Tanzanian experts have unanimously acknowledged that land degradation is one of the main constraints to sustainable development in the country. Given the scale of the problem, they are of the opinion that no individual agency or single government ministry is in the position to tackle it alone.
These stakeholders are now calling for a strong coordination mechanism to be set in place to facilitate information exchange, in view of the finalization and implementation phases of Tanzania’s integrated financing strategy (IFS) and the integrated investment framework (IIF) that will require close interaction between Government, development partners including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) the GM, the private sector and other national stakeholders.
These were some of the outcomes of the Global Mechanism sponsored workshop held in Dar es Salaam from 15-18 November 2011, in preparation for the finalization of the IFS.
One of the innovations of the workshop was undoubtedly the rich mix of participants it attracted. Experts from the Ministries of Finance, Agriculture, Environment, Natural Resource, Water, Trade, the private sector, academia, civil society and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) came together to share their expertise on how best to address land degradation, from their own unique perspectives of how this common problem was jeopardising sustainable development.
The workshop had been organized with overall aim of seeking stakeholders buy-in and inputs to the five analytical studies that had been undertaken by national consultants within the framework of IFS and IIF formulation, namely:
- Linkages between Climate Change Financing and Sustainable Land Management in Tanzania;
- Mobilizing Resources through Aid for Trade (AfT) for Agriculture and SLM in Tanzania;
- Mobilizing Resources through Innovative and Market-based Incentive Mechanisms (IMBMs) for SLM in Tanzania;
- The Economic Valuation of Land Resources, Ecosystems Services and Resource Degradation in Tanzania; and
- Financial Diagnostics and Stock-taking on SLM Financing in Tanzania.
Through presentations; discussions and working groups, the participants discussed the key issues of the relevance, adequacy and comprehensiveness of the five reports; collaboration between stakeholders and stronger coordination; and the finalization of the IFS/IIF formulation and the road map for implementation, including the identification of potential partners for resource mobilization.
The participants identified the limited capacity to mobilize resources as one of the largest barriers to SLM. They agreed that it is the national budget that will ultimately make the difference in ensuring the sustainability of the SLM efforts. They welcomed the IIF in the context of raising the profile of SLM on the national development agenda. UNDP has already committed to working with GM to mobilize donor support for the IIF, as part of its broader agenda on sustainable development and is providing financial support for the development of the IIF road map to be developed (by the GM) in close consultation with all national stakeholders.
Since most donor funding is currently is channelled into climate change, the importance of highlighting the linkages between SLM and climate change adaptation was raised by participants, as a potential win-win situation. The potential role of the private sector was discussed at length and participants brainstormed how to involve the sector to a greater extent in SLM and UNCCD implementation.
All in all, some 1000 person-hours were dedicated to the review and validation of the five reports; increased stakeholder buy-in was secured and practical project ideas that could form part of an IIF on SLM were generated. The reports will now provide a basis for IFS/IIF formulation.
On the basis of the feedback during the workshop, the GM stands ready to further support Tanzania in the development of project proposals for resource mobilization, and to supporting government in mainstreaming the IIF into overarching national development frameworks such as MKUKUTA II and Vision 2025, as a national priority, for implementation.
The studies, once finalized, will be published on this website.
For more information:
Mr Kwame Awere-Gyekye, Programme Coordinator, East & Southern Africa
Tel. +39 065459 2199
k.awere (at) global-mechanism.org
