technical assistance programme in Latin America and the Caribbean comprises13 programmes, financed by an equal number of grants for a total of USD 10.7 million and total costof USD 26.6 million (Table 3, Regional Technical Assistance Grant Programme).

17. Thematically, the TAG programme involves partnerships on various relevant areas:

• important aspects of training, technical assistance, and institutional strengthening for ruraldevelopment, e.g., The Regional Training Programme in Rural Development (executed by

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the Foundation for Training and Applied Research in Agrarian Reform - CIARA), theProgramme for Strengthening the Regional Capacity for Evaluation of Rural PovertyAlleviation Projects in Latin America and the Caribbean Phase II (Centre for Studies andDevelopment Promotion - DESCO), and the Regional Agricultural Development Project inCentral America (Regional Unit for Technical Assistance - RUTA);

• specialised cross-cutting issues and development topics for indigenous populations andother target groups (Regional Programme to Consolidate Gender-MainstreamingStrategies in IFAD-Financed Projects of Latin America and the Caribbean (PROGENDER)(Corporation for Regional Rural Development Training – PROCASUR), and the RegionalProgramme in Support of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin) (Andean DevelopmentCorporation);

• rural credit and micro-enterprise development (Regional Technical Assistance and TrainingProgramme for Rural Credit Unions in the Windward Islands (East Caribbean) (TheCaribbean Confederation of Credit Unions - CCCU), the Regional Capacity-BuildingProgramme on Micro-credit Systems, (The Foundation for International CommunityAssistance, International - FINCA);

• technology transfer to IFAD projects, i.e., Regional Programme for the Development ofSouth American Camelids (Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture - IICA);and

• Internet-based thematic networking, i.e., The FIDAMERICA Network for InformationExchange (International Farming Systems Research Methodology Network - RIMISP)

Examples of Desertification-related Interventions

18. FIDAMERICA Network. Among the above-listed TAGs, the FIDAMERICA network is apioneer in Latin America for exchange of information and dissemination of lessons learned. Examplesof FIDAMERICA activities are the several electronic conferences and electronic lists that have beenconducted on selected themes, one of which dealt recently with Local Experiences to CombatDesertification in the Poor Semi-Arid Zones of Latin America and the Caribbean (October/November1999). This electronic conference was conducted with the collaboration of the Global Mechanism ofthe Convention and sought to achieve the following objectives: (a) obtain and disseminate importantlessons drawn from the practical experience of IFAD-financed projects, while identifying ‘relevantpractices’ being developed by private and public organisations and by civic society in the regionregarding actions to combat desertification; and (b) facilitate communication among developmententities and professionals committed with the development of the of the rural poor in degraded lands(http://www.fidamerica.cl/desertification.html).

19. The Regional Training Programme in Rural Development – Phase II, being implemented bythe Foundation for Training and Applied Research in Agrarian Reform (CIARA) through an IFADTAG, and which includes LAC countries with serious desertification problems such as Brazil, Cuba,Haiti, and Venezuela. In some of these countries, i.e., Haiti and Cuba, IFAD played a central role insupporting the formulation of their National Action Programmes for the CCD (NAP). In addition, thecurrent and second phase of the CIARA training programme has been designed to extend a learninglinkage (cross-fertilisation) with IFAD projects in Lusophone and Spanish-speaking countries ofAfrica, e.g., Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, etc., where land degradation is also of primaryconcern. This programme is thus pioneering South/South collaboration and cross-fertilisation ofexperiences; and

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III. SUPPORT TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION

A. REGIONAL ACTION PROGRAMME SUPPORT

Enabling Activities

20. The key enabling activities promoted by the Regional Division in support of theimplementation of the Convention, over recent years, comprise:

• Participation of the Director, Latin America and the Caribbean Region (PL) in the ThirdRegional Meeting of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on the United NationsConvention to Combat Desertification, held in Cuba (March 1997).

• IFAD Cofinancing of the Regional Training Course on Desertification and SustainableDevelopment in Chile, within the framework of the CCD LAC Regional Action Programme.The training course was held in Santiago and La Serena, Chile in October-5 November 1997,with the participation of national stakeholders and technical staff of two IFAD-financedprojects in Chile and Mexico which are being implemented in arid zones: the AgriculturalDevelopment Project for Peasant Communities and Smalholders of the Fourth Region, andthe Development Project for Marginal Rural Communities in the Ixtlera Region. The totalcost of the activity was USD 124 000 of which IFAD contributed USD 30 000. Other partnersof this training included Chile’s National Commission, FAO, IADB and UNEP (TAG 379-CCD-Chile).

• Provision of a Technical Assistance Grant to cofinance an International Training Course onDry Forests and Desertification within the Framework of the CCD National ActionProgramme of Peru. Total cost of this activity – undertaken on 5-8 November 1997) –involved USD 60 000, of which IFAD provided a grant of USD 20 000 (TAG 381-CCD-Peru). The training course was undertaken by the Algarrobo Project in the Departments ofPiura and Lambayeque in the North of the country. It focused on the scientific progress andexperiences of development projects in arid and semi-arid zones, including the localknowledge of the populations of dry forest areas.

• Approval of a grant of USD 75 000 that was awarded to the World Resources Institute –under the IFAD NGO/ECP Programme – to execute a Programme to Propagate Partnershipfor Sustainable Food Security in Latin America, and which aimed at fostering work withregional NGOs in issues of direct relevance to soil conservation and desertificationparticularly for the benefit of poor farmers, farmworkers and local groups (December 1997)(Grant 114-WRI). The programme’s objectives included: (a) supporting and spreadingparticipatory approaches for the implementation of integrated pest and crop managementmethods; (b) facilitating policy dialogue among decision-makers, farmer representatives andNGOs; and (c) strengthening and promoting institutional innovations that addressopportunities for equity in integrated crop and pest management, particularly to buildopportunities for rural women.

• Participation of the Desertification and Natural Resources Management Focal Point, LatinAmerica and the Caribbean Region, in the Fourth Regional Meeting of the Countries of LatinAmerica and the Caribbean on the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification,St. John’s. Antigua and Barbuda (29 April-1 May 1998).

• Financing of the First African-Latin American and the Caribbean Forum on theImplementation of the United Convention to Combat Desertification, an activity organised byUNCCD in Recife, Brazil, on 14-16 October 1998. An IFAD TAG was approved of

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USD 30 000 for this activity (TAG 422-CCD). The overall objective of the Forum was tofoster international cooperation and partnership among countries in the two regions seeking tostrengthen South/South Cooperation in promoting the implementation of the CCD. Otherparticipant of the forum included representatives from bilateral, multilateral agencies andNGOs.

Strategic Initiatives

21. In addition to training, technical assistance and information exchange activities, IFAD isseeking innovative approaches to tackle the wider issues of desertification and environmentaldegradation at regional and sub-regional levels; and thus its technical assistance grant programme isexpanding its thematic scope to involve strategic of land management and desertification prevention.In this regard, a USD 85 000 grant was awarded to FAO in May 1999 to execute the Prevention ofLand Degradation, Enhancement of Carbon Sequestration and Biodiversity Conservation throughLand Use Change and Sustainable Land Management in Latin America and the Caribbean(TAG 437-FAO). The overall objective of this programme is to address the urgent need to reverseland degradation due to deforestation and inadequate land use management in the LAC region. Theprogramme is providing assistance to governments within the framework of their national actionprogrammes, while undertaken some case studies of selected pilot areas.

Regional Action Programme

22. The Regional Division promoted the financing by IFAD of the Preparation of the RegionalAction Programme to Implement the Convention to Combat Desertification in Latin America and theCaribbean, through a grant of USD 85 000 awarded to the Secretariat of the Convention in December1997. The initiative aimed at: (a) the creation of a regional information network; (b) the identificationof relevant benchmarks and indicators for environmental assessment; (c) the organisation of aworkshop of experts parallel to the IV LAC regional meeting (TAG 394-CCD-LAC).

B. NATIONAL ACTION PROGRAMME SUPPORT

National Action Programme - Cuba

23. The Fund approved a technical assistance grant in December 1997 (TAG 380-CCD-Cuba) withthe explicit objective of supporting the Design of a National Action Programme to CombatDesertification: Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan for the Cauto River Basin. Thisthree-year programme with a total cost of USD 138 000, was cofinanced by the Fund with a grant ofUSD 80 000. Other partners involved are FAO, CCD and the Cuban Ministry for Science,Technology and the Environment. The purpose of the initiative was dual: contributing to the design ofa national action programme to combat desertification, and the implementing a pilot project forsustainable development of the Cauto river basin through sound exploitation and management of thenatural resources.

National Action Programme - Haiti

24. Finally, the LAC division provided technical support to the formulation of the Haiti’s NationalAction Programme, initially through a consultancy fielded in November 1997. Punctual support todesertification-related actions are being provided through the IFAD-financed projects in the countryand the training and technical assistance work of the CIARA programme.

APPENDIX

SUMMARY TABLES: REGIONAL LENDING PROGRAMME

Table 1: IFAD Projects Under Implementation with Impact on Aridand Semi-Arid Zones

Table 2: Current Financing of IFAD Projects with Impact on Aridand Semi-Arid Zones

Table 3: Regional Technical Assistance Grant Programme

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REPORT TO COP-IV ON IMPLEMENTATION OF CONVENTION TO COMBATDESERTIFICATION: OVERVIEW ON ASIA

Importance of CCD to IFAD & to Asia

1. Long before the establishment of the CCD, IFAD, each year, has been investing inareas prone to land degradation (arid, semi-arid and dry-sub-humid zones), providing up toUSD 200 million to support projects in drylands. Being the only UN institution with Thespecific mandate of IFAD being to increase the productivity, incomes, nutritional level andquality of life of the poorest populations of developing country rural areas has naturallysteered its operations toward marginal lands and drylands. IFAD’s commitment to drylandsdevelopment spanning 23 years, amounts to more than USD 3 billion. IFAD’s targetingcriteria have dictated the siting of a significant number of projects in marginal areas, vividlyillustrating the poverty-environmental degradation nexus.

2. IFAD recognized the crucial role of the Convention as an instrument for achievingfood security, poverty alleviation and sustainable development in dryland areas based oncollective action through innovative partnerships. The mandates of the two institutions mergefrom the perspective of arresting land degradation and water depletion in pursuit of povertyalleviation in dry zones. Besides, the strong congruence between the people-centred approachrequired by the Convention, now ratified by 140 countries, and IFAD’s own emphasis onlocal capacity-building to promote community-based resource management is noteworthy. Assuch, IFAD sought to make its mark in strategy formulation and priority-setting with respectto the role of the rural poors’ improved access to land and tenurial security in sustainableland management.

3. IFAD, based on its extensive experience in drylands, possesses a clear-cut niche andcomparative advantage vis-à-vis other organizations in terms of : 1) the agricultural sector asthe engine for the rural economy; 2) linkage of land tenure (particularly civil-societypractices in land reform) and household food security; 3) operational experience in assistingdrylands communities eke out a sustainable livelihood based on SARD principles; and 4) thecross-cutting question of appropriate technology development and transfer. The GM has beenfinding IFAD’s expertise invaluable.

4. IFAD in general and Asia Division in particular has always believed the CCDprovides a coherent framework to coordinate efforts to address environmental, food securityand poverty alleviation dimensions of dryland development.

5. Asia is the continent with the largest land area affected by desertification i.e.1.4 million ha, of which 71% is moderately to severely degraded. That 27% of the totalagricultural land, permanent pasture, forest and woodland areas in Asia suffer from soildegradation and more than half of these degraded lands occur in dry regions presents adaunting challenge. Of no less concern is the degradation of 73% of agricultural lands inSouth Asia and 25% of total land in Southeast Asia through deforestation, overgrazing andmisguided agricultural practices. The following are just two examples of the impact of thisdegradation: a 19.3% decline in grain yield in China due to soil erosion and salinization; anda 50% decline in crop yield from salinization and waterlogging.

6. IFAD’s operational experience in dryland areas constitutes a valuable knowledgesource for charting the future as regards land degradation control. It emerges that the keymeans to address drought and desertification is through coupling poverty alleviation withparticipation: sustainable land use systems, with the onus resting on resource users to manage

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the same. On-going and new projects in China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam seek to enhancethe coping strategy and resilience of dryland populations.

7. IFAD pledged USD 100 000 in 1998, which enabled CCD Secretariat to convene theInternational Expert Group Meeting on the Preparation of the Regional Action Programme(RAP) for combating Desertification and Drought in Asia, at UNESCAP, Bangkok,November 10 through 13, 1998. This meeting identified concrete action plans as part offormulating and implementing the Regional Action Programme in Asia. It spurred on thelaunch of 2 of 3 Thematic Programme Networks in July 1999 and March 2000 respectively,the third one expected to be operational at the end of the year.

8. The Islamic Development Bank, during the 6th. Meeting of the FacilitationCommittee of the Global Mechanism of the CCD held in IFAD on 5 November 1999,expressed willingness to contribute financially toward preparatory activities for the Sub-Regional Action Programme for West Asia.

IFAD-supported activities in Asia region relevant to CCD implementation

IFAD Projects in Asia relevant to CCD

9. In Asia, IFAD promotes the creation of self-help groups that employ locallysustainable technologies, linking themselves to markets, and bringing food security andresilience to communities. Some projects played a catalytic role for the enforcement ofrangeland conservation and management legislation, e.g. Quinghai/Hainan Prefecture,China. Project-specific details on climatic conditions, goals and objectives for some projectsare given below.

China - Qinghai/Haidong Prefecture Integrated Agricultural Development Project(USD 5.2191m)

10. Mean annual precipitation varies between 310 mm in Xunhua to over 400 mm inPingan and Hualong. The major constraint to crop production is the unreliability and lack ofrainfall in Spring.

11. The project goal is to alleviate poverty and improve livelihood of poor farmhouseholds sustainably through improved management of the resource base. Specificobjectives are: 1) household food security through, among others, land improvement;2) promote long-term sustainability of farming systems through controlling soil erosion,increasing forest cover and controlling run-off rate.

India-Andhra Pradesh Participatory Tribal Development Project(USD 26.717 m)

12. Annual rainfall in Utnoor, Bhadrachalam and K R Puram averages around 1000 mm.The productivity of tribal lands is low partly due to poor land management and absence ofsoil and moisture conservation measures, resulting in widespread environmental degradation.

One of the overall project objectives is to prevent environmental degradation, whileincreasing productivity from both rainfed and irrigated land

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Nepal-Hills Leasehold Forestry & Forage Development Project (USD 12.8 m)

13. The project has the twin objectives of raising the incomes of the families in the Hillswho are below the poverty line and contribute to improving the ecological conditions in theHills. The implementation modality is the leasing of blocks of degraded forest land to groupsof poor households. Through incremental fodder production from leased land, householdswould increase their income-generating potential from livestock, meet their fuelwood andtimber needs as well as derive additional income from other commercial species, namelybamboo, fruits, medicinal plants. Improved productivity of upland terraces combined withreduced soil loss and downstream siltation are envisaged through terrace improvement.Other poor families would be encouraged to plant multi-purpose trees on their private land tosatisfy fuelwood and timber requirements so as to reduce pressure on forests. Use ofimproved stoves would also reduce family fuelwood consumption by 30%, further relievingpressure on forests. Rejuvenation of forests would control land degradation and safeguardthe productivity of the resource base.

Pakistan Northern Areas Development Project(USD 14.631 m)

14. Annual rainfall in the project area is less than 200 mm except at higher elevations.In the agricultural areas, evapo-transpiration exceeds rainfall in all months.

One of the main objectives is to improve the resource base through social forestry.

Sri Lanka Northwestern Province Dry Zone Participatory Development Project(USD 8.9 m)

15. Although the project area has an average annual rainfall of 1157mm, the lowreliability of rainfall in the dry zone could qualify the project as a candidate CCD-relatedproject. The declining fertility levels of the rainfed uplands are eroding the very productionbasis of the majority of the target households.

16. A main project objective is resource management. Eventually, a multiplier effect isenvisaged in terms of improved and sustainable farming systems for the Dry Zone.

Vietnam-Agricultural Resources Conservation & Development Project in Quang BinhProvince (USD 12.821472)

17. Household incomes would be improved through protection of private and publicproperty, including paddy fields, in the coastal zone from encroachment by shifting sanddunes by way of dune fixation. About 4000 ha of plantations would be developed byindividual farmers on moving sands for protection of the most vulnerable areas. VillageManagement Committees would be established to organize land allocation for planting.Training would focus on participatory techniques of sand dune fixation. An NGO wouldorganize the communities to plant and oversee maintenance thereafter.

IFAD Agricultural Research TAGs relevant to CCD in Asia(IRRI 263,IDRC 332, ACSAD 489, ICRISAT 330, ICIMOD, ICRAF)

18. Because of the virtual absence of improved crop-specific technology packages andextension messages for the production systems of resource-poor smallholders in low rainfallareas, IFAD loans for drylands investment projects are also complemented by IFAD grants(aside from grant financing by the Belgian Survival Fund Joint Programme -BSF.JP). These

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grants comprise : 1) Technical Assistance Grants (TAGs) for agricultural research toinstitutions of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), forinstance ICARDA, ICRISAT and CIAT; 2) TAGs to non-CGIAR Institutions; and3) Extended Cooperation Programme (ECP) grants to NGOs.

IRRI

19. IFAD provided IRRI a TAG for USD 3.58 million for 3 years for a second phase tothe Collaborative Research and Development of Sustainable Rice Farming Systems inSouthern Asia, in terms of participatory development and validation of appropriate rice-basedtechnologies for smallholders. It would develop and disseminate ecosystem-specific High-Yielding Variety rice production technologies with proven potential in Eastern India underIFAD-supported research. Furthermore, a collaborative Research and Development networkcomponent would serve as a vehicle for technology transfer to smallholders in other SouthAsian countries including Nepal and Pakistan.

20. According to the Draft Program Completion Report of July 2000, IRRI has paid goodattention to the major TAG objectives, viz. technology development, ecosystem analysis,multi-locational testing and demonstration, and collaborative research networking. Relatedresearch has been undertaken in IRRI Headquarters on seedbed management under adverseconditions and on early hurdles to crop establishment in lowlands. Collaboration with agro-climatologists in India and the application of long-term weather data from the eastern rice-growing states have enabled determination of the safe growing season for rainfed rice.National and state-level remote sensing organizations have enabled clear delineation of areasprone to drought as well as submersion stress, with full details on severity and timing. It hasbeen clearly established that: rainfed land is not always a dryland; a break in rains does notautomatically cause drought stress in the crop; and that nutrient enrichment of the crop hasto be put on hold during drought stress.

21. Drought-prone uplands may never benefit from irrigation due to the low water tableand undulating topography. Here, the options include: choice of early-maturing rice cultivars;increase cropping intensity through mixed cropping with deeper-rooted crops such as pigeonpea; and perimeter planting with high-value orchards or timber trees as an income-enhancingmeasure for rice farms. Furthermore, it is incorrect to blindly limit the duration of the ricecrop in all uplands, for instance in the Assam uplands, having a longer rainy season, riceyields can be enhanced using later-maturing cultivars. Meanwhile, cropping intensity indrought-prone lowlands can be increased through a legume crop preceding rice.

IDRC

22. IFAD provided a TAG of USD 0.9 million for 3 years to IDRC for the developmentand transfer of technologies for smallholder bamboo and rattan-based producers from Asia toAfrica. The grant would cover: 1) socio-economic (strategic) research; 2) technology transferand information dissemination; and 3) network development. Socio-economic and policyresearch seeks to improve the income-generation potential of smallholder producer groups byincreasing the value-added from bamboo and rattan production, processing and marketing,while safeguarding the natural resource base. The research documents resource pricing andadministration as well as royalties taxes and other charges bearing on production andprocessing. In Africa, areas exhibiting potential in terms of traditional applications andprocessing technologies serve as the location for a socio-economic production systemssurvey. Under Technology Transfer & Information Dissemination, a linkage is soughtbetween the known technology and development projects, especially local initiatives carriedout by grassroots organizations. Gender-sensitive participatory training modules relate to:

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small-scale bamboo & rattan cultivation and management; and management of micro-enterprises. The International Network on Bamboo & Rattan (INBAR) engages inparticipatory technology development through farmer-managed demonstration trials. INBARand UNESCO have been engaged in a joint project to promote traditional technologies inmodern life, namely use of bamboo to prevent uplands soil erosion in the mountains ofEthiopia. Agro-technologies for rehabilitating degraded lands have been tested and adoptedby farmers on their own fields, with a multiplier effect on other farmers. The sameparticipatory adaptive research approach has been applied to rehabilitating degraded landsmined for brick production. Network Development envisages broadening the consortium ofdevelopment partners and the possible creation of a representative office in Africa, overseenby a national consultant scientist.

23. As of end-December 1998, achievements include: assessment of the role of bambooin the economy in India and Zambia; studies on policies and institutions; documentation ofthe traditional and current uses of bamboo; development of technologies for the use ofbamboo in housing construction; and development of linkages between craft groups andmarkets. The main focus of attention was the transition of INBAR from an informal networkof IDRC to a full-fledged independent inter-governmental organization based in Beijing.

ACSAD

24. IFAD provided USD 4.675 million for 4 years to the Camel Applied Research &Development Network (CARDN) Phase II for mutually supporting action-research activitieswith full participation of poor camel-pastoralist communities. The research will covertechnology development and adaptation in the areas of: animal health and reproduction;animal nutrition for more intensive production and quality control; and processing,preservation and marketing of both milk and meat. The programme envisages combiningtechnical research with social and economic aspects of camel-based production systems, theresearch being demand-driven and formulated through community-level participation. Thisparticipatory approach will facilitate sustainable camel husbandry practices, improve rangemanagement, which, in turn, will decrease land degradation, alleviating poverty andimproving living conditions. A linkage will be sought between on-going IFAD projects andnew technologies emanating from CARDN research. The programme will promote trainingin: laboratory techniques in hygiene, disease diagnosis, and treatment including on-sitevaccination, socio-economic surveys, and data analysis and modelling. Research results willenable camel-keeping communities to develop and market meat and milk production.Promising results will be disseminated to other developing regions, viz. Asia & the Pacificand Latin America & the Caribbean.

ICRISAT

25. ICRISAT was the recipient of a TAG of USD 0.5 million for 3 years to enablesmallholder pulse producers evaluate IPM technologies through participatory on-farmresearch to avoid excessive and injudicious applications of insecticide. Project ManagementUnits would identify pest-management priorities as perceived by IFAD target groups. Theseranked priorities would guide ICRISAT in setting protocols at research sites located in IFADprojects. The three main components are: 1) development of host plant resistance; 2) culturalcontrol including techniques to enhance the action of natural enemies; and 3) exploitingnatural insecticides and entomopathogens.

26. As of end-1998, the following had been achieved: 1) extensive training of networkmembers in IPM, on a much more substantial scale than was envisaged; 2) demonstrationthrough on-farm trials with 350 farmers at 40 locations involving government and university

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researchers as well as NGOs that IPM can raise farm profits; 3) identification of constraintsto IPM spread, viz. lack of seeds of resistant varieties and absence of biological controlagents including neem-based products and pheromones, complexity of IPM procedure forpulses; 4) establishment of synergistic linkages with the IFAD-financed Integrated TribalDevelopment Project in Andhra Pradesh.

ICIMOD

27. Complementing the TAG to ICRAF, ICIMOD was also a recent recipient of an IFADTAG of USD 1.37 million for a 4-year period to provide implementation support to IFAD-funded projects in: 1) improving nutritional status through increased and diversified incomes;2) assessing women’s decision-making role; 3) applying a participatory approach;4) document improved technologies and practices including those easily accessed by womenwhile seeking out indigenous knowledge in farming, resource conservation and income-generating activities; 5) reducing drudgery of women through improved water harvesting andreduced morbidity from water-borne parasites; 6) identifying policies to support sustainablelivelihoods in upland households; 7) replicating IFAD model project cases on regenerativeagriculture and forestry; 8) organizing exchange visits among IFAD project staff andbeneficiaries; 9) organizing training of IFAD staff on gender and participation;10) organizing consultations to inform policymakers on IFAD project experience. Theprogramme will also support research in critical areas of upland development including post-harvest measures, local water harvesting and off-farm employment and income generation.The programme is expected to generate greater awareness of upland development conditionsand needs within IFAD projects, concomitantly improving project impact.

ICRAF

28. IFAD recently approved a TAG for USD 1.1 million for 3 years to ICRAF forproviding technical backstopping to IFAD’s Programme for the Upland Poor in terms oftechnologies, institutional and policy innovations. Within IFAD project areas, ICRAF would,through a regional network, identify, test and validate improved agro-forestry andconservation farming practices with outstanding potential to increase productivity andincome while protecting watersheds. ICRAF would seek out indigenous knowledge thatoffers synergy with new technologies and can be integrated with IFAD projects. It will alsoidentify community-based participatory strategies for natural resources management withinIFAD projects, particularly in the uplands in Asia. ICRAF would establish a linkage to theAlternatives to Slash and Burn system-wide programme, famed for its inter-disciplinary workcombining bio-physical and social science realms.

NGO-ECP grants in support of CCD

29. Grassroots level efforts in the CCD process, including awareness generation and thedevelopment of participatory, community-level institutions, can be significantly enhancedthrough partnership-building with NGOs, based on their intimate knowledge of localproduction systems and coping strategies as well as their already-established partnership withthe rural poor in the target area. They can thus best articulate the needs of the rural poor.NGOs can also provide technical inputs to NAP implementation. In implementing itsprogrammes in marginal areas, IFAD has accordingly mobilized NGOs as and whenappropriate. Decision 18, adopted by COP-II on 11 December 1998, specifically called onIFAD to pursue modalities of collaboration between itself and NGOs.

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30. A number of grants, under the Extended Cooperation Programme or TechnicalAssistance Grant Programme have gone to NGOs for desertification control projects, forinstance, to

31. World Learning, a lead NGO in Natural Resources Management, received an ECPgrant to identify strategies and capacity-building approaches to creation of an 8-countrycoalition to Combat Desertification in Africa, Asia and Latin America (thePVO/NGO/NRMS Project). Youth for Action received a TAG for organizing the AFRO-ASIAN Global NGO Forum on South-South and South-North Cooperation to enablegrassroots-level NGOs to assess options for CCD implementation at local level.

32. Many of the most marginalised and poorest people in Asia, including the majority ofindigenous people, live in semi-arid hilly and mountainous areas with few livelihoodalternatives other than shifting cultivation. Given the negative ecological effects of slash andburn agriculture, identifying and disseminating best practices to concerned communitiesbecomes critical. This is the major objective of an ECP grant to the International Institutefor Rural Reconstruction. The results of this project will be used in IFAD-funded projects inNepal, Bhutan, North-East India, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia.

Other IFAD activities in support of CCD

33. IFAD has shown its determination and commitment to desertification control byextending financial support to National Action Programmes (NAPs), Sub-Regional ActionProgrammes (SRAPs) and Regional Action Programmes (RAPs), the ideal vehicles forConvention implementation in terms of policy, institutional and technological adaptation tothe needs of dryland populations. NAPs provide the necessary investment framework topromote sustainable drylands management from the grass roots upwards whilesimultaneously addressing rural poverty and social inequities, so closely inter-related. SRAPsintegrate similar features of NAPs of adjoining countries, and cover a wide range of activitiesand thematic networks including the management of shared resources (for example water) aswell as transfrontier ecosystems, such as rangelands, forests, mountains and oases. The Fundperceives SRAPs to be more meaningful after acquiring some practical experience in NAPimplementation. As per the CCD’s Regional Implementation Annex for Asia, Asiancountries developed a framework for formulating respective National Action Programmes(NAPs), a Regional Action Programme (RAP) as well as for determining priority areas ofcollaboration. Key to this formulation process were: 1) the First Regional Conference on theImplementation of the CCD in Asia, held in New Delhi in August 1996, approving theconcept of decentralized programme networks; and 2) Ministerial Conference on RegionalCooperation in Beijing in May 1997 agreeing to establish 6 Thematic Programme Networks(TPNs), serving as core elements of a Regional Action Programme (RAP), and backed by aregional coordination unit. The TPNs aim at the identification of indicators and benchmarksfor measuring dryland degradation changes.

34. At COP-I, held in Rome during 29 September-10 October 1997, IFAD, within theframework of an Asian RAP, decided to provide support toward establishing and developing3 TPNs prior to their launching in China, India and Iran respectively, aimed at bolsteringand harmonizing specific capacities of the countries in the region. Accordingly, IFAD,with the full participation of the GM Network, disbursed a Technical Assistance Grant(TAG) of USD 70 000 to the UNCCD, entitled Regional Thematic Programme Network onDesertification Monitoring and Assessment (TPN-I), with China as the network coordinatorand beneficiary country.

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35. The overall objectives were: 1) training and capacity building through exchange oftechnical staff in data acquisition, processing, satellite image interpretation, maps and fieldverification relating to desertification control; 2) the application of space-based technologiesand information generated therefrom for policy and programme development; and 3) theidentification of impact indicators and associated benchmarks, both bio-physical concerningresource management as well as socio-economic, in monitoring and assessing NAPs, withinthe broader framework of implementing information management systems.

36. The funds covered the cost of hosting a TPN I Launching Meeting during 26-27 July,and are financing necessary follow-up activities, interalia a Working Group Meeting inFebruary 2000 at the Chinese Academy of Forestry, the Asia-Africa Technical Workshop onEarly Warning Systems and the Second Asian Meeting of CCD National Focal Points. TheWorking Group Meeting assembled technical experts on website design, networking, anddesertification monitoring, the aim being the design of TPN-1 home page/web site and thecreation of internet links between participating institutions.

37. IFAD similarly provided USD 50 000 toward the development, launching and initialimplementation phase of Asian Regional Thematic Programme Networks on Agro-forestryand Soil Conservation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas (TPN 2) and anotherUSD 50 000 for Rangeland Management in Arid Areas and Sand Dune Fixation (TPN 3).

38. Given the major threat posed by the loss of woody tree and shrub species to the entireAsian continent, the Regional Meeting of Experts in Bangkok in September 1998 agreed tolaunch TPN-2 to promote farming systems based on economically viable, environmentallysound, soil fertility-enhancing agro-forestry technologies, adopting a programme framework. Pilot-scale, participatory research and field trials would be carried out on the bio-physicaland socio-economic impacts of specific agroforestry technologies compatible with the needsof individual countries and communities. Economically sustainable financing mechanisms foragro-forestry activities would accordingly be identified through equitable cost-sharing andprivate sector involvement. The International Expert Group Meeting on the Preparation ofthe RAP for Combating Desertification and Drought in Asia, held in Bangkok in November1998, served to further define the framework and work programme of the TPN-2. In July1999, the Government of India’s offer to host the TPN-2 was formally accepted. At theAsian Group Meeting on 23 November 1999 during COP-3 in Recife, the Indian CCD focalpoint proposed to hold the TPN-2 Launch Meeting tentatively from 13-16 March 2000 inNew Delhi, India, to seek consensus on the proposed framework, work programmes andinstitutional arrangements. TPN-2 has been jointly developed by the Indian Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), and willbe hosted by the Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur. This institute together withparticipating national coordinating institutes will benefit from capacity strengthening in theareas of: development of inventories; statistical data and information systems; formulation,implementation and monitoring of agro-forestry activities. Also to be enhanced is theresearch capacity of stakeholders.

39. Thematic Programme Network 3 is on Rangeland Management in Arid Areasincluding the fixation of sand dunes, for which the Government of Iran expressed its keeninterest to being host. In November 1998, the International Expert Group Meeting on theCCD RAP for Asia endorsed Iran’s offer to host TPN-3. The rangelands in the arid and semi-arid zones of the Asian continent are vulnerable biomes. Ingenious ways for their sustainableexploitation have been elaborated over the millennia by various user groups, for instancenomadic pastoralists ranging from West and South Asia to Central and East Asia.

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40. Given the critical role of rangelands in serving as a protective buffer againstdesertification, the aim of TPN-3 is to re-establish rangeland management systems whichincrease productivity in an ecologically sustainable, economically feasible and sociallyequitable manner for the benefit of marginal communities residing in these fragile areas. Itenvisages the marriage of modern science with time-tested indigenous resource managementsystems. TPN-3 has been conceived by the Iranian Forest & Range Organization, for hostingby an institute in Iran. In this case, the launch meeting is scheduled for April 2000. The CCDand the Government of Iran have been elaborating the framework and work programme. Thenetwork will draw on past experience of the DESCONAP Network as well as in-depthknowledge of NGOs and civil society at large.

41. A separate TAG proposal to the amount of USD 30 000 for an Expert Meeting onSpecial Needs and Requirements of Developing Countries with Low Forest Cover andUnique Types of Forests, planned for October 1999 in Teheran, was under consideration, butwas not submitted to the Executive Board. Recognizing the severity of the social, economicand ecological impact of Low Forest Cover, the Inter-Governmental Panel on Forests (IPF)highlighted the urgent need for international cooperation. The Inter-Governmental Forum onForests, IPF’s successor, called for substantive discussions to develop national, regional andinternational strategies for the benefit of affected countries.

Special PI initiative on Upland Poor relevant to CCD

42. In terms of area, Asia is home to the highest percentage of absolute poor in the world,65 percent of who subsist in uplands, hilly and mountainous terrain. In March 1998, IFADrealised that those hardest hit by the Asian Financial Crisis were rural peoples residing inthese marginal lands, which often undergo severe land degradation yet constituting a valuablesource of timber, fuelwood, Non-Timber Forest Products, hydro-power, minerals, bio-diversity. They also support eco-tourism having been left outside the pale of developmentpolicies and practices, their entire livelihoods and socio-ecological condition are in persistentcrisis. They have to contend with the problems inherent to rainfed farming on such low-potential lands. As a response, in mid-1998, IFAD’s Asia and Pacific Division initiated aprogramme to improve the quality of economic growth for illiterate, ethnic and tribal peopleof poor health, residing in semi-arid, marginal, upland areas of Asia: the Special Programmefor Asian Upland Countries. It was to build upon IFAD’s experience to date in upland areasin China, India, Nepal and Pakistan, where the rural poor subsist on rainfed agriculture, forestproducts or small ruminants grazed on common property resources. A technical feasibilitystudy of this initiative, prepared by FAO, was deliberated on during a three-day Consultationin April 1999 at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok. Hosted by the regional IUCNoffice, the Consultation drew participants from nine Asian countries, regional andinternational organizations and bilateral agencies. It was aimed at: 1) awareness generation ofthe proposed initiative among concerned stakeholders; and 2) adaptation of constituentelements to upland community needs. A specific proposal geared to the very poor ruralhouseholds in upland areas, based on partnership-building between governments, donors andcivil society organizations including NGOs, received overwhelming support. Under theEnhanced Partnership for the Future of Asia’s Upland Poor, a Legal Defence Fundestablished serves to finance the legal cost of restoring tribal lands to tribal households.

43. The proposal had seven constituent elements: 1) regenerative farming & forestry;2) natural resource management, including biodiversity; 3) diversification of mountaineconomy; 4) provision of micro-finance services; 5) micro-enterprise development; 6) localinstitution-building; and 7) local employment creation. A key characteristic was partnership-building between governments, donors and civil society organizations including NGOs.

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44. To orient Japanese government officials to IFAD’s Special Programme for Asia, asimilar one-day Consultation was held in Tokyo on 8 July 1999. Marking the first concretestep to building a constituency in Japan with a view to future partnership-building, theConsultation was attended by 402 people, including Members of Parliament, seniorgovernment officials, well-known economists and prominent Japanese journalists. Thesymposium served as an arena for open discussion on a response strategy for the impact ofthe Asian Crisis on the Upland Poor. Participants had the opportunity, through tele-conferencing, to directly interview IFAD beneficiaries in East Java, Indonesia about theircoping strategies in the Crisis.

45. Under the Uplands Programme, three new projects deserve mention: 1) the EastKalimantan Upland Development Project in Indonesia, approved by the Executive Board inMay 2000, under the framework of the Post-Crisis Programme for Participatory IntegratedDevelopment in Rainfed Areas; 2) the Western Uplands Development Programme in Nepal,the inception for which took place during May 2000, and is to be formulated in September;and 3) the Northern Mindanao Project for Coastal & Uplands Development in thePhilippines, which has just been formulated in July.

Indonesia-East Kalimantan Upland Development Project(USD 23.5 m)

46. Within the Programme area, over 75% of the cultivated area is upland. Within eachprovince, districts have been selected on the basis of incidence of poverty and dependence onrainfed agriculture. Rainfall varies between 2400 mm in East Java to 1270 mm in Dompu to1466 mm in Soe.

47. The programme goal is to increase incomes, food production and food security aswell as sustainably improve living conditions of 100 000 low-income households. Achievingthe above calls for : 1) establishing or reinforcing existing farmer and women Village Self-Help Groups (VSHG), so as to be viable, self-reliant entities; 2) promoting natural resourcesconservation; and 3) improving village infrastructure.

Nepal-Western Uplands Development Programme(USD 12-15 m)

48. The project area lies within the Far- and Mid-Western Development Regions, around50% of the total area is covered by forest, representing a major natural resource. However,the risk of over-exploitation is high, due to lack of knowledge of resource availability andlack of proper management practices on a common property resource.

49. The programme’s overall goal is to reduce the social, economic and physicalvulnerability of the poor and socially disadvantaged in the uplands by promoting moreresilient livelihoods by promoting more resilient livelihoods, reducing social discriminationand injustice. Specific objectives are : 1) strengthen the capacity of the poor and sociallydisadvantaged to mobilize human and natural resources; 2) increase the responsiveness ofinstitutions and service providers to the needs of the poor; and 3) promote a learningenvironment on linkages between social justice and livelihoods in upland areas.

Philippines-Northern Mindanao Project for Coastal & Uplands Development(USD 19.1285m)

50. The project area is characterised as forestal/timberland, largely occupied by loggingconcessions and exhibiting serious degradation. Uplands and mountain cover over 60% of

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the area, with elevations reaching above 2800 m. Annual rainfall varies between 1600 mm incoastal areas to over 2500 mm in the uplands.

51. The goal of the project is to sustainably raise the living standard of farm and fishinghouseholds by promoting food security and incomes above the poverty line. The specificobjectives in pursuit of the above are: 1) local investments in infrastructure and resourceconservation; 2) more effective service delivery; and 3) the design and delivery ofcommercial and social sub-projects. A participatory demand-driven community approach isadopted.

Future Issues

52. In the IFAD Programme of Work and Budget for 2000, programme focus will besharpened to, among others, expand efforts in dry zones and fragile ecosystems, such asupland areas, where intrinsic poverty and food insecurity combined with environmentaldegradation call for innovative approaches and where IFAD’s knowledge accumulated to datecan serve as a foundation for partnership arrangements and pooling of resources. Closerinteraction between the Project Management Department (PMD) and the Global Mechanismis envisaged.

53. Providing NGOs with access to finance calls for the creation and capitalization ofNational Desertification Funds, and it is here that the private sector in developed countriescould exercise their role in Convention implementation. Yet another major role of the privatesector could be the coordination of reforestation and land improvement initiatives in thedeveloping world as a potentially cost-effective way of attaining emissions reduction targetsin developed countries, in the context of Kyoto Protocol-prescribed carbon emissionsreduction targets (5% decline in developed country emissions during 2008-2012 compared to1990 levels).

IFAD will continue development of a pipeline of land degradation control projectsfor prospective financing by the Global environment Fund (GEF), to assist countriesaccess GEF funds.

IFAD-Supported Activities in the Near East and North Africa Region relevant to CCD Implementation

Report to COP-IVon Implementation of the Convention to Combat

Desertification

IFAD-Supported Activities in the Near East and North Africa Regionrelevant to CCD Implementation

Land degradation and desertification are problems most felt in the NENA region as comparedto other parts of the world. More than 50% of the total land area of the region is in danger of beingwholly or partially lost to desertification or land degradation, as much as 70% of the rangeland isundergoing some sort of desertification or degradation. Desertification and land degradation arelargely caused by poor land management, often amplified by prolonged periods of drought, such asthe recent one that swept Jordan, Syria and Iraq for three years.

Taking advantage of the fact that all NENA member countries have either ratified the Conventionor acceded to it, PN is putting major emphasis on natural resources conservation-oriented activities. TheDivision involvement in the implementation of the principles of the CCD is guided by the two majorthrusts of stakeholder participation and partnership building with other donors. Participation of localcommunities in the design and implementation of programs to combat desertification reflects theConvention's bottom-up approach and the growing recognition of the importance of grassroots groups,local communities and NGOs in reaching and mobilizing people who work on the land. The UNCCDrecommended to governments the elaboration of National Action Programmes, to serve asoperational frameworks for the implementation of the Convention . In simultaneously addressing thepolicy aspects and the technical aspects of natural resources management, IFAD-financed projects inthe region have directly contributed to the elaboration by the Governments of such Programmes ,both nationally and locally. At the national level, these projects have indirectly assisted governmentsin setting the right macro-enabling environment for long term and sustainable conservation of theresources. At the local level, the communities have been fully involved in resources conservation andmanagement through implementation of the Rangeland Management Plans and Soil and WaterConservation plans.

The following projects are a few examples of IFAD-financed activities with major naturalresources conservation dimension, hence their strong link to the CCD principles and approach:

1 Jordan – Agricultural Resources Management Project in Karak and Tafila; YarmoukAgricultural Resources Development Project:

One of the main objectives of these very similar projects is to arrest degradation and optimiselong-term productive use of land and water resources with active participation and partnership of thebeneficiaries. The contributory causes and potential means for reducing resource degradation havebeen addressed through a comprehensive integrated approach to resource management, involving allthe population which live in, and make use of the natural resources in discrete physiographic unitssuch as hillslopes and watersheds.

2. Jordan: National Programme for Rangelands Rehabilitation and Development Phase I:

The goal of the NPRRD is to re-establish the productive capacity of Jordan's rangelandresources and so realise the significant environmental, social, cultural and economic contribution thatthis resource has to offer present and future generations. Thus the thrust of the Programme isenvironmental. The goal of the Project (Phase I of the Programme) is the reduction of environmentaldegradation of rangeland resources through the introduction of sustainable management practices.

IFAD-Supported Activities in the Near East and North Africa Region relevant to CCD Implementation

The NPRRD combines support for the development within MOA of a capacity to create aconsolidated rangeland information data base, and to coordinate, plan and influence rangelanddevelopment at a national level in both departmental and policy matters and in selected pilot areas todevelop mechanism to enable rangeland users to establish sustainable mechanisms for the rehabilitationand long-term development of their rangelands.

3. Syria: Southern Region Agricultural Development Project, Coastal Midlands AgriculturalDevelopment Project, and Jebel AL-Hoss Agricultural Development Project:

The focus of these projects in Syria is to support the poorer segments of the rural populationthrough the promotion of better use of natural resources, protecting the environment, raising agriculturalproductivity and halting the marginalization and deterioration of living conditions in areas which areclose to or even below the poverty line.

4. Syria : Badea Rangelands Development Project:

In past times, the Badia provided a very large proportion of the nutritional requirements of thelivestock pastured there, and thus made a major contribution to the Bedouins' livelihood. Increasingdegradation of the Badia, itself the result of a combination of excessive utilization by grazing animals,shrub gathering for fuel and cultivation, often supported by inappropriate policies has drasticallydiminished the forage contribution of the Badia. Hence the need to restore the production of therangelands to its potential. The project would re-establish the productive capacity of Syria's Badiaresources over 3 million ha in eight provinces. Being participatory in design and in implementation, theproject would assist beneficiaries in: (i) organizing themselves into homogeneous groups; (ii) recoveringrangeland productivity through reseeding, shrub planting and land resting; The project would establishand implement a replicable participatory methodology for sustainable natural resources conservation andmanagement. The project would be the first large-scale integrated operating aimed at preserving theenvironment and improving the well being of the Bedouin Community. Another element of the linkagebetween IFAD project and the CCD in Syria is the involvement of Syria’s Focal Point for the UNCCD inthe implementation of the Badea Project through his membership in the Project’s Central CoordinationCommittee.

5. Yemen: Tihama Environmental Protection Project:

The Tihama plain, the arid coastal plain bordering the Red Sea in Yemen, is one of the poorest areas ofYemen which is also experiencing severe degradation due to sand dune encroachment on agriculturalland and over pumping of the area’s ground water resources. The project aims to identify, develop anddemonstrate in Tihama appropriate and replicable methods of environmental protection focusing on sanddune stabilisation, planting of tree shelter belts around farm land and villages, improved watermanagement through more efficient irrigation systems. The project tackles resource conservation in anintegrated and participatory manner. It is developing and disseminating sound agricultural and agro-forestry technologies and training farmers and community groups in natural resource management inorder to maximize long term benefits and ensure that sand dune protection works and tree plantations aresustained by beneficiaries in the post project era.

6. Egypt: Newlands Agricultural Services Project/ East Delta Newlands Services Project:

Egypt is a country with one of the lowest per capita agricultural land ratios in the world. The Governmenthas an active program of reclaiming desert lands along the fringes of the Nile Valley and Delta forsettling farming communities in these reclaimed Newlands. These two IFAD projects, one to the east andone to the west of the Nile Delta aim to assist small farmers settled on these newly reclaimed lands toestablish sustainable profitable farming systems and optimise water use in their farms.

The projects combine adaptive research aimed at generating farming technologies suitable for farmingunder desert conditions with low cost participatory extension modalities. It is correcting deficiencies in

IFAD-Supported Activities in the Near East and North Africa Region relevant to CCD Implementation

the irrigation system, encouraging conversion to more efficient sprinkler and drip irrigation, andpromoting the planting of fruit tree crops and shelter belts.

7. Algeria – Pilot Project for the Integrated Development of the Oued Mellegue Watershed:

In Algeria, the Pilot Project for the Integrated Development of the Oued Mellegue Watershedconstitutes a major intervention to combat desertification in the framework of a rural developmentproject. The critical problem of the project area is the environmental degradation of the OuedMellegue Watershed, which is the resource base of the majority of marginal smallholders. Thepressure of livestock and the expansion of cereal production have led to inappropriate land use and arethe principal reasons for such degradation and its adverse effect of increasing the siltation rate in theexisting dams (and hence threatening their economic viability) on the Mellegue river. The pilotcharacter of the project consisted in the consolidation of the existing technical packages of watershedconservation measures achieved by promoting the integration of cost-effective erosion controlmeasures into more productive cereal and livestock farming systems. Over a seven-year period, ninemicrozones covering 30 000 ha were treated on a pilot basis as an integrated approach with soil andwater conservation works. Terraces and water barriers were constructed to protect and improve theproductivity of 15 000 ha of land suitable for rainfed cereal production. Pasture improvementundertaken on 2000 ha of collective land and 600 ha of land in the national forest. All of theseactivities were accompanied by the required institutional strengthening, thus creating local capacitiesto deal with the problems of degradation and soil erosion.

IFAD is presently assisting the Government of Algeria in a national programme of watershedmanagement through the financing of a new watershed management project in the Wilaya of Skikda.

8. Morocco – The Livestock and Pasture Development Project in the Eastern Region The Taourirt Taforalt Rural Development Project The Rural Development Project in the Mountain Zone of Al-Haouz Province

In Morocco, the Livestock and Pasture Development Project in the Eastern Region aims tobenefit 10 700 pastoral families in the Eastern region of the country. This is one of the most poverty-stricken areas of Morocco. The project aims at improving rangeland through re-generation and plantingof forage species. It would also improve livestock management, upgrade veterinary services, andimprove extension services and marketing. Project staff have helped establish 35 range users'associations and grazing rotation on 3.2 million ha. Some recovery is already apparent on some of thedegraded range. The project is expected to raise incomes and improve living conditions for subsistencepastoralists while slowing or halting rangeland degradation. The Taourirt Taforalt RuralDevelopment Project has the same objectives as far as natural resource management and the combatagainst desertification are concerned and covers an area adjacent to that of the former. It wouldbenefit an estimated population of 12 750 rural people with specific focus on women and unemployedyouth.

Presently, IFAD is in the final design stage of a Rural Development Project in the MountainZones of Al-Haouz Province. The project has a major component addressing the problems ofdegradation and soil erosion through soil and water conservation works, rangeland rehabilitation andmanagement and protection against floods.

9. NGO ECP Grants in Support of the CCD:

CARE International and the Jordan Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) havebeen provided two ECP grants in connection to the implementation of the Badea RangelandsDevelopment Project in Syria (CARE) and the National Programme for Rangelands Rehabilitationand Development in Jordan (JOHUD). Since the participatory rangelands management is beingintroduced the first time on a large scale in Syria, and to some extent in Jordan, and in addition to trainingproject staff and beneficiaries on the participatory approach, the grants aim at assisting the PMU in

IFAD-Supported Activities in the Near East and North Africa Region relevant to CCD Implementation

organising the herders into homogeneous groups capable of implementing community-based rangelandmanagement plans. These activities, being fully participatory, would be very useful in initiating asustainable mechanism for natural resources conservation and hence for limiting, if not reversing, landdegradation on arid and semi arid ecosystems. The same would apply for another ECP grant approved byIFAD in favour of CARE Jordan in connection with the implementation of the Agricultural ResourcesManagement Project in Karak and Tafila. The NGOs played a crucial role in establishing a sustainablecommunity-based system for spring rehabilitation and management. In Algeria, an NGO/ECP Grant forUSD 75 000 was approved for an umbrella of Algerian NGOs (CNOA-RIOD) active in the combatagainst desertification.

10. Other Activities:

The linkage with the implementation of the CCD is also manifested through most of the IFAD-financed Technical Assistance Grants in the NENA region. They are being implemented with fullcollaboration with the two leading research centres for arid and semi arid lands, i.e. ICARDA, ACSAD.The latter is the Regional Focal Point for the CCD in the Arab Region. Through a tripartite collaborationbetween IFAD, “ICARDA, ACSAD” and the NARS, low-input and simple techniques are beingintroduced at the farm level for better soil and water conservation, higher integration of crop-livestockand environmentally friendlier farming systems. This is the case with the Mashreq-Maghreb Project withICARDA, the Rainfed Farming Systems with ACSAD, the Arabian Peninsula Saline Water Programmewith ICARDA, the Applied Camel Research Network with ACSAD, the Date Palm Research Networkwith ACSAD, etc..

IFAD has approached the Italian Government to assist the Government of Algeria (GOA) in thepreparation of their National Action Plan (NAP) to combat desertification. If the funds are approved,IFAD will provide the necessary backstopping to the GOA through the Global Mechanism in thepreparation of its NAP..