Mainstreaming UNCCD objectives in IFAD operations
(strategies and programmes)
Learning note (draft)
Print this pageThis Note provides general guidance on particular aspects of design
Version: January 2008
Core issues
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD), to which IFAD is an active partner, is a Convention which strongly emphasises the role of participation, gender-equity, partnerships, integrated sustainable development, community empowerment, local expertise and traditional knowledge in combating desertification. As GEF’s Executing Agency and host of the Global Mechanism, IFAD has an important role in advancing the UNCCD-agenda. According to Art.1 of the UNCCD, “combating desertification includes activities which are part of the integrated development of land in arid, semiarid and dry sub-humid areas1 for sustainable development.” The Convention highlights that: (i) human beings in affected or threatened areas are at the centre of concerns to combat desertification; (ii) desertification is caused by complex interactions among physical, biological, political, social, cultural and economic factors; and (iii) desertification affects sustainable development through its interrelatedness with important social problems such as poverty, poor health and nutrition, lack of food security, etc. Often IFAD’s objectives at a country level overlap with those spelt out in the Convention.
Desertification ranks among today’s greatest environmental challenges in developing countries, particularly in Africa, Middle East and parts of Asia, and has serious local and global impacts, especially in areas affected by drought, deforestation and climate variability. Combating desertification is a priority in efforts to ensure food security and enhance the livelihoods of more than 2 billion people. Desertification often triggers economic, environmental, and social hardships for poor rural people, who are sometimes both the cause and the victims of desertification. To combat desertification, there is a need to:
- Recognise that causes of desertification are many, complex and highly context-specific. These are typically classified as: (i) direct (i.e., proximate causes), such as inappropriate agricultural practices; overgrazing; deforestation; and infrastructure extension, and (ii) indirect (i.e., underlying drivers), including non-conducive economic, social as well as environmental policies, laws and institutions; limited and/or inequitable availability of and accessibility to land, institutional resources, technologies, markets, inputs, water, etc; population pressure and displacement; inappropriate customs and practices; and lack of alternative livelihood strategies/opportunities. Ultimately, what IFAD is interested in addressing is how these causes interact with and influence poverty and environmental sustainability.
- Acknowledge that many activities are potentially relevant to combating desertification. Because perceptions, intensities, extents, consequences and causes of desertification are multiple and vary in both time and space, activities that may contribute to combating desertification are equally so. National Action Programmes (NAPs) are one of the vehicles for CCD implementation and may include a wide array of activities, policies and strategies aiming, directly and indirectly, at (a) preventing; (b) rehabilitating; and/or (c) reclaiming land degradation. Successful NAPs outline long-term strategies and are formulated with the active participation of local communities, aspects which are essential in ensuring sustainability, ownership and continuity for long-term programming.
- Mainstream NAP-priorities and pursue synergies. Combating desertification is necessary for achieving the MDGs in drylands and NAP implementation should occur in the context of broader government strategic and planning processes (e.g., PRSPs) and country strategies (e.g., RB-COSOPs. Furthermore, iterative and complex interactions between desertification, climate change and biodiversity highlight the importance of pursuing synergies among the conventions adopted in the Rio process (UNCCD, CBD and UNFCCC). Mainstreaming UNCCD-priorities and seeking synergies are required to avoid duplication of efforts, enhance collaborative endeavours and use scarce resources more efficiently. Article 8.1 of the UNCCD explicitly encourages such coordination of activities. Also the current UN Reform is focusing in that direction.
Key tasks for design and review
- Recognise and address the poverty-desertification nexus and promote sustainable development in drylands (see Learning Note 5.1 - Environment and Natural Resource Management).
- Consider the links between environmental sustainability and poverty, health, social and economic policies, subsidies, migration dynamics, drought, institutional failures, etc. (see Learning Note 2.3 - Project targeting).
- Consider the degree (and risk) of desertification that a community faces. Prevention is a lot more cost-effective than rehabilitation.
- Recognise that several activities, related to agriculture, irrigation, forestry, livestock, land reform, tourism, energy, infrastructure development, etc., may have both positive and negative consequences on desertification. Minimise the potential adverse environmental and social impacts of activities and build on the positive linkages between poverty reduction, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. Promote a menu of win-win approaches and appropriate technologies that seek to enhance the ecological integrity of threatened/affected drylands, such as agro-forestry systems, sustainable land/livestock management, terracing, preservation of traditional varieties, etc. Also provide alternative livelihood opportunities that reduce the pressure on natural resources, including energy substitution, rural financial services to promote off-farm income generation activities and micro-enterprises, etc. (see Learning Note 3.1 - Technology change for livelihood development).
- Ensure that UNCCD/NAP objectives are properly mainstreamed and that alignment to UNCCD-objectives/NAP is explicit.
- Interventions should also take the NAP/National Reports into account.
- Involve the relevant Ministries/Institutions, partners (including UN country teams) as well as the UNCCD national focal point.
iii. Indicate, in the ESSN, whether the project area includes affected or threatened drylands.
- The approach needs to be sensitive to local conditions affecting poor rural people, integrated, proactive, programmatic, flexible, gender-sensitive, participatory and receptive to local/traditional knowledge. Pay attention to existing planning processes and how these affect poverty, land degradation and sustainable development in drylands. It is often necessary to build capacity and commitment, across various levels (see Learning Note 1.1 - Project rationale and relevance).
- Include rural people/stakeholders who affect and/or are affected by desertification and who best understand the fragile environments they inhabit, since they must be the starting point for efforts to combat land degradation and desertification-induced poverty: problems and solutions related to desertification should be defined through their participation and should be clear to them. Use participatory processes that empower poor rural people to: draw on the ecology and management expertise that they possess; overcome the constraints they face; create a sense of ownership; and ensure support for the project’s implementation and sustainability. Recognise and address inequalities in negotiating power(see Learning Note 4.1 - Pro-poor institutional transformation).
- A thorough understanding of the set of proximate causes and underlying driving forces is required. Projects need to adopt a multidisciplinary, flexible and multi-institutional approach, integrating environmental aspects into broader socio-economic frameworks.
- Also assess, analyse and integrate gender-perspectives and the role of youth in food production and in the management of natural resources. Empower women and other vulnerable groups (e.g., indigenous peoples, pastoralists, nomads, etc.) to manage their social and natural capital (see Learning Note 2.1 - Gender).
- Inducing private individuals to enhance the natural resource base requires both short- and long-term incentives. This may also require compensating users when compromises are necessary to ensure long-term benefits and sustainability. To enhance sustainability, efforts usually need to be supported over longer periods (see Learning Note 5.2 - Sustainability).
- Capacity-building, across various levels, and particularly an information, education and communication strategy, may significantly enhance impact. In recognition of the multi-ministerial and multi-institutional facets of mainstreaming UNCCD-concerns, strengthening local and institutional capacities and commitment is fundamental. The communication strategies should seek to secure the support of key ministries, such as Finance and Planning, by clearly articulating the costs and benefits of combating desertification in terms clearly discernable to the target audience. Identify needs for research and innovation.
- Desertification concerns should be reflected in monitoring and evaluation: identify the need for an early warning system, incorporating also traditional/indigenous knowledge at the local level. Develop and apply multidisciplinary data sets and SMART indicators that reflect the Poverty-Environment nexus and serve the needs of key stakeholders in promoting ecosystem integrity (see Learning Note 6.1 - Monitoring and evaluation).
- Identify and align priorities between IFAD’s strategies and: the NAPs of the UNCCD; the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) under the CBD; and the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) for least developed countries of the UNFCCC. Mainstream UNCCD/NAP priorities in RB-COSOPs. Formulate interventions which seek to implement shared objectives.
- Desertification has multiple causes and consequences and cannot be tackled by a single organisation. Advocacy and greater coordination and integration of efforts are required. Partnerships, including a broad range of government and nongovernmental stakeholders, could be established for various purposes, for instance funding, technical assistance/research, learning and knowledge sharing, implementation, M&E, strategy formulation, etc. Potential partners that are active in combating desertification include, inter alia: GEF, GM, UNEP, NGOs, DANIDA, GTZ, UNDP, World Bank, FAO, ADB, ILC, CIDA, CGIAR, OECD, EC, the private sector, etc. IFAD could also play a role in promoting South-South and North-South collaboration. Also analyse existing mechanisms at the country-level.
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