Sub-Regional Resource Facility for Arab States

What we do

Programme of Catalytic Support – Phase I & II

The Programme of Catalytic Support to Implement the Convention to Combat Desertification in West Asia and North Africa is funded by the Government of Finland and implemented by the UNDP Drylands Development Centre (formerly UNSO). The programme was developed to move forward the implementation of the Convention in response to expressed needs for technical assistance from Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Yemen. The overall goal of the programme is to contribute to the sustainable development of drylands in West Asia and North Africa, leading to reduced vulnerability and improved livelihoods through the establishment of firm bases for long-term implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) through capacity building, advocacy, resource mobilization and innovative programming. The aim is to place emphasis on the productive potential of drylands and ensure that this is reflected in policy-making processes.

The first phase of the programme was completed in December 2002. Significant results were achieved during this period: a) An effective Technical Assistance Unit was established at the UN House in Beirut, Lebanon; b) Major progress was achieved in CCD implementation in programme countries; c) Substantial amounts of financial resources were mobilized for programme activities; and d) The level of client satisfaction was very high.

In that encouraging context, the UNDP Drylands Development Centre and the Government of Finland initiated discussions to explore the possibility of extending the programme. A strategic meeting was first held in Helsinki in May 2002, which paved the way for the preparation of a preliminary extension proposal. In October 2002, the Government of Finland conducted an evaluation mission to assess the results achieved and agree on future steps. The mission confirmed the strong performance of the programme and recommended its extension for two additional years. The Centre submitted its Phase II Proposal in December 2002 that was approved in May 2003. The intent of the second phase was to continue supporting current programme countries while expanding activities to Iran, Tunisia and the Palestinian Territories. The Centre pursued its support to Arab/regional initiatives of the CCD, the Community of Practice on Sustainable Livelihoods in Drylands. Phase II was successfully completed in July 2005.

The programme through its two phases has promoted an integrated approach to dryland development with emphasis on poverty alleviation and the promotion of local governance. It has provided advice on mainstreaming drylands issues into national development frameworks, including UNDP Country Cooperation Frameworks and has contributed to the mobilization of significant resources for dryland development in programme countries.

Programme of Catalytic Support – Phase III

In April-May 2004, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and UNDP conducted an independent review of the programme. The review strongly recommended the continuation of the programme to a third phase. In August 2005, The Government of Finland and UNDP endorsed the proposal for phase III of the programme entitled “Promotion of Sustainable Livelihoods in the Drylands of the Middle East and North Africa – in the context of the Millennium Declaration and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification”. The change in title reflects the change in focus of the programme from an emphasis on UNCCD processes at national and regional levels towards more targeted interventions aiming at improving the livelihoods of the dryland poor in the region.

The third phase of the programme is expected to start in December 2005 / January 2006, following an inception period. This new have will have three main objectives: 1) Provide support to dryland development processes and UNCCD implementation with emphasis on mainstreaming land tenure reform and local governance of natural resources; 2) Build partnerships and making markets work for the drylands poor; 3) Promote knowledge management in support of sustainable livelihoods and natural resource management in drylands.

Building blocks for Phase III

Partnership

University if Helsinki – Biocentre: Cooperation with the American University of Beirut and the National Virtual Centre for Biotechnology (Jordan) on product development:

Association for Promoting Fairtrade in Finland: Fair trade certification – networking and capacity-building: The international Fair Trade Labeling Organization (FLO) has identified as a new priority citrus fruit, which should cover worldwide whole year round production. To seize this opportunity, the Programme facilitated networking between Healthy Basket, a socially responsible organic agriculture business in Lebanon, and FLO. Healthy Basket currently works with 40 farmers all over Lebanon. It has permanent outlet and a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program through which it distributes organic fruits and vegetables to 120 households in Beirut, in addition to a weekly stall in a farmers’ market in Beirut.

Through its contact with the FLO, the Programme identified another opportunity to promote products from the region. Kesko, a Finnish whole sales distributor, is looking for Palestinian oranges (preferably Fair Trade labeled). The Programme will follow-up on this and will network with Kesko and the Finnish Fair Trade Organization to identify possibilities to open up new marketing outlets for Lebanese oranges.

Opening up new marketing channels and enhancing the livelihoods of poor dryland producers through Fair Trade is a venue which will be further explored during the next phase of the programme.

Rural Women’s Advisory Organization: The Programme initiated contact with the Rural Women’s Advisory Organization in Finland and it was agreed that the organization will cooperate with the Drylands Development Centre to share its expertise and provide its advisory services to women groups in programme countries.

DDC is currently preparing a letter of agreement to facilitate cooperation between the Programme and the Rural Women’s Advisory Organization. It is also identifying and mobilizing women groups in partner countries which will benefit for the advisory services of the Rural Women Organization. The latter can assist women partners by building their capacity towards the promotion of entrepreneurship and the establishment of small rural businesses. It can also facilitate networking with Finnish organizations to enhance the marketing of drylands products.

Land Tenure Initiative

DDC is preparing the ground for a UNDP-brokered Global Initiative on Land and Property Rights Empowerment, 2006 – 2009. The initiative will seek to mainstreaming land tenure issues into development and to capacitate UNDP and partner countries to address land tenure related issues at their intersection with development objectives.

DDC-AS with the support of Finland will be organizing a regional workshop in the Arab States region in order to develop an understanding of land tenure issues and challenges and build partnerships towards the formulation of a regional initiative. The workshop will be organized during the last week of November, 2005.

Programme Relevance to the Millennium Declaration

MDG 1 “Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger”:Drylands occupy 40% of the earth surface and are home to more than 2 billion people, many of whom are poor. When studying the location of poor people in different parts of the world, there is a clear correlation between those living in degraded areas and high levels of impoverishment. The programme aims at promoting sustainable livelihoods for the dryland poor, with the objective of contributing to poverty alleviation efforts.

MDG 3 “Promote gender equality and empower women”: The programme supports rural women groups in a variety of ways including capacity building and networking with relevant stakeholders with the aim to help them help themselves and gain more economic independence and empowerment.

MDG 7 “Ensure environmental sustainability”: The programme promotes integrated approaches to dryland development and advocates putting dryland development issues where they belong - right at the heart of economic, social, political and environmental policy. It shows how National Action Plans to Combat Desertification can be merged with other strategy processes, such as poverty reduction and decentralization strategies, in order to promote sustainable livelihoods and reverse the loss of environmental resources.

MDG 8 “ Develop a global partnership for development”: The programme contributes to shifting the development thinking to "integrated", "comprehensive", "programmatic" forms of development assistance. It gives donors the opportunity to support the CCD and dryland development, not with an attitude of reluctant welfarism, but with an affirmed intention to raise productivity and bring the drylands into the modern economy. The program promotes increased development cooperation with the Arab States and Iran, seeks to enhance market access for dryland products, and identify ways in which the private sector sees the incentive to contribute to dryland development.