Sustainable local development best practices, Eastern Europe and Central Asia

PROGRAMMING SUSTAINABLE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT A HANDBOOK FOR EASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

ANNEX 2 BEst practice

UNDP RBEC November 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.

Entry Points for Sustainable Local Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

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Best Practice Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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Communicating Our Work: Blog Contest For Sustainable Local Development . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

List of Case Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Case Study 1: Wider Europe: Aid for trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Case Study 2: Biomass Energy For Employment and Energy Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Case Study 3: Upper Drina Regional Development Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Case Study 4: PET-Recycling and Roma Inclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Case Study 5: ART Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Case Study 6: Vocational Education Against Poverty – Income Generation and Employment Through Skills Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Case Study 7: Energy and Biomass Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Case Study 8: Energy Efficiency In Public And Private Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Case Study 9: Sustainable Mountain Pasture Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Case Study 10: Community Gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Case Study 11: Climate Risk management at the Local Level Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Case Study 12: Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Case Study 13: Every Drop Matters – The Gacka River Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Case Study 14: COAST Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Case Study 15: Environment and Sustainable Development Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Case Study 16: Poverty and Environment Initiative (PEI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Case Study 17: Green/Sustainable Public Procurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Case Study 18: The Guessing Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Case Study 19: Sustaining Livelihoods Affected By the Aral Sea Disaster (UNJP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Case Study 20: Integrated Support System of social Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Case Study 21: Introducing community-based social services – Social Services for new Employment . . . . 27

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Case Study 22: Energy Access through Community –owned Solar Installations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Case Study 23: Multi Stakeholder Partnherships in Urban Service Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Case Study 24: Srebrenica Regional Recovery Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Case Study 25: Scaling Up HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support For most at Risk Populations in Cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Case Study 26: Peacebuilding and inclusive local development – roma healthcare mediators . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Case Study 27: Tuberculosis Prevention in Karakalpakstan: A sustainable Model of Volunteerism for Development (UNV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Case Study 28: Raising Competitiveness of the region through Innovative Approaches to Regional Planning And Social Services (UNJP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Case Study 29: Sustainable cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Case Study 30: Local Development Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Case Study 31: Crimea Integration and Development Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Case Study 32: Integration of Social-media into Placemaking Practices – Foursquare for Development . . 37 Case Study 33: Inclusive Employment and Social Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Case Study 34: Social Innovation Camp Armenia (Mardamej) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Case Study 35: Local Agenda 21 in Belarus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Case Study 36: Securing access to water through insitutional development and infrastructure (UNJP) . . . 41 Case Study 37: Capacity building and regulation of water and electricity sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Case Study 38: mitigating Corruption in Water Governance through Participatory Public Finance . . . . . . . . 42 Case Study 39: Reinforcement of Local Democracy (LOD III) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Case Study 40: Resilient Local Planning for Sustainable Local Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Case Study 41: Strengthening local and regional Governance in Kvemo Kartli Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Case Study 42: Inter Municipal Cooperation Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Case Study 43: Joint Integrated Local Development Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Case Study 45: Enhance Gender Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Case Study 46: Communities Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Case Study 47: Transparent Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Case Study 48: Public Administration and Local Governance – Decentralization and Partnership . . . . . . . . . 50

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1. ENTRY POINTS FOR LOCAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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Programming Sustainable Local Development: A Handbook for Eastern Europe and Central Asia - ANNEX 2

1. ENTRY POINTS FOR LOCAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Poverty Reduction & Job Creation

Energy & Environment • Energy efficiency & local energy management1 • Local and off-grid renewable energy production2 • Community-based natural resource management • Waste management3 • Water management systems • Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation • Biodiversity • Green public procurement & infrastructure investment

• • • • • • • • • •

SME development Social protection Microfinance Vocational education Sustainable tourism Business enabling environment Sustainable construction Transport & personal mobility Social enterprises Public-private partnerships

Rural Development • Irrigation systems • Other rural infrastructure • Sustainable agriculture extension services

Good Governance / Local Governance • Resilient local and regional planning • Citizen participation • Decentralization • Transparency & accountability • Integration of minorities • Crisis prevention and post-­conflict recovery • Government finances • Social inclusion • Knowledge brokerage4 • Capacity development • Indicators for sustainability • Interactive IT spatial platforms • Inter-­municipal cooperation

Social Sector & Civil Society • Gender equality • Empowerment of local vulnerable communities • Legal advisory services • Social entrepreneurship • Social services • Education • Culture • Sustainable consumption • Preventive health • Social cohesion • Migration and returnees • Social marketing and awareness raising

Innovations 1) 2) 3) 4)

For public buildings, private houses, transportation, community energy saving programmes, etc.

Micro, small, and medium-scale hydro, ground heat, geothermal, photovoltaic, solar thermal, biomass, combined heat-power Waste reduction/ separation, recycling, waste water management, etc.

Linking academia, policy makers and CSOs for sustainable local development

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2. BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES

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Programming Sustainable Local Development: A Handbook for Eastern Europe and Central Asia - ANNEX 2

2. BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES Economic CASE STUDY 1: WIDER EUROPE: AID FOR TRADE Project Title: Wider Europe: Aid for Trade Country: Central Asia, South Caucasus, Western CIS Costs: EUR 1.6 Mill. (Phase I), EUR 4.62 Mill. (Phase II) Duration: 2009 - 2014 Stakeholder: Local authorities, Farmers Associations, Entrepreneurs

• • • • •

Entry Points: SME Development Employment Environment Capacity Development IT-services

Project Description: The Aid for Trade regional programme supports the development of private sector, trade and competitiveness mostly at the local level in 9 countries of the region. The capacity development aims to foster trade, including promotion of Fairtrade products, integrating commercially viable greener production methodologies, etc.

The success of the programme has largely been shaped by involving stakeholders in the design process and using a holistic approach in engaging farmers and the private sector in its activities. The project started with conducting participatory situation assessments on the ground. The project has recruited experts who took lead in examining the local context, targeting three client groups in the assessment: private sector, CSO (business/farmers/thematic associations) and local government structures. Most importantly, the assessments have been forward looking in their scope, aiming identifying business and trade opportunities. Traditionally, the assessments were validated through a stakeholder meeting to discuss the findings and reach a joined understanding on the priorities of the intervention.

During such meetings, stakeholders were offered a possibility to decide on the topic of their trainings for the next stage. The participants have asked and received trainings on standards, business skills, and negotiation skills. More importantly, the involvement of stakeholders has become a regular practice and a working model in the project. Local people have been consulted to hear their impressions on the project activities, to understand their concerns and include the solutions to their problems in the project as much as possible.

The clients who participated in trainings were also eligible to submit their business ideas for cost contribution by the Aid for Trade project. The proposals were assessed by a committee, usually composed of UNDP, members of the civil society, experts and local government structures. Of course not all participants to the trainings were able to access financing but only those with a viable business idea and those who have demonstrated the necessary business skills and drive. This was made to safeguard that the project supports viable and sustainable business ideas and does not create artificial businesses.

At the current stage of project implementation, it has been learned that, involving local stakeholders is key to : • Access vital local knowledge; • Ensure the appropriation of project activities by involved clients (i.e. demand driven activities); • Ensure the sustainability of the activities.

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Lessons Learned: The success of the project is mainly due to the careful integration of local knowledge involving stakeholders in the elaboration process. Furthermore, the different activities are strongly inter-linked and provide incentives to the rest. For example, microfinance beneficiaries receive the necessary trainings to ensure the best possible outcomes of the projects and their investments.

No size fits all policy. The project adapts its activities to the local context in each of its intervention countries.

Most businesses and farmers associations will need support along the whole of the business process: this includes business management, processing, exporting, etc.

Links: Project overview: http://europeandcis.undp.org/news/show/A659BADA-F203-1EE9-BFCED3F34E94AAF9 Project Evaluation: http://erc.undp.org/evaluationadmin/manageevaluation/viewevaluationdetail.html?evalid=5769 Contact: Joern Rieken, joern.rieken@undp.org,

Danièle Gelz, daniele.gelz@undp.org

CASE STUDY 2: BIOMASS ENERGY FOR EMPLOYMENT AND ENERGY SECURITY Project Title: Biomass Energy for Employment and Energy Security Country: Bosnia & Herzegovina Costs: USD 2,588,950.Duration: 2009 - 2013 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Schools, Private Sector

Entry Points: • Local Energy Management • Renewable Energy • Climate Change Mitigation • SME Development • Poverty Reduction • Job Creation • Capacity Development

Project Description: The project aims at reducing CO2 emissions by introducing sustainable biomass use in public premises and the development of a local biomass market. The project has supported the local biomass market through expanding connections between local producers and consumers.

To ensure the sustainable demand for biomass, the special biomass boilers (heaters) are planned to be installed in 10 local schools. Besides potentials for expanded employment opportunities in the biomass production sector, the school students and local teachers have received practical education in environmentally friendly practices and technologies. With a view of sustainability and exit strategy, the local authorities and the school management have also received capacity development support on energy and environmental topics as well as on biomass issues in general.

Among the results: repair of radiators in 6 schools and energy consumption reduced by 20%.

Furthermore, carbon emissions are estimated to be reduced by 80,000 t CO2eq over 15 years (equivalent to CO2 certificates of EUR 624,000.- approx.) if further biomass boilers are installed in about 500 schools and other public buildings e.g. hospitals, municipal premises, etc.

Lessons Learned: Where there is weak or even absent baseline data, project designs should contain substantial efforts to collect such data that will contribute towards confident estimates of the benefits of RE or EE investments. Without such data, it will be very difficult to convince stakeholders (public or private) to invest in any EE or RE interventions.

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Tendering for services that are not readily available in a particular location requires careful design.

Failure to do so may result in procurement delays that may cause critical delays in the overall delivery schedule of the project.

Links: Project Document: http://www.undp.ba/upload/projects/Biomass%20Project%20 Document%20ENG.pdf, GEF Evaluation Report: http://erc.undp.org/evaluationadmin/manageevaluation/viewevaluationdetail.html?evalid=4752 Contact: Amila Selmanagic Bajrovic, amila.selmanagic.bajrovic@undp.org

CASE STUDY 3: UPPER DRINA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Project Title: Socio-economic recovery of multiethnic communities through access to employment and public services - Upper Drina regional development programme Country: Bosnia & Herzegovina Costs: USD 7 Mill.

Duration: 2007 - 2009 Stakeholder: Local Authorities, Civil Society Organizations, Private Sector

• • • • • • •

Entry Points: Community Engagement Service Delivery SME Development Poverty Reduction Job Creation Capacity Development Preventive Health

Project Description: The Programme intended to enhance the economic and social opportunities in the region, as well as strengthen local capacities to ensure sustainability and irreversibility of the progress. To this aim, the project supported introduction of good governance practices, investments in public services and infrastructure and economic development initiatives. In essence, it promoted the socio-economic recovery of multiethnic communities by providing greater access to employment and high-quality and needs-based public service through strengthening local government structures.

To improve delivery of public services in multiethnic communities, the community has become engaged (417 citizens) with the local authorities in indentifying the priorities and in strategic planning, as well as in budgeting for implementation of the key projects. Further, 97 public officials obtained various trainings (project-cycle management, IT, strategic, budgetary and financial planning). Drastic improvement of the governance practices has allowed municipalities to improve their credit ratings and obtain additional funding for implementation of the priority projects (for example 5 water supply networks, reaching almost 40,000 people, were constructed).

Community engagement and empowerment was further supported by strengthening local CSOs in advocacy and effective service delivery, as well as in resource mobilization (at the end 8 CSOs, out of 12, actually succeeded in raising external funds). Additionally, 3,766 citizens were trained on financial issues, 6,000 were sensitized on HIV/AIDS and 1,690 on tuberculosis and general health matters.

The project has worked actively with local authorities and businesses to improve employment opportunities. A ‘Regional Business Cluster Mapping assessment’ identified possible partners and areas where businesses needed support. Business start-up grants for returnees and other vulnerable groups supported 698 sheep farmers. To reward sound fiscal management performance and compliance with the regulatory environment of SMEs, 18 companies received a tax refund, provided by UNDP through a local NGOS, acting as fund custodian.

Lessons Learned: Establishment of social trust among all stakeholders through extensive dialogue improved quality and substance of community involvement. Visibility through media, newsletters, focus groups to inform and involve citizens are necessary. Focus should not only be on how partnerships are developed between stakeholders and the programme, but also on how stakeholders can themselves develop partnership opportunities.

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Links: Project Overview: http://ebookbrowse.com/ mdg1b-bosnia-and-herzegovina-upper-drina-regional-development-programme-pdf-d317101719 Project Evaluation: http://erc.undp.org/evaluationadmin/manageevaluation/viewevaluationdetail.html?evalid=4728 Contact: Seid Turkovic, seid.turkovic@undp.org

CASE STUDY 4: PET-RECYCLING AND ROMA INCLUSION Project Title: PET-Recycling and Roma inclusion (Austrian Development Agency) Country: Serbia Costs: EUR 445,000.Duration: 2010 - 2012 Stakeholder: Local Authorities, Private Sector, Local NGO

Entry Points: • Empowerment of Vulnerable Communities • Capacity Development • Public-Private Partnership • Poverty Reduction • Job Creation • Waste Management • Environment

Project Description: The project piloted response to the Roma inclusion, social and poverty challenges in Serbia. In cooperation with the local private sector and a local NGO, 25 Roma have been engaged in a special collection and separation facility for PET-bottles, built next to the largest dumping site in Serbia. Beneficiaries have received training and obtained personal documentation. Also, houses of those Roma-families got access to water and electricity.

As it proved to be a successful pilot, it was decided to expand it further and open a PET-recycling factory (expected in a few years). Seeing the benefits, municipalities joined the project through initiation of a waste collection/separation-system, which will, as a byproduct, bring the municipality additional income through license fees.

Lessons Learned: Combining 2 high priority-topics, motivation of the local stakeholders to support the project has been significant. Through collaborating with a local NGO, knowing local structures and actors, acceptance of the community as well as other local stakeholders increased.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.entwicklung.at/aktuelles_termine/ pet_recycling_bietet_jobs_ fuer_roma_in_serbien/ (in German) Contact: Daniel Roessler, daniel.roessler@ada.gv.at

CASE STUDY 5: ART GOLD Project Title: ART Gold Country: Albania Costs: Phase I: USD 965,018.-, Phase II: USD 3,114,803.Duration: Phase I: 2006 – 2008, Phase II: 2009 - 2012 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Local Economic Development Agencies

• • • •

Entry Points: SME Development Employment Capacity Development IT-services

Project Description: The 2nd phase of the ART Gold programme targets the international, national and territorial level and aims to support national policies of integrated local development, to achieve the MDGs and the process of European integration, with a particular focus on democratic governance. It

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provides support and consultancy to regional authorities (regional councils) for conducting regional development Strategic Planning processes in 2 regions. Furthermore, the programme supports the Local Economic Development Agencies (LEDAs) through technical assistance, aiming at the reorganization of their structure in order to accelerate the process of transformation of the agencies from Local Development Agencies into Regional Integrated Development Agencies. LEDAs staff is trained on the preparation of business plans, support to small business and project management, with a constant attention to those economic activities that can benefit women, youth and underprivileged, and with the aim of moving from a pure business-oriented approach to a more human development-centered one. In order to foster economic development, ILSLEDA consultants carried out surveys on agrofood valuechains in both regions, providing guidelines for regional administrations, LEDAs and local producers on how to increase the economic value of 14 typical assets in each region. Aiming at supporting small local businesses, 2 County Partnership Councils (CPC), composed of representatives from the regional and local authority of government, business sector and the civil society, were created and recognized by regional councils.

Links: Project Overview Phase I: http://www.undp.org.al/index.php?page=projects/project&id=106 Project Overview Phase II: http://www.undp.org/content/albania/en/home/operations/projects/environment_and_energy/ art-gold-2-albania-programme-/ Contact: Luigi Cafiero, luigi.cafiero@undp.org Estevan Ikonomi, estevan.ikonomi@undp.org

CASE STUDY 6: VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AGAINST POVERTY – INCOME GENERATION AND EMPLOYMENT THROUGH SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Project Title: Vocational Education against poverty – Income Generation and Employment through Skills Development Country: Georgia Costs: USD 2,485,500.Duration: 2011 - 2015 Stakeholder: Ministry of Education, Local Authorities, Private Sector

Entry Points: • Poverty Reduction • Vocational Education & Training • Job Creation • Policy & Regulatory Environment

Project Description: This project aims at reducing poverty and increasing employment through supporting a vocational education and training system that responds to the labor-market needs. The project worked at policy, institutional and individual levels, through: – Improving national vocational education policy together with the Ministry of Education; Supporting the Ministry in providing national standards of the vocational education system, curriculum, teaching and textbooks.

– Enhancing institutional development and sustainability of the Vocational Colleges through better positioning them. Diversifying their services and connecting the Colleges with the modern research and professional development opportunities.

– I ncreasing public awareness through informative materials and encouraging public private and social dialogue.

In addition to being very successful at the local level with the employment rate of graduated standing at around 70%, the programme has fuelled the major policy reform in the vocational education

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system in Georgia that integrates institutional development of the Vocational Colleges, creation of new curriculum, enhancing teachers and textbook standards, etc. The improvement of the vocational education system is now part of all major strategic documents and directions developed by Georgian government.

Links: Project Overview: http://undp.org.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=40&pr_id=168 Contact: George Nanobashvili, george.nanobashvili@undp.org

Revaz Sakvarelidze, revaz.sakvarelidze@undp.org

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Environment CASE STUDY 7: ENERGY AND BIOMASS PROJECT Project Title: Energy and Biomass Project Country: Moldova Costs: EUR 14.56 Mill Duration: 2011 – 2014 Stakeholder: National Government, Governmental Agencies, Local Authorities, NGOs, Private Sector, Academia, Media

Entry Points: • Renewable Energy • Climate Change Mitigation • Capacity Development • Community-based Natural Resource Management • Market Development • Job-creation • Local Governance

Project Description: The project aims to contribute to a sustainable energy production through biomass production from agricultural waste, and therefore to establish municipal biomass heating systems. This will stimulate the national biomass market at regional and local level, decrease CO2emissions and raise awareness for renewable energy technologies.

The project has been promoted in the entire Republic of Moldova: 32 districts and the Autonomous Territorial Unit Gagauz Yeri. 118 villages have been selected to connect their public institutions to alternative biomass heating systems. Modern biomass heating systems are being installed in 138 public buildings, such as schools, kindergartens, community centres. More than 75,000 people, including 22,061 children, benefit from securely supplied energy and more heat comfort. The new biomass heating systems led to the creation of more than 250 new jobs, as well as to the launch of tens of new businesses producing biomass fuel in the form of pellets and briquettes. In less than two years of activity of the project, the number of briquettes and pellets producers has increased more than 10 times, reaching 67 in 2013. A competitive leasing mechanism supporting local entrepreneurs in procuring equipment for biomass processing (baling, briquetting and pelletizing) was established and the first 15 applicants obtained the equipment under preferential terms. A subsidy mechanism for procurement of biomass household boilers was established. By the end of 2014 at least 600 local households will purchase modern biomass boilers, 30% of the costs being reimbursed from EU funds. 4,447 representatives of municipalities, the biomass industry and teachers were trained on community and resource mobilization, community project implementation, biomass heating systems and project sustainability.

17,747 school children learned about types of renewable energies and principles of energy efficiency.

Educational materials were distributed to 330 schools and children were engaged in educational and entertainment activities focused on renewables and energy efficiency in a bio-energy summer camp. As a result of integrated communication activities, more than 150,000 people were reached by direct communication (public events, thematic discussions, awareness raising meetings, project presentations, community mobilization actions, lessons in schools, interpersonal communication etc.) and around 2 million by outreach communication actions (video/audio spots, TV/Radio shows, press articles, newsletters, posters, brochures, leaflets, billboards, visibility materials).

Lessons Learned: The Moldova Energy and Biomass Project successfully demonstrates a community development approach yielding triple wins by integrating supply and demand side measures to stimulate renewable energy markets which generate local employment and income based on locally available resources. The approach needs to be continued with an even larger emphasis on new technologies and further explanations on biomass as fuel source, its potential for Moldova in terms of energy security, job creation, environment, green economic development etc. Continued efforts are required in view of increasing the capacities of media in the field of renewable energy in terms of

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producing more complex and analytical mass-media materials, undertaking mass media campaigns with the participation of several media institutions on subjects related to alternative energy etc.

Links: Project Overview: www.biomasa.aee.md Contact: Alexandru Ursul, alexandru.ursul@undp.org

CASE STUDY 8: ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS Project Title: Energy Efficiency in Public and Private Buildings Country: Bulgaria, Croatia Costs: Bulgaria: USD 7,248,100.Duration: Bulgaria: 2006 – 2010, Croatia: 2005 - 2013 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Housing Association, Private Sector

Entry Points: • Energy Efficiency • Climate Change Mitigation • Infrastructure • Capacity Development • Local Governance

Project Description: The objective of the project is to improve the energy efficiency of private and public buildings in Bulgaria through renovation, strengthening the institutional framework and capacity building of the targeted end user groups. 172 officers of 60 municipalities were trained, energy efficiency designs for 6 pilot buildings were developed, a guide on municipal energy planning with good practices was published and an energy efficiency portal went online. As a result, reduction of emissions of 144,741 t CO2eq is expected until 2020.

In Croatia, the main goal of the Energy Management Systems-Project is to create local expert capacities and implement processes of continuous and systematic energy management, to introduce strategic energy planning and sustainable energy and other resource management at the local and regional level. More than 1120 energy audits on more than 1340 public buildings led to more than 140 investment-projects and all 147 participating cities have signed the “Energy Charter”. As a crucial tool for energy data gathering and analysis, the Energy Management Information System has been developed.

The system is an internet application and is accessible free of charge to any public institution that joins the activities of systematic energy management. In total, about 5000 people were educated on energy management and efficient energy use.

Lessons Learned: The project cannot be conducted by the homeowners only and/or through market forces. The implementation is successful only with the active involvement of and financial support by the state. Also, it is better to implement housing renovation in the context of municipal plans/urban development programmes.

Links: Project Overview Bulgaria: http://www.undp.bg/projects.php?id=77 Project Evaluation Bulgaria: GEF Project Evaluation Bulgaria: http://web.undp.org/gef/evaluation.shtml Project Overview Croatia: http://www.undp.org/content/croatia/en/home/operations/projects/environment_and_energy/RemovingBarriers.html Contact: Bulgaria: Zdravko Genchev, zgenchev@eneffect.bg

Croatia: Goran Čačić, goran.cacic@undp.org

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CASE STUDY 9: SUSTAINABLE MOUNTAIN PASTURE MANAGEMENT Project Title: Sustainable Mountain Pasture Management Country: Kyrgyzstan Costs: USD 1,975,566.Duration: 2008 - 2012 Stakeholder: Local Authorities, Pasture Users Association, CBOs

Entry Points: • Climate Change Mitigation • Poverty Reduction • Capacity Development • Local Governance • Community Empowerment • Infrastructure

Project Description: The project aimed at introducing sustainable pasture management practices in Kyrgyzstan that would at the same time prevent land degradation and support livelihoods. A costeffective and replicable pasture management system, which reduces the negative effects of livestock grazing on land and which improves rural livelihoods, has been installed and a local Pasture Users Association assigns pasture areas to its members, who are charged for the use of pasture and grazing land. With the revenues local restoration projects and projects to improve pasture infrastructure are realized (veterinary service, bridges, sheepyards, solar stations etc.).

Lessons Learned: Awareness raising and capacity building very time intensive; using extended families as basic social units proved cost effective; individual pasture committees should be linked to larger Pasture User Associations.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.undp.kg/en/component/resource/article/1-projects/893demonstrating-sustainable-mountain-pasture-management-in-the-suusamyr-valley Project Evaluation: http://erc.undp.org/evaluationadmin/manageevaluation/viewevaluationdetail. html?evalid=5129 Contact: Daniar Ibragimov, daniar.ibragimov@undp.org

CASE STUDY 10: COMMUNITY GARDENS Project Title: Community Gardens Country: Mongolia Costs: USD 10,467.-, in kind co-financing: USD 5’200.Duration: 2005 - 2006 Stakeholder: Local Authorities, Pasture Users Association, CBOs

• • • •

Entry Points: Environment Biodiversity Capacity development Local Governance

Project Description: This project intended to demonstrate that planting fruits in community gardens even in a soil eroded and pasture degraded land is a win-win option. The main activities of the project included: fencing, land cultivation, tree plantation, creation of a wind protection belt and the establishment of a tree nursery to raise seedlings. The project involved the local authorities and raised awareness about land degradation and the environment. As a result, the local Governor and other authorities are very supportive of sustainable projects and added environmental sustainability as an element in the planning process of the village. In total, 40 hectares of land have been cultivated benefitting to 230 families.

Lessons Learned: The main challenge the community faced during the implementation of community gardens was to raise awareness among the neighbors of the importance of combating land degradation as some herders were complaining of decreasing pastureland and blocking passage of livestock to wider pasture areas. To overcome this challenge, the community cooperated with a local TV station and newspaper to raise awareness at the community level of the importance of these sustainable

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projects and the benefits for the community in terms of environment and livelihoods.

Links: Project Overview: http://sgp.undp.org/index.php?option=com_docman&Itemid=189 Contact: sgp.info@undp.org

CASE STUDY 11: CLIMATE RISK MANAGEMENT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL PROJECT Project Title: Getting Gettingprepared prepared toto thethe consequences consequences of climate of climate change change – Climate – Climate Risk Management Risk Management at the Local at theLevel Local Pilot Level Project Pilot Project Country: Armenia Country: Armenia Costs: USD USD107,690.107,690.Duration: 2011 2011--2012 2012 Stakeholder: National government, Local authorities, Regional Disaster Risk Reduction authorities

Entry Points: • Climate Change Adaptation • Capacity Development • Community-based Natural Resource Management • Local Governance • Citizen Participation

Project Description: The climate risk management pilot under the Local Level Risk Management (LLRM) project component was a part of the national “Strengthening of National Disaster Risk Reduction Capacities-3rd phase” project, supported by the regional “Capacity Building for Climate Risk Management” project. The objective of the pilot was to reduce the vulnerabilities and strengthen capacities of communities and public administrations (at the village and district/rayon level), which are most directly affected by disaster and climate risks.

Following to capacity assessment as well as the assessment of disaster and climate risk vulnerability, adaptation projects and climate risk management interventions have been designed and implemented. For instance, a gabion for river bank protection was constructed in Tasik community to protect the 35 ha agricultural area from floods and mudflow or anti-hail nets were set in Aigehovi community to protect vine yards.

Very importantly, the project ensured engagement of communities in the disaster related problems and issues through a number of creative means, such as a photo story contest conducted in 4 regions, which revealed the prevailing hazards through the eye of the community members.

Lessons Learned: Besides lack of clear bureaucratic structures and poor cooperation between the relevant state structures, reluctance to any initiative which does not provide immediate social effect has been observed in the communities populated mainly by refugees. These communities require more thinking/preparedness and sensitiveness before getting engaged. Local communities demonstrated high interest and willingness to accept the new technologies in making their voices heard by the decision makers (e.g. through “Vox Populi”, a photo storytelling contest). Piloting anti-hail nets has created a huge interest also among wider audience such as the farmers, bankers and loan organizations.

Links: Photo Story: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/crisispreventionandrecovery/projects_initiatives/from_disaster_relieftoriskreduction.html Contact: Anna Kaplina, anna.kaplina@undp.org

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CASE STUDY 12: CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABLE LAND USE MANAGEMENT Project Title: Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use Management Country: Kosovo Costs: USD 4.04 Mill.

Duration: 2011 - 2013 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Private Sector, Privatization Agency of Kosovo, Civil Society Organizations

• • • • • •

Entry Points: Biodiversity Renewable Energy Citizen Participation Business Development Gender Capacity

Project Description: The purpose of this project is to provide support to develop sustainable development plans/policies, so that they respond to the need of stakeholders and promote employment and environmental protection at the same time. This in the context of a rural region with high poverty, most socially excluded population (according to the Kosovo Human development report) which is also recognized by its highly pristine nature, area suggested for protection under the category of national park.

Activities focus on the conservation of biodiversity by establishment of a national park, the re-establishment and development of improved local businesses based on sustainable land use – and promotion of endogenous local products, environmentally sound energy services and improved capacities and empowerment of local authorities, communities and women.

Among the targets are the development of a municipal development plan, an environmental plan, the extension of a local national park, short- and long-term biodiversity studies to inform and allow production of the management plan for the national park, to promote local specific endogenous products based on value chain analysis, to prepare local products in a way that they meet quality control and certification standards in order to meet market and export requirements. Promote and strengthening of women-driven businesses so they become formal businesses.

Furthermore, local renewable energy resources will be analyzed in order to produce a municipal energy strategy according to new legal obligations under Kosovo legislation which will address issues of energy efficiency in public and private buildings and renewable energy as well as environmental impacts of the energy potentials of SHHPP infrastructure in a national park area.

Capacity development of the local municipality will need to be improved to address the implementation of this new development framework, especially in relation to the needs to secure safe drinking water and waste water and waste public services; enforcement of protection of environment in terms of decreased pollution in all its forms, energy unit to promote energy efficiency, tourism promotion and urban regulatory planning.

Lessons Learned: In rural remote areas in Kosovo most women are not educated, they drop school after elementary education, creating a gap in integrating social and economic development. Breaking this trend and advocating for mandatory high school education is a relevant dimension. Education of both women and men in technical areas that relate to the existing potentialities - agriculture and nature based tourism - is also a key factor for improved development standards.

The business sector/business associations should be organized together with the municipality and local action groups, to ensure sustainability of the tourism and the strategic identified economic sectors. Such as Herbs, none wood forest products, bees, milk and meat.

Links: Project Overview : http://www.kosovo.undp.org/en/Inclusive-Growth/ Conservation-of-Biodiversity-and-Sustainable-Land-Use-Management-in-DragashDraga-154-1005 Contact: Maria Zuniga Barrientos, maria.zuniga.barrientos@undp.org

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CASE STUDY 13: EVERY DROP MATTERS – THE GACKA RIVER PROJECT Project Title: Every Drop Matters – The Gacka River Project Country: Croatia Costs: No data available Duration: 2007 - 2010 Stakeholder: Local Authorities, NGOs, Tourist Board, School

• • • • •

Entry Points: Water Management Environment Sustainable Tourism Job Creation Capacity Building

Project Description: This regional partnership project on water issues aimed to provide the framework and a joint action plan for water-related programming with a particular focus on increased access to safe drinking water, facilitating the use of environmentally sound industrial technologies and awareness raising activities. The main project components were the protection of the river and the development of sustainable tourism. In collaboration with local stakeholders, the project targeted the existing and potential entrepreneurs in the area of rural/adventure tourism, in order to enhance their capacities for offering higher-end products and services, in line with tenets of sustainable tourism and the requirements of its market.

Through installing local tourist offers (biking trails, fly-fishing guide, fitness park), additional tourists were attracted by the region which increased tourism revenues of the region in a sustainable way, while spreading the idea of sustainable tourism at the same time. Environmental key achievements were the investment in project documentation for waste water infrastructure, a visitor-centre about indigenous species of fish and a guide to good water management. Altogether, about 15 new jobs were created in the project region.

Lessons Learned: The project proved to have a larger impact with smaller funds when embedding activities in already on-going local initiatives. Uniqueness of the project is not in especially innovative individual activities, but their implementation in phases and blending them according to the assessed situation. Developing needed services on already existing structures (often local NGOs) no matter how weak they are at the beginning of the project, instead of starting from the scratch provided sustainability of the project. Some of involved NGOs are now offering services and take actions they were unable to do before.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.everydropmatters.com/, http://www.undp.hr/show.jsp?page=104012 Contact: Ivana Laginja, ivana.laginja@undp.org

CASE STUDY 14: COAST PROJECT Project title: COAST Project Country: Croatia Costs: USD 1,597,557.Duration: 2007 - 2013 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Private Sector

• • • • • •

Entry Points: Biodiversity Agriculture Sustainable Tourism Banking Sector Local Planning Capacity Development

Project Description: The objective of the COAST project is to effectively transform the current practices of tourism, agriculture and fishery in order to include elements of biodiversity and landscape conservation.

In the agricultural sector, the project supports environmentally friendly agricultural practices (including traditional and organic agriculture, cultivation of indigenous varieties and breeds) and aims at

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combining agriculture with other sectors, such as tourism. Re-use and production on abandoned agricultural lands, as well as the branding and marketing of biodiversity-friendly agricultural products are further measures for a sustainable agriculture sector development.

The COAST project also encourages sustainable fishing practices by researching the current state and availability of fishing resources. Based on this data, guidelines improving the regulation of fishery and the promotion of participatory monitoring and management are supported.

Within the tourism sector, newly developed guidelines for environmentally and socially responsible development of tourism encourage respect for the environment, biodiversity and the landscape. The project strengthens the integration of tourism with other traditional activities within the agriculture and fishery sectors and encourages rural and eco tourist development.

A major player in the COAST project is the banking sector, which is encouraged to be responsible for the project funds. In addition, it ensures technical assistance for the strengthening in their ability to evaluate the ecological and social impacts of the projects that may get funded in the future.

Provided by County developing agencies, newly established green business support programmes provide technical assistance and the necessary instruments (guarantee funds and small grants) to support those projects that contribute to the sustainable development of Dalmatia.

Besides those activities, employment and education for new experts in County development agencies and public institutions is offered. Furthermore, one of the key project objectives is the integration of landscape and bio-diversity into the local and regional planning schemes and the formation of a regulatory, operational and implemental system in the sectors of spatial planning and environmental protection.

Links: Project overview: http://www.undp.hr/show.jsp?page=57734 Contact: Sandra Vlašić, sandra.vlasic@undp.org

CASE STUDY 15: ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Project Title: Environment and Sustainable Development Programme Country: Turkey Costs: No data available Duration: 2007 - 2010 Stakeholder: National government, Local authorities, Government agencies, NGOs, Private Sector and Universities

• • • • • • •

Entry Points: Climate Change Carbon Trading Biodiversity Energy Efficiency Water Sustainable Agriculture Local Governance

Project Description: UNDP works to enhance national capacities and promote mainstreaming environment, climate change and energy efficiency into sectoral policies, climate change adaptation and mitigation and carbon trading, and expanding access to environmental and energy services for the poor, vulnerable groups and others requiring special attention. UNDP in cooperation with its stakeholders aims capacity-building at all levels in sustainable land and water management, agricultural efficiency, biodiversity protection, climate resilience and energy efficiency systems and services, with special attention to social dimensions, facilitating market transformation through clean technologies and creation of green jobs, strengthening economic competitiveness with a territorial approach and improving capacities for disaster preparedness and early warning. UNDP also plays a major role in Turkey’s membership negotiations with the European Union and its commitment to the Copenhagen criteria and the implementation of the acquis communautaire.

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Sustainable Development: UNDP works closely with a number of government agencies, municipalities, private sector partners and NGOs to enhance institutional structures at the national and local scales and to integrate sustainable development principles into national and regional development policies and plans. Key Achievements: i. Sustainable Development in Turkey Report: Claiming the Future ii. Best Practice Examples for Sustainable Develeopment and Green Growth iii. Istanbul Declaration: «Towards an Equitable and Sustainable Future for All» iv. Sustainable Development Sectoral Policy Analysis Climate Change: UNDP aims to integrate climate change into national, regional and local policies within the framework of specific development targets for Turkey in terms of sustainability. In addition, UNDP has strengthened national capacity to effectively negotiate and align with the post-2012 requirements and provide support to develop capacity for climate resilient economies and ecosystems. To this end several program and project based activities were/are currently implemented and partnerships developed. Key achievements; i. Development of National CC Strategy and Action Plan, ii. Preparation of 1st and 2nd National Communication to UNFCCC, iii. Development of National CC Adaptation Strategy, iv. Communiqué on Procedures for Registration of GHG Emissions Reduction Projects, v. Development of Necessary Voluntary Carbon Market structures. vi. Community Based Adaptation Grants Programme reached 55,000 people, making up approximately 2.5% of the population of the Seyhan River Basin.

Biodiversity: UNDP and the Government of Turkey have committed to addressing the coverage gap and improve the management of forests and marine protected areas by demonstrating a sustainable natural and cost-effective management approach in pilot areas and replicate them in other protected areas. UNDP raises awareness amongst policy makers, the general public, and the private sector on the importance of biodiversity to development so as to prevent the constant loss of biological diversity worldwide. UNDP makes specific efforts to emphasize the links between biodiversity loss, development and poverty. Key achievements; i. Official declaration of Gulf of Saros-covering 53,834 ha. marine area-as Special Protected Area(SEPA), ii. Extension of Gökova SEPA’s borders 2,088 ha., iii. Announcement of 6 no fishing zone in Gökova (covering 1,914 ha.), iv. Certification of Küre Mountains National Park as first Pan Parks in Turkey.

Energy Efficiency: Energy is the Achilles heel of the of Turkey, UNDP confronts the challenge of ensuring that economic growth is associated with environmental and social progress and also facilitate market transformation through clean technologies and creation of green jobs. UNDP gives a special attention to reduce energy consumption and associated GHG emissions in public buildings, industry and home appliances. Key achievements; i. 2 Implementing Communiqués on Ecodesign Requirements for Energy Related Products (ErPs) (Dishwashers and Washing Machines) ii. 5 Implementing Communiqués on Energy Labelling of ErPs (Dishwashers, Washing Machines, Refrigerators, Air Conditioners, TVs) iii. 2 Demo Buildings designed in line with Integrated Building Design Approach Water: UNDP develops with its partners the appropriate local, national and regional water governance frameworks and application of integrated water resources management approaches.

Lessons Learned: UNDP in cooperation with its stakeholders aims at building institutional and political capacity at all levels. During the course of the objective, policy instruments are prepared but there is not always a best/suitable policy instrument for all engagement areas. It is very essential to identify

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priority targets: some policies may be more appropriate than others, depending on local, regional and national circumstances. Additionally, during the design of the policy special attention should be given to the following: i. It should be set for a long period of time, be simple and free of ambiguity, ii. All relevant parties should be involved in the design phase, iii. It should be regularly evaluated and revised or adopted if necessary.

Establishment of partnership should be set out very carefully for the sake of successful project implementation. Agreements among all project partners should be set out prior to project initiation and all roles and responsibilities should be as detailed and as clear as possible in relation to the institutional arrangements.

Ownership is the critical issue regarding the implementation process of the project. The pilot/demo implementations are essential to show the limits of what can be achieved. Moreover, it is vital to document and visualize the results of the projects for advocacy and lobbying process and to wider disseminate.

Links: Project overview: http://www.undp.org.tr/Gozlem2.aspx?WebSayfaNo=112 Contact: Katalin Zaim, katalin.zaim@undp.org

CASE STUDY 16: POVERTY AND ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE (PEI) Project Title: Poverty and Environment Initiative (UNJP) Country: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia Costs: USD 2,770,000.-; Duration: Phase I: 2008 – 2012 (second phase starting from 2013) Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Government Agencies, NGOs

• • • • •

Entry Points: Climate Change Poverty Reduction Capacity Development Local Governance Local Planning

Project Description: The Poverty and Environment Initiative is the global, joint UNDP and UNEP programme supporting country-led efforts to identify and integrate links between socio-economic development, poverty reduction and environment into national and local development planning and budgeting.

PEI has been particularly successful to institutionalize its results and upscale their application. For example in Tajikistan, the programme started with helping 14 districts to integrate the environmental sustainability considerations into the district development plans focused on economic development.

The programme has offered a methodology for doing so, the list of indicators to look at and capacity development support to the planning process participants (major topics of trainings were local economic development, local development planning, management and improvement of data base at the local level and mainstreaming environment in local development planning and local economic development). The district authorities were very enthusiastic to participate, partly due to the opportunity to receive new knowledge and skills as well as additional funds and to improve the district level data base but also because the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade’s involvement turned the project in a national approach, not brought by international donors.

As a result, all 14 districts have produced the development plans in a participatory manner accounting for all important economic, social and environmental factors.

Following the successful results in these 14 districts, the Tajikistan government has adopted the piloted methodology as the national standard. The PE indicators have been included in the revised

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official state statistics database. Furthermore, the regional authorities have made a request to pursue the regional development planning as per the new methodology. Finally, the PEI has been invited to contribute to the process of designing the country’s mid-term development strategy 2013-2015.

This has been a successful example of a vertical scale up of the project results. The major success factor in this situation was the alignment with the national priorities. The Tajikistan government has been determined to embark the district development planning in a right manner, and the project support has come just in right time to have contributed to this.

Lessons Learned: The programme has the highest chances for success and up-scale potential, if it is aligned with the ongoing processes at national and local level; This warrants the national ownership and genuine participation.

Poverty – environment mainstreaming is effective only if lead / owned by the ministry / agency responsible for the development planning (e.g. economy, finance, sector). Providing evidence of PE links in economic terms, for example in terms of GDP, employment, export revenue, helps to influence key high-level decision makers.

PE mainstreaming needs to be flexible and tailored for the specific planning and policy making process. Sub-national development plans can be good entry point to demonstrate the value of mainstreaming PE concerns into national planning processes.

Implementing a few pilot projects helps to present PE links on the ground, thus motivate local and national planners to introduce PE mainstreaming into planning and budgeting on a systematic basis.

Major challenges in the implementation process was the insufficient understanding of the importance of a planning process at the local level, weak capacity of the local government staff, weak mechanisms to ensure participation of the private sector and the civil society in decision making and the need for constant consultancy and support in all target districts in planning, introduction of M&E systems and proposal writing.

Links: Programme Overview: http://www.unpei.org/ Project Evaluation Tajikistan: http://erc.undp.org/evaluationadmin/manageevaluation/viewevaluationdetail.html?evalid=5768 PEI in Tajikistan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH94UGZiDyM Contact: Henrieta Martonakova, Henrieta.martonakova@undp.org

CASE STUDY 17: GREEN/SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT Project Title: Stakeholder:

Green and Sustainable Public Procurement National Governments, Local Authorities, NGOs, Private Sector

Entry Points: • Xxxxxx???

Project Description: Although there is no universal definition of sustainable public procurement, there is a clear distinction between Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) and Green PP (GPP).

GPP is the selection of products and services that minimize environmental impacts (considering the environmental costs of securing raw materials, manufacturing, transport, storing, handling, use of chemicals etc.). SPP not only aims minimizing environmental damage, but aims to bring benefits to society and the economy at the same time.

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Activities to foster GPP and SPP include voluntary instruments such as Energy Audits, labeling and eco-certification schemes, awards and other incentives and ISO certifications create awareness and competitive advantages for companies.

Examples for activities in order to foster GPP include: The Bulgarian Ministry of the Environment and Water chose to only order 100% recycled fibre paper. The successful implementation at no additional cost, was taken up by several other public authorities.

Miskolc in Hungaria decided to purchase greener alternatives for e.g. winter defrosting (Calcium magnesium acetate instead of socium chloride), or mosquito control.

Malmö’s goal is to serve 100% organic food in all of its public catering services by 2020. A pilot project in a local school managed to serve 97% of the food served coming from organic sources, transported by vehicles meeting the city’s transport sustainability criteria. Impact on the budget was minimized by shifting meals served from meat products to local seasonal vegetables.

8 Dutch municipalities joined forces in renewing their cleaning services contracts with regard on environmental matters (maximum level of chemicals, reduction of generated waste etc.) for municipal buildings.

The European Parliament and Council adopted a Clean Vehicles Directive that mandates the procurement of fuel-efficient and less-polluting road transport vehicles by public authorities and service providers in the European Union.

Vienna has developed ecological procurement criteria for 23 categories of goods and services, whose application resulted in cost savings of about EUR 17million annually, or about 3% of the city’s total procurement amount, and CO2 emission reductions of about 30,000 tons per year.

Several UNDP country offices have already implemented strategies for green public procurement in order to raise awareness among staff members and establish examples for others.

UN Montenegro: In a joint cooperation between the Government o Montenegro, the Government of Austria, the Municipality of Podgorica and the UN, the UN Shared Eco Premises will provide an efficient, ecologic and modern joint roof for the UN family in Montenegro. The building, which will be completed in 2012, is constructed to passive house standard, using photovoltaic power generation and the nearby river as cooling and heating resource. UNDP Montenegro also purchased 2 hybrid vehicles to save fossil fuels.

UNDP Armenia: Since 2011, 10 kWt rooftop solar panels are producing the energy for the UN building in Armenia. 3.1 % of the energy consumed by the entire UN House and 8.4 % of UNDP are covered by the solar panels.

UNDP Montenegro: UNDP Montenegro’s ‘Green Office’-team developed a Greening the Office strategy and action plan and implemented use of more-efficient lights, reduction of the consumption of paper, water, electricity and heating, isolation of the office windows with silicone strips, recycling of toner cartridges and tree planting activities through reinvestment of money saved by those activities.

The team is also working on an in-house software for monitoring energy consumption.

UNDP Bratislava Regional Office: Completing a six-year period to reduce the office’s environmental impact, BRC’s rooftop solar panels produce the energy needed for the office, windows have been replaced, lights switched to more energy-efficient technology, bins for waste separation installed and double-side printing was set to default in order to reduce the amount of paper used. Additionally,

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frequent ‘green months’, where each week of the month is devoted to one type of green activity, raise awareness among staff on the environment and sustainability.

Links: Public Procurement as a tool for promoting more sustainable consumption and production patterns: http://esa.un.org/marrakechprocess/pdf/InnovationBriefs_no5.pdf; Procurement Capacity Development Guidelines: http://www.unpcdc.org/home/procurement-guide. aspx; UNDP Environmental Procurement Practice Guide: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/UNDP-SP-Practice-Guide-v2.pdf EU Handbook on Green Public Procurement: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/ docs/gpp/buying_green_handbook_en.pdf

CASE STUDY 18: THE GUESSING MODEL Project Title: The Guessing Model Country: Austria Duration: 1990 - ongoing Stakeholder: Local Authorities, Private Sector

• • • •

Entry Points: Renewable Energies Climate Change Unemployment Public-private partnerships

Project Description: The so-called “Guessing Model” aims to combine all available renewable energy resources in a region to a de-centralised and local energy, heat and fuel production for a whole town (about 3800 citizens).

Formerly one of the poorest municipalities in Austria, Guessing has been affected by significant migration of young people to larger cities and a high unemployment rate as well as rising rates for fossil fuels. Hence, the municipal government decided to develop a plan to produce enough energy from locally available renewable resources to meet 100% of energy demand and to create jobs at the same time.

An assessment of locally available renewable energy resources showed a huge potential for wood fuels, leading to the construction of a biomass heating plant (back then the largest biomass heating plant in Europe) and the composition of a biodiesel production plan. Additionally, appropriate wood logistics were organized, wood drying equipment installed and a biomass power plan was implemented. With an innovative technology, 98% of the heat demand of family houses, schools etc. and 150% of the electricity demand is now locally produced from biomass and the so produced synthetic natural gas is supplied to the already existing gas distribution system. These investments have been funded by the EU, the national feed-in-tariffs and the regional government (Land Burgenland).

At the beginning, only wood from the local forests was used in the Biomass District Heating Plant, later on it was supplemented with industrial waste from a local parquet flooring plant.

Over time, the municipality created about 1500 additional jobs and invested in infrastructure, as the revenues of the energy production remain in the region.

As only 40% of the annually growing wood is used for biomass production, forest stand is not endangered. Nevertheless, additional sources for biomass (e.g. straw, agricultural waste etc.) are and will be included in biomass production. Annually, about 1024.64 t of CO2 equivalents are saved.

Lessons Learned: Businesses and factories like the parquet flooring plant relocated to Guessing intentionally as the production of flooring plants requires a lot of heat and energy prices have been

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negotiated directly with the municipality (no tariff structure from gas monopolists). Additionally, the production plant supplies saw dust to the biomass plant. This demonstrates how the production/business sector can collaborate strategically with the energy sector.

Links: http://www.eee-info.net/cms/EN/ Contact: Reinhard Koch, r.koch@eee-info.net

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SOCIAL CASE STUDY 19: SUSTAINING LIVELIHOODS AFFECTED BY THE ARAL SEA DISASTER (UNJP) Project Title: Sustaining Livelihoods Affected by the Aral Sea Disaster (UNJP) Country: Uzbekistan Costs: USD 3,840,450.Duration: 2012 – 2015 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, UNDP, UNESCO, WHO, UNFPA, UNV

• • • • • • • •

Entry Points: Infrastructure Health Agriculture Communityempowerment Poverty Reduction Job Creation Local governance Capacity Development

Project Description: This program aims to improve the welfare of the most vulnerable population groups by supporting local communities in improvement of basic infrastructure, the implementation of community development plans, the provision of income generation opportunities for farms, women and the youth and the improvement of healthcare.

Improved agricultural practices, pasture management techniques, new crops and tree varieties will provide additional income for farms, while women and youth will be engaged in developing local handicrafts and tourism. 100 farmers will be supported in bringing degraded land back into productive use. Improved capacities of healthcare facilities and 1500 community based voluntary health workers will raise awareness on infectious diseases and reproductive health issues.

Lessons Learned: Although the becoming social assistants were a bit skeptical at the beginning, their attitude and motivation changed significantly in the course of the trainings, resulting in pride as soon as they started their work. Local NGOs needed intensive training and support in knowledge and capacity to be positive and motivated vis-à-vis the project.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.undp.uz/en/projects/project.php?id=179 Contact: Dildora Tadjibaeva, dildora.tadjibaeva@undp.org

CASE STUDY 20: INTEGRATED SUPPORT SYSTEM OF SOCIAL ECONOMY Project Title: Integrated support system of social economy Country: Poland Costs: USD 16 500 000 (UNDP’s part 1 860 000 USD) Duration: 2009 - 2013 Stakeholders: National Government, Local Authorities, Institute of Public Affairs, Malopolska School of Public Administration Cracow University of Economics, Foundation for Social and Economic Iniatitives, Centre for Development of Human Resources, The Cooperation Fund Foundation, BARKA Foundation ad National Auditing Union of Workers’ Co-operatives

Entry Points: • Social Services • Communityempowerment • Poverty Reduction • Job Creation • Local governance • Capacity Development

Project Description: Social economy is a business activity that combines social and economic aims.

Through this project, UNDP promoted social economy good practices, helped social enterprises establish contacts at regional and international level, built management capacities of social enterprises, and promoted a food cooperative movement. In addition to training 430 participants in local

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partnerships, the project facilitated internships for 56 representatives of local government, local NGOS and other local institutions to improve their leadership skills. The project also established links between social enterprises and traditional business – building the network of “Social Economy Angels – business representatives who support social enterprises with their knowledge, work and expertise.

Food cooperatives are a unique food distribution system that typically offers natural foods. They are usually consumers’ cooperatives where the decisions regarding the production and/or distribution of the food are chosen by its members. The Social Economy project supported the integration of several food cooperatives and raised their status with Polish control authorities. A new law will introduce a status of food cooperatives and their members as well as regulate tax and phytosanitary issues.

Consultations with the Polish National Programme for Social Economy Development gave food cooperatives the chance to voice what kinds of support they needed, such as right to use or rent public premises to store foods and organize cooperative rounds. Currently there are 9 food co-ops working in big cities that bring products from local farmers and support diversity of agriculture. They are part of a sustainable local food distribution system that supports local jobs. Favorable prices are provided for the consumer due to the efforts of volunteers and use of cash payments. Finally, food cooperatives support education activity on collaboration, democracy, healthy dies, gardening, and cooking.

Lessons Learned: Small cooperatives (60-100 members) are easier to coordinate and their work is more efficient, so it is recommended to create more small groups than one big cooperative. UNDP was instrumental in connecting them with decision-makers so they could have impact at the system level through new laws and programs. With a very small investment (12.000 USD) UNDP was able to make a big impact in the area of food cooperatives.

Links: http://undp.org.pl/eng/What-we-do/Social-economy2 Contact: Agnieszka.Orzechowska@undp.org,

CASE STUDY 21: INTRODUCING COMMUNITY-BASED SOCIAL SERVICES – SOCIAL SERVICES FOR NEW EMPLOYMENT Project Title: Introducing community-based social services – Social Services for New Employment Country: Bulgaria Costs: USD 6,964,685.Duration: 2002 - 2008 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, NGOs

Entry Points: • Social Services • Communityempowerment • Poverty Reduction • Job Creation • Local governance • Capacity Development

Project Description: Targeting the lack of community-based social services, this project aimed to support the development of a new social service system for vulnerable groups (single elderly, people and children with disabilities), who need assistance in their daily life, by training and creating jobs for registered unemployed at the age of 50+. Specialized training was provided to selected NGOs to play a more active role in the social services sector – the unemployed were trained to provide social services, and after completion of training, were hired by the NGOs to work as Social Assistants at the community level. The NGOs acted as intermediaries between the Social Assistants and the beneficiaries, and also contributed with the administrative framework. As a result of this pilot, the national Government developed the secondary legislation for the newly adopted Social Assistance Act, designed a new system of community-based social services that would meet national minimum standards, as well as instructions for the operational organization of the Social Assistant and Household Assistance services. The project also participated in developing criteria for vocational training for Social Assistants, included into the

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state educational system. As a result of the project, the Social Assistant has become a registered vocation in Bulgaria.

In total, 7,346 people from vulnerable groups gained access to community-based social services, provided by 3,304 Social Assistants.

Lessons Learned: Social Assistants were a bit skeptical at the beginning, but their attitude and motivation changed significantly in the course of the trainings, resulting in pride as soon as they started their work. Local NGOs needed intensive training and support in knowledge and capacity to be positive and motivated vis-à-vis the project.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.undp.bg/projects.php?id=944 Contact: Emiliana Zhivkova, emiliana.zhivkova.undp.org,

Maria Zlatareva, maria.zlatareva@undp.org

CASE STUDY 22: ENERGY ACCESS THROUGH COMMUNITY –OWNED SOLAR INSTALLATIONS Project Title: Energy Access through Community-Owned Solar Installations

(Implemented by a local NGO) Country: India Costs: USD 52,900.Duration: 2009 - ongoing Stakeholder: Local NGO, Village Energy Committee, Private Sector

Entry Points: • Local Energy Management • Communityempowerment • Climate change mitigation • Poverty Reduction • Job Creation • Local governance • Capacity Development

Project Description: The project leverages solar technology and participatory processes to build power plants for electrifying villages.

The first step was to create the Village Energy Committee (VEC), including members from all sectors of the village community. VEC holds the ownership of the plant and is responsible for operation. It also nominates a village operator who undertakes the maintenance. Consumers pay a monthly service charge as well as a usage based fee to the VEC, which uses those revenues for operation, maintenance of the power plant and the mini-grid, batteries etc. Streets lights are paid by the entire village. A solar company funded the project and provided technical expertise.

In addition to providing access to electricity, improving life conditions and reducing poverty, the project has helped community empowerment and solidarity.

Lessons Learned: Village mobilization and ownership of the plant, capacity building, and training are the integral parts of the programme. Presence of electricity also brought a positive change in the lifestyle of women, as they are no able to spend more time for indulging into income generating activities. An innovative “Snakes and ladders”-game with a energy efficiency component in it has been introduced to disseminate information and educate especially children on the importance of renewable energies.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.grida.no/files/activities/greeneconomy/case-studies-da-india.pdf Contact: Sunanda Jain, sjain1@devalt.org

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CASE STUDY 23: MULTI STAKEHOLDER PARTNHERSHIPS IN URBAN SERVICE DELIVERY Project Title: Multi stakeholder partnerships in urban service delivery Country: Nepal Costs: Local vegetable market, Siddharthanagar – USD 168,500.

Community compost and recycling plant in Ramnagar, Butwal - USD 11,840.

Butwal solar street light – USD 40,718.

Community bio-gas plant in housing project in Birgunj – USD 41,740.Duration: 2002 - ongoing Stakeholder: Local authorities, Public service provider agencies, Private sector, Civil society

Entry Points: • Community Empowerment • Public-Private Partnership • Waste Management • Access to Energy • Innovative models for local energy production • Local Governance • Capacity Development • Capacity Development

Project Description: The objective of this project is to increase the access of the urban poor to basic services and to contribute to the creation of a healthy environment and the improvement of living conditions in urban and peri-urban areas. Multi-stakeholder platforms (such as local PPP Committees) have been established to bring representatives from the public sector (municipality, public service provider agencies), private sector (mostly from district or city Chambers of Commerce and Industry), and from civil society (neighborhood organizations, consumer groups) together and resolve common problems. Currently, 69 sub-projects are ongoing, including the following: - Local vegetable market: a private sector company invested in building up a market, which it will hand over to the Municipality after 15 years (2 -3,000 daily visitors).

- Construction and operation of community compost and recycling plant for sustainable waste management in Ramnagar, Butwal (Construction of the compost plant was done by the community itself ) - Butwal Solar Street Light Project - 48 street lights in the central business district/market place - Community Bio-gas plant from waste - The group intends to assess a service charge from each household to create a maintenance fund for sustainability Lessons Learned: User committee leaders’ fear of possible complaints from citizens in case of lack of regular maintenance or unintended technical drawbacks should be targeted in advance.

Links: http://www.pppue.org.np/ Contact: Purusottam Man Shrestha, puru@pppue.org.np

CASE STUDY 24: SREBRENICA REGIONAL RECOVERY PROGRAMME Project Title: Regional post-war Recovery Programme - Srebrenica Regional Recovery Programme Country: Bosnia & Herzegovina Costs: USD 35.3 Mill. (Phase I, II and III) Duration: 2002 - 2013 Stakeholder: National government, Local authorities, Private sector, NGOs, Finance organizations, Local civil society organizations

Entry Points: Infrastructure Finance Tools Agriculture Public-Private Partnerships • Local Governance • Capacity Development • • • •

Project Description: The project objective is to promote socio-economic recovery of multi-ethnic communities with strengthened local government structures. The project takes a holistic vision and addresses the needs of the local authorities, communities and the private sector. It includes improvement of the public service delivery, expansion of the business opportunities and rehabilitation of the

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infrustructure. The main activities comprise local capacity development, institutional strengthening, services to citizens, rehabilitation of infrastructure and private sector development.

As a result, local governments became more open and established one-stop-shop public services.

Local employment opportunities have been enhanced through access to micro-credit and other business support services (business appraisal, business finance, marketing, market research and trainings); Local agriculture was also supported by providing local farmers better farming techniques and linking them with producers. Finally, local infrastructure has seen a rapid improvement, for instance through access to water supply benefiting more than 1500 households, installation of meters to 450 households, electricity access for 480 households and the 3 major cities, restoration of local schools and clinics and improvement of rural roads for the benefit of more than 4000 people in rural areas.

Lessons Learned: The selection criteria for small infrastructure grants caused concern amongst some informants that this discriminated against small returnee communities, which were less able to raise contributory funding. On the other hand, in such cases, projects represent less value for money in terms of benefit and outreach to the community. Baseline assessments in key work areas should be undertaken before planning new programmes. The collection of data on demography, economic potential and social vulnerability should be prioritized to give municipal local development planning substance.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.undp.ba/index.aspx?PID=21&RID=60 Project Evaluation: http://erc.undp.org/evaluationadmin/manageevaluation/viewevaluationdetail.html?evalid=2462 Contact: Alexandre Prieto, Alexandre.prieto@undp.org

CASE STUDY 25: SCALING UP HIV PREVENTION, TREATMENT, CARE AND SUPPORT FOR MOST AT RISK POPULATIONS IN CITIES Project Title: Scaling up HIV Prevention, treatment, care and support for most at risk population in cities Country: Serbia Costs: USD 30,000.Duration: 2011 - 2012 Stakeholder: Local Authorities, Health Centers, NGOs

Entry Points: • Health • Capacity Development • Local Governance

Project Description: The project aims at supporting the local government of Belgrade in realigning national responses to the specific needs of most-at-risk populations.

Municipal action plans have been developed to strengthen leadership and capacity in generating evidence and knowledge to scale up HIV prevention, treatment and care services.

UNPD supported the authorities to develop 5 municipal action plans in order to plan and deliver adequate services. Those action plans aim to document HIV-service needs and access to justice, as well as factors which enhance the vulnerability of most-at-risk populations. Furthermore, opportunities and bottlenecks in relation to most at risk groups are identified and responses adapted to specific local needs designed.

Other activities include training of health professionals, linking NGOs with local authorities and local level service providers, composition of educational and informative materials, provision of legal support etc. As a result, the key stakeholders are now aware of the fact that sustainability of services can

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only be ensured by strengthening municipal response. 566 primary health workers (including dentists) trained in HIV prevention, early diagnosis (particularly of pregnant women who are to be referred to health facilities providing PMTCT), providing care and support to PLHIV and MARP, recognition of importance of coherent response to the epidemic with other local level stakeholders (social, education, police, youth offices, etc.). For the first time, private health sector involved in this initiative and recognized as an important partner in the response (MSM friendly services opened in the Health Center ‘’Dr. Ristic’’, while outreach testing and interventions for IDUs and SWs will be provided together with NGO outreach workers). 30.000 leaflets and brochures disseminated via primary health centers and NGOs. Peer education is going to be provided in the coming months to 24 elementary and high schools, 28 more to be reached by the end of 2012.

Lessons Learned: In low prevalence countries, getting attention and commitment of local authorities for HIV-topics is critical. Through evidence based approach (BioBSS, Research on knowledge, attitudes and behavior of health professionals related to HIV, municipal authorities have gotten sensitized.

Contact: Lana Grbic, lana.grbic@undp.org

CASE STUDY 26: PEACEBUILDING AND INCLUSIVE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT – ROMA HEALTHCARE MEDIATORS Project Title: Peace Building and Inclusive Local Development - Roma Healthcare Mediators Country: Serbia Costs: USD 9 Mill.

Duration: 2009 - 2013 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Health Centers

Entry Points: • Preventive Health • Empowerment of Local Vulnerable Communities • Public-Private Partnerships • Capacity Development • Job Creation

Project Description: The project aimed at achieving four key outcomes in South Serbia: 1) Community cohesion and human capital: Communities in South Serbia are stronger, more integrated and better able to reduce inter-ethnic tensions and conflict risk.

2) Public services: more equitable and improved access to public services and welfare benefits 3) Economic development: Increased overall economic prosperity of the region, and reduced discrepancies in wealth and employment between ethnic groups, and with other parts of the country.

4) Migration management: Migrants in South Serbia are provided with appropriate support to participate in the social and economic life of the region.

As part of the project, the health situation of Roma was improved by sending out local health mediators and by training health workers at Health Care Centers. Hence, otherwise unsupported Roma are reached by selected health care mediators, who are mainly women trained on public health, chronic non-infectious diseases prevention, communication skills, hygiene, infectious-disease prevention, vaccination, rights in the area of healthcare and health insurance, family neglect and violence, and human trafficking. Furthermore, health workers and mediators are sensitized to the issues of discrimination, Roma culture and inter-sectoral collaboration to address the needs of the most vulnerable. From December 2011, more than 3000 Roma people have been reached through the individual and group health education activities, while 681 Roma were identified in the health system for the first time. 256 Roma have selected their chosen doctor and 368 children have been assisted in vaccination.

Lessons Learned: Capacity development measures proved to increase knowledge, sensitivity and commitment of the local authorities towards designing and implementing measures to protect and fulfill rights of social excluded groups. Mentoring and advisory roles of the programme should be reinforced, with special attention to advisory to local governments to develop and implement fully

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social protection and inclusion policies and services for extremely vulnerable groups such as Roma.

Links: Project Overview: http://rs.one.un.org/organizations/12/pbild/mart%20april%202012%20FINAL%2012%20eng.pdf Article: http://business.un.org/en/documents/8812 Contact: Nicholas Hercules, nicholas.hercules@undp.org

CASE STUDY 27: TUBERCULOSIS PREVENTION IN KARAKALPAKSTAN: A SUSTAINABLE MODEL OF VOLUNTEERISM FOR DEVELOPMENT (UNV) Project Title: TB Prevention in Karakalpakstan: A Sustainable Model of Volunteerism for Development (UNV) Country: Uzbekistan Costs: USD 550,525.Duration: 2009 - 2012 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Local Civil Society

• • • •

Entry Points: Preventive Health Citizen Participation Capacity Development Service Delivery

Project Description: The project aimed to strengthen community response in an early stage identification of TB and thus contribute to the improvement of health and livelihood of the community members.

UNV in Uzbekistan, together with UNDP and supported by local governments, partnered in mobilising and training local volunteers at district and village levels in Karakalpakstan. These Community Volunteers have in turn helped communities to report the appearance of TB’s early symptoms, to disseminate information regarding TB, to conduct advocacy activities such as preventing discrimination against TB patients, and to undertake small-scale project initiatives designed to address low living standards.

As a result of the TB prevention project, more than 3,000 local volunteers (of whom about 1,800 were women) in more than 500 communities were trained to support their communities in addressing TB. These volunteers were able to create awareness within the communities about early treatment of TB. Health centres and TB hospital have reported an increase in attendance in the clinics for diagnosis and treatment of TB. To ensure that healthcare infrastructure can meet the demands posed by increased patient testing, the project has renovated and developed primary healthcare and basic service points in project communities with the support of local volunteers and donors.

Lessons Learned: This project would not have been a success without the support of Mahalla Committees, which have ensured community participation and ownership in identifying TB as a problem of an entire community and not just individual residents, and have developed their own localised solutions. Through community outreach activities, the project has established a higher level of trust in communities, and has fostered a better understanding among the people about the importance of both preventive measures and the early treatment of TB. Based on this approach there is a growing interest to support the project nationwide, considering that it fits well with an emerging national vision of working with local community-based organisations such as Mahallas, through the use of volunteers.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.undp.uz/en/projects/project.php?id=152 Contact: Santeri Eriksson, santeri.eriksson@undp.org

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CASE STUDY 28: RAISING COMPETITIVENESS OF THE REGION THROUGH INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO REGIONAL PLANNING AND SOCIAL SERVICES (UNJP) Project Title: Raising Competitiveness of the Region through Innovative Approaches to Regional Planning and Social Services (UNJP) Country: Kazakhstan Costs: USD 11,651,365.Duration: 2011 - 2015 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA

Entry Points: • Community Empowerment • Capacity Building • Local Planning

Project Description: The project aims to improve quality of life and advanced progress towards the MDG goals in particular in the districts severely hit by nuclear tests at the former Semey nuclear site.

Among the expected results is the empowerment of local communities in local planning and initiatives, improved access to social and economic services for vulnerable groups and capacity building of local executive and legislative bodies for local level planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, while ensuring better protection of the rights and interests of vulnerable groups.

In its first year, Memorandum of Understandings were signed with local authorities, leading to trainings on local strategic planning, budgeting and community participation for more than 300 representatives of local authorities and public organizations. The trainings helped to increase social activity of local communities and engaged them into constructive dialogue with the local authorities. 6 projects on enhanced housing and communal services, development of district agriculture were approved by the district administrations. 47 development projects elaborated by local communities were submitted for funding, of which 11 projects on solving housing and agriculture problems were approved.

584 returnees took part in Russian/Kazakh language and computer literacy courses, enabling them to independently apply to state agencies. So far, 165 returnees got assistance in solving problems concerning issuance of documents, registration of immigration quota, Kazakh citizenship etc. A micro-credit program was launched by a local microcredit organization, funding 16 business projects of returnees (e.g. sewing shops, crop production etc.). Within the small grants programme 20 project proposals were received from NGOs. Both financial support structures involved volunteers assisting in the implementation and through consultations on various issues. 40 already existing SMEs obtained trainings on business development, sales technology, personnel management etc. A special focus was given to women’s entrepreneurship, including trainings for 154 rural women entrepreneurs on taxation, human resource management, how-to-start a business etc.

Apart from scaling-up already started project components, further objectives of the project are the development of effective social protection for children and families at the local level and the empowerment of regional and district level government agencies to collect, process and make available improved data for planning and monitoring of local development plans. Furthermore, 50% of young people in the age group of 10-24 years will be empowered to participate more actively and communities and local authorities will be trained in disaster risk reduction and emergency situations. In order to improve the situation of children with special needs, they will get access to quality social services and support systems, better access to and quality of maternal and child health care services and guaranteed universal access to reproductive health services. Also, an innovative system of providing special social services to the elderly at home and day centres for elderly will be piloted.

Lessons Learned: The goals and objectives of this joint programme correspond to the state priorities, defined in national strategic documents and is therefore fully supported by the national government.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.undp.org/content/kazakhstan/en/home/operations/projects/ inclusivedevelopment/raising-competitiveness-of-the-region-through-innovative-approac/

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CASE STUDY 29: SUSTAINABLE CITIES Project Title: Sustainable Urban Development

Entry Points: • Community Empowerment • •Empowerment of local Vulnerable Communities • Integration of Minorities • Social Inclusion • Local Governance • Job Creation • Health • Water Management

Making cities sustainable is a very important mission especially in times of raising urbanization and urban growth.

Examples of sustainable city projects: http://www.dac.dk/en/dac-cities/sustainable-cities/all-cases/ - Stockholm’s Arlanda airport uses an innovative cooling and heating system through a series of wells linked to a large underground acquifer. The water is plumbed up and into the facilities air system. In summer, the cold water cools off the air while in winter the underground water remains warmer than the surface and is then plumed to a heating unit using biofuels to heat the water additionally. This heated water is also used to heat pads of cement on the ramp and near the large hangars. http://www.aviationbenefitsbeyondborders.org/environmental-efficiency/case-studies/ stockholm-arlanda-airport-and-aquifer - Amsterdam launched the “Smart City”-initiative introducing street charging stations for e-cars, renewable energy supply for 8000 households, “Smart Schools” where children learn about energy efficiency and compete with other schools and drop-in-workplaces reachable by 5min by bike http://sustainablecities.dk/en/city-projects/cases/amsterdam-smart-city - Sungdo in Korea aims at recycling of 75% of the waste produced during the construction of a business hub, which will then offer optimal conditions for bikers and will reserve 5% of the parking spaces for low-emission vehicles.

- In New York, several initiatives revive urban areas with e.g. roof-top gardens for planning vegetables by school children, urban beekeeping and urban fish farms with biological filters. http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/polis-blog/22745/urban-bees - In Budapest, various roads now have cycle tracks, there is an attractive cycle route along the city’s parks, cycle stands are available in many parts of the city and passengers on suburban railway trains can take their bikes along with them. Cycling now accounts for 4% of the city’s transport requirements and the number of cyclists is doubling almost year on year.

Copenhagen additionally offers special traffic lights for cyclists, which are often timed in “green waves”.

Vienna constructed a housing project according to bikers needs (large elevators, a repair room, safe storage room etc.) and reduced the number of car parking lots instead.

- Zürich’s households bring small amounts of recyclable material to the over 160 collection points for glass, metal and waste oil. Those who wish to dispose of larger items of waste, socalled bulky waste, can bring it to one of two recycling centers in the city area. Those who do not have a vehicle at their disposal can deposit their electrical devices and bulky waste at a tram stop once a month. The recycling project has also introduced composting in private gardens, local common areas and local

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authority owned installations. Zürich’s most innovative initiative in this field, however, is its ‘pay as you throw’ duty on waste-related offences and fees on the volume of waste each household produces.

This made people think about purchasing goods leaving much waste. http://sustainablecities.dk/en/city-projects/cases/zurich-zuri-sack-popular-rubbish-sack-policy - In Barcelona, all new buildings or those undergoing major renovation have to have solar energy sources installed to provide most of their hot water. 20 Spanish towns and cities have already followed suit.

- Madrid established a separate highway-lane for buses and cars carrying more than one person. The city managed to reduce pollution and traffic jams by promoting public buses and carpooling.

- Vaexjoe in Sweden decided to get fossil fuel free and will reach its goal by 2015 (currently 51% of its energy comes from renewable energies) by closely cooperating with the private sector, the transportation sector and industries.

Links: http://www.sustainable-cities.eu/, http://regions202020.eu/cms/themes/buildings/

CASE STUDY 30: LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Project Title: Local Development Programme Country: Ukraine Costs: USD 31,516,385.Duration: 2005 - 2014 Stakeholder: National government, Governmental Agencies, Local Authorities, Association of Local and Regional Authorities, Association of village, Settlement and Town Councils, European Commission, Academia

Entry Points: • Xxxxxx

Project Description: This local development programme comprises 4 sub-projects with the overall goal of community empowerment and capacity building of local authorities, in order to address adequately poverty issues, business development and vulnerable groups.

Under the Community Based Approach to Local Development project, 1146 newly formed community organizations realized 1303 projects on energy conservation in schools, renovation and purchase of equipment for medical centers, waste management etc. All in all, the program covered more than 1,200 villages and 1,600 local communities with more than 600,000 households. The community based approach emphasis on community empowerment and regeneration, building the spirit of activism and social inclusion, and contributing to the improvement of self-governance by encouraging a dialogue between local authorities and communities, thus enabling joint prioritization and response to common development needs.

The Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme supported ICT and youth development initiatives, created 258 community organizations and 5 regional economic development agencies as well as 25 youth centers.

Under the Municipal Governance and Sustainable Development Programme 100 neighborhood organizations got involved in local processes, 2 municipal sustainable development councils started functioning and public auditing is partially practiced.

For the Crimea Integration and Development Programme please see a separate description.

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Lessons Learned: A clearer understanding of sector priorities and a systematic assessment of local social service provision, including cost-benefit analysis of investment should be developed by sector.

For instance, in the energy field, integrated action is often more cost effective than individual initiatives, even if this necessitates delays for assessment of the local situation and definition of priorities.

Authorities and communities lack the capacity to jointly plan, budget and implement local development strategies. Such limited capacities create a scenario where local development priorities attract insufficient focus and resources. Therefore in order to achieve sustainable results more coherent and broad support is required to address the problems beyond the limits of each thematic area. A wide dialogue at regional and national level on learning best practices is necessary to ensure sustainable successes. Generally, all layers of the society, including communities, local and central government should be involved and provided assistance to.

Links: Programme Overview: http://www.undp.org.ua/en/local-development-and-human-security Programme Evaluation: http://erc.undp.org/evaluationadmin/manageevaluation/viewevaluationdetail. html?evalid=2361 Contact: Oksana Remiga, oksana.remiga@undp.org

CASE STUDY 31: CRIMEA INTEGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Project Title: Crimea Integration and Development Programme Country: Ukraine Costs: USD 28 Mill.

Duration: 1995 – 2011 Stakeholder: National Government, Governmental Agencies, Regional Government of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, District and Local Authorities

Entry Points: • Community Empowerment • Local Economic Development • Tolerance Building • Human Security and Conflict Prevention • Social Inclusion • Local Governance • Integration of Minorities • Health • Water Management

Project Description: The Crimea Integration and Development Programme (UNDP CIDP) was created initially as an emergent response of an international community to integration problems faced by the formerly deported peoples (mainly Crimean Tatars) returning to Crimea, and significantly contributed to the improving of access to the water-supply, educational facilities, and medical treatment (first—aid posts) in compact settlements of FDPs. Since 2002, however, the Programme focused on integrated regio¬nal development, good governance, institutional building, reduction of economic disparities and access to key public services in multi-ethnic commu¬nities in 14 rural districts of Crimea.

Successful community mobilization and area-based development was the flagship experience of UNDP CIDP, resulting in 420 community projects supported in the area of water supply, health posts, playgrounds and youth centres, and leaving behind over 800 viable rural community organizations at the exit moment. 82 projects of parent communities in rural schools contributed to the tolerance building, and promotion of good governance in the educational system of Ukraine. Local economic development projects - 33 agricultural cooperatives - strengthened income generation opportunities for 1620 Crimean families in the most depressive rural areas of peninsula. In total, direct support of the Programme was provided to over 250,000 rural residents in the region. 57% of projects’ funding was cost-shared by communities and local authorities, ensuring strong ownership, commitment and sustainability of results. The above certifies that the CIDP project has applied most effectively the best practices of political mobilization and creation of the community will.

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In practice, the project has deployed the community mobilization activists in the districts, who were in charge of talking to the individuals and securing their commitment and interest. Further, the community members have been made aware, that they were in charge of making decisions and improving their livelihoods. The project has also made use of the local champions of change as a resource to break through to other community members and secure their participation. The public meetings, facilitated by the project team and local leaders have been the major vehicle for identifying the community priorities and selecting the community representatives in charge of taking these priorities forward towards implementation. Of course, the expectation of resource availability for the priority needs has also served as an important motivation, however, the cost-sharing by the community of any singly project further signifies the genuine motivation, commitment and engagement of the national partners, that has predetermined the eventual success of the project.

Importantly, the project has successfully upscaled its experience through ensuring its replication in the wider areas throughout Ukraine, as well as use of the methodology as a nationwide applied one.

Lessons Learned: 1) Project implementation showed that rural residents are able to contribute (both their time and finances) to project implementation and organize themselves despite stereotypes about passiveness of citizens and deep crisis in rural areas. They key for this is trust building measures and transparent operation of international projects on the ground. 2) Deep presence on the spot was contributing to the success of the project. CIDP representative in each district provided on-going, close-to-client support, and served as focal point and information hub for the beneficiaries; 3) Area-based projects in multi-ethnic groups significantly improve communication and trust among different nationalities/ cultures in Crimea; 4) Clear exit strategy ensures better sustainability of outcomes – in the very final stage of the Programme operation, former employees and local partners of CIDP established the Crimean Rural Development Agency to continue development activities in the vulnerable rural territories.

Links: Programme overview: http://www.undp.crimea.ua/ Programme Evaluation: http://erc.undp.org/evaluationadmin/manageevaluation/viewevaluationdetail. html?evalid=2361 Contact: Kurtmolla Abdulganiyev, kurtmolla.abdulganiyev@undp.org

CASE STUDY 32: INTEGRATION OF SOCIAL-MEDIA INTO PLACEMAKING PRACTICES – FOURSQUARE FOR DEVELOPMENT Project Title: Foursquare for Development Country: Montenegro Duration: 2012 - ongoing Stakeholder: Private Sector, Local Communities

Entry Points: • Community Empowerment • Sustainable Tourism • Innovations

Project Description: Using geo-location social networks (Foursquare) is an innovative way to promote (sustainable) tourism and business development. Following an online survey on which areas to focus on, the project settled on 5 specific routes/locations in a national park, each of them representing a thematic story and connecting multiple locations so that interested tourists are able to explore those regions of Montenegro. Using pictures and stories from the local communities presents the locations in a new and interesting way and reaches more people through online tools. This promotes traditional products, handicrafts and supports the involvement of local citizens.

Links: Programme overview: http://www.undp.org.me/home/2012/4sq/index.html Contact: Milica Begović Radojević, milica.begovic@undp.org

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ASE STUDY 33: INCLUSIVE EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP Project Title: Inclusive Employment and Social Partnership Country: Uzbekistan Costs: USD 1.2 Mill.

Duration: 2011 - 2014 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, CSOs, Private Sector

Entry Points: • Community Empowerment • Empowerment of Local Vulnerable Communities • SME Develoment • Job Creation • Gender • Social Entrepreneurship • Capacity Building

Project Description: The major goal of the project is to demonstrate tangible benefits of social partnership between CSOs and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population (MLSPP) in creating employment for and social protection of vulnerable groups (victims of trafficking, domestic violence, women from poor households, single mothers and persons with disabilities). On the one hand, the project provides upstream policy advice through reflecting gender issues in employment programmes as well as involving CSOs in employment and social protection policies and programmes.

On the other hand, the project pilots sheltered employment and new social services for vulnerable groups in partnership with government, private sector and CSOs, including through an innovative concept of social enterprise.

Within the project’s upstream policy advice, the annual State Program on new job creation and employment support of the population has been going through gender and disability mainstreaming.

Several policy papers, briefs, one-pagers and promo-materials have been developed to advocate policies and advices in the area of employment and social protection. The project has also supported the establishment of a Public Council on employment and social protection under MLSPP to involve SCOs in the development of legislation and policies.

To increase transparency of MLSPP activities a web portal with an interactive feedback mechanism for citizens, virtual press room as well as contents all related legislation, information about policies, MLSPP reports, statistics, news and updates of MLSPP was created.

At the local/grass root level, the project intervenes in the area of social services provision through NGOs and social enterprises. The project assisted to establish and provide capacity development activities and technical supports to 5 NGO-based Social Services located in the regions: service of personal assistants for PWDs and elderly people; employment service for PWDs; 3 shelters for women - victims of trafficking and domestic violence.

Project jointly with government, leading national NGOs and “Mahalla” (“Community”) Foundation conducted a grant contest among NGOs “Best idea on development of NGO based social service”, where more than 100 NGOs participated. The Project attracted 225 Mill. UZS as a parallel financing, 19 new social services at the local level were established for more than 4500 vulnerable beneficiaries.

Within preparatory phase of the contest the project organized a series of trainings “Social services for women and persons with disabilities” on core principles of development and running NGO based social services. More than 150 NGO representatives participated in the trainings and were assisted in writing project proposals for the contest.

Currently, about 227 employers (from which more than 50% women and more than 90% people with disabilities) are working in 10 social enterprises, established in the previous phase of the project.

The project is continuing to provide technical assistance and support to them, including advisory support in promotion of products and services; assistance in searching new clients and marketing of products and services; increasing capacities of workers and staff members of social enterprises

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through coefficient monitoring, evaluation and couching. It has also established the network of social enterprises. In order to ensure further promotion of social entrepreneurship, the project is organizing the first specialized exhibition of social enterprises of Uzbekistan “From Social Enterprises to Social Economy”, where social enterprises will have a chance to exhibit their products and services, develop networking and find new partners.

Links: Project overview: http://www.undp.uz/en/projects/project.php?id=171 Contact: Aziza Umarova, aziza.umarova@undp.org

CASE STUDY 34: SOCIAL INNOVATION CAMP ARMENIA (MARDAMEJ) Project Title: Inclusive Employment and Social Partnership Country: Armenia Costs: USD 44,000.Duration: May – November 2011 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Local NGOs, Youth, Civil Society, Media, Private Sector

• • • •

Entry Points: Innovations IT-services Capacity Building Community Participation

Project Description: Social Innovation Camps bring together ideas, people and digital tools to build web-based solutions for social problems over the course of two days.

In preparation for this event, youth activists, CSO representatives, and technology experts from all over the country were brought together for a series of “itch workshops.” The goal of these workshops was to discover ideas (or “itches”) about social problems Armenians face with the hope that they would stimulate participants to create innovative and efficient solutions. Participants were then asked to submit their ideas to the event website.

Sixty-six ideas were submitted in all, and after being judged by a panel, six ideas were selected for the Social Innovation Camp using the following criteria: understanding the social problem, use of technology, and likely sustainability of the proposal. Projects included an online platform for public transport options, a prototype of rating public and private services or an app to keep track of electoral promises to let citizens follow up on the actual action.

At the event itself, the six ideas were further developed, solutions were prototyped and tested, and, finally, projects were presented to a panel of judges. The winning project addressed issues in the transport sector; however, five out of the six projects received financial and technical support from donor agencies present at the event to further develop and implement their project.

Lessons learned: The fact that we received sixty-six submissions as well as hundreds of requests to participate begs the question as to why the format was so popular. A few ideas: • The outreach involved us listening and allowing our stakeholders to set their agenda rather than delivering training workshops based on priorities identified centrally; • The itches, ideas and projects were encouraged to focus on practical solutions and what works; • The user-led and centred development projects empowered the participants and challenged them to effect the change they wish to see in their society; The outreach phase provided us with many project ideas. In addition, the initiative provided a cost effective mechanism for launching five innovative development projects designed and run by volunteers.

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Links: Event website: http://mardamej.wordpress.com/; Blogs on the process: http://bit.ly/tzrXeo; http://bit.ly/rCARx5; http://bit.ly/tHRuqQ; Reflections: http:// bit.ly/KgjjLK; How to run an SICamp: https://undp.unteamworks.org/node/207778; Contact: George Hodge, george.hodge@undp.org

CASE STUDY 35: LOCAL AGENDA 21 IN BELARUS Project Title: Local Agenda 21 in Belarus Country: Belarus Duration: 2010 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Educational Sector, Private Sector

Entry Points: • Community involvement • Capacity Building

Project Description: The development of a School local agenda triggered the creation of an action group that was constantly growing and involving more and more participants. Over time, the action group on this School local agenda developed into the action group on creating the Local Agenda 21 of the city of Navapolatsk.

Due to an acute need in new approaches to strategic planning when the prices on hydrocarbon raw materials and oil products went up, resulting in financial losses of the only city-forming enterprise, an oil refinery. Hence, new options for sustainable development of the city were needed, leading to a cooperation with the EU/UNDP project “Sustainable development at local level”. In 2010, Navapolatsk became the first Belarusian city with an elaborated Local Agenda 21, incorporating the perspectives of development for the city and its neighbouring regions. Highlights of the LA21 are the efficient use of all types of resources, to work to meet people’s needs, the creation of favorable conditions for intellectual, creative, labour, professional and physical development of the citizens, the enhancement of people’s environmental awareness and active engagement of youth into the processes of sustainable development.

The implementation of LA-21 activities was based on mini-grants for several small projects: The action group on sustainable development together with local teachers developed “The heritage of the native heath” project in order to preserve and promote local cultural heritage. Ritual ceremonies and a museum now attract an increased number of tourists as well as people wishing to have a ritual at their weddings or other events.

Students created a volunteer team “Youth for Sustainable Development”, whose activity is aimed at preparing and disseminating printed matters, holding informational meetings and participating in thematic actions for e.g. tree planning, waste collection or charity activities. About 600 students, volunteers, parents and city residents participated in the actions. An eco-festival on sustainable development or eco-tourism is held annually in order to support an action group and engage locals. Since 2010, the festival attracted over 1000 participants.

Navapolatsk’s initiative gained international attention through continuous involvement of local and national journalists, close cooperation with European partners and support of the Ministerial press-center.

Between 2002 and 2011, over 20 projects have been carried out and the results of each implemented project is taken into account when developing new ones.

Contact: Alexander Levchenko, alexanderL@unops.org

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GOVERNANCE CASE STUDY 36: SECURING ACCESS TO WATER THROUGH INSITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE (UNJP) Project Title: Securing Access to Water Through Institutional Development and Infrastructure (UNJP) Country: Bosnia & Herzegovina Costs: USD 4,95 Mill.

Duration: 2009 - 2012 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Utilities, Community Action Groups, UNDP, UNICEF

Entry Points: • Community Empowerment • Empowerment of local Vulnerable Communities • Water Management • Local Governance • Capacity development

Project Description: The joint-project between UNDP and UNICEF aims at strengthening the inclusion of citizens in the participative municipal governance of water access, at improving economic governance in water utilities and at strengthening the local governments’ capacities while improving water infrastructure. Permanent community action groups (including vulnerable groups, women and children) were established and involved in water supply and social protection needs mapping and the definition of priorities and possible solutions. The project also assisted the supply side through supporting water utilities to improve financial management practices and fee collection capacities.

Local community councils were engaged in water quality testing, collecting data which will be stored among other in a DevInfo-database, providing a cross-section of the social situation within the municipality. This database will then be used for municipal budget planning and for developing legislation to address the needs of socially vulnerable groups. Municipal administrations were trained on a humanrights based approach and municipal action plans for the improvement of access to quality water supply and as a basis to access funding more easily, have been established. In total, the project reached 1187 people as direct and 15,000 as indirect beneficiaries and trained 185 local officials.

Lessons Learned: Fundamental reform of the water sector legislature is required at national and local level. National reforms should address legal and institutional aspects of water utilities, which are oftentimes problematic at the local level.

Links: Programme Overview: http://www.mdgfund.org/program/ securingaccesswaterthroughinstitutionaldevelopmentandinfrastructure Project Evaluation: http://erc.undp.org/evaluationadmin/manageevaluation/viewevaluationdetail.html?evalid=4758 Contact: Igor Palandžić, igor.palandzic@undp.org

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CASE STUDY 37: CAPACITY BUILDING AND REGULATION OF WATER AND ELECTRICITY SECTOR Project Title: Capacity Building and regulation of Water and Electricity sector Economic Governance, Regulatory Reform and Pro-Poor Development Country: Albania Costs: USD 2,100,000.Duration: 2010 - 2012 Stakeholder: National government, Utilities

Entry Points: • Community Empowerment • Empowerment of local Vulnerable Communities • Water Management • Local Governance • Capacity Development

Project Description: The programme aims to build the capacities of state institutions responsible for policy making and regulation of the water and electricity public utilities to monitor the quality of services delivered to customers. UNDP designed and implemented a model service contract, which has been introduced by all water utilities, outlining the duties and responsibilities of utilities and consumers. Its execution is still in an early phase and widely promoted by all players. Through a webbased consumer complaints management system (e.g. website featuring consumer rights with option to post complaints) state and non-governmental consumer protection bodies are strengthened, so that consumers have a stronger voice in promoting and protecting their rights. Two main studies on “customer services of the water utilities in Albania” and on “Citizens’ perception on service provided in the water and sewerage sector” were compiled to provide important benchmarking in the measurement of water governance indicators. Another study on access to water in the informal settlements and rural areas of Albania is on the way, documenting the challenges and the constraints utilities and local governments face in terms of addressing the access to water and sanitation problems in the informal settlements. The outcomes of this study are not yet available.

Lessons Learned: A high-level body reporting to the central government and coordinating all national strategies – including sectoral strategies – and external aid is a very effective government mechanism to maximize national/country ownership of programmes and projects. It is particularly effective when line ministries are fully engaged into this process and donors coordinate their support through this mechanism.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.mdgfund.org/program/ economicgovernanceregulatoryreformpublicparticipationandpropoordevelopmentalbania Contact: Hachemi Bahloul, JP, hachemi.bahloul@undp.org,

Eno Ngjela, eno.ngjela@undp.org

CASE STUDY 38: MITIGATING CORRUPTION IN WATER GOVERNANCE THROUGH PARTICIPATORY PUBLIC FINANCE Project Title: Mitigating Corruption in Water Governance through Participatory Public Finance Country: Philippines Costs: USD 95,000 Duration: 2012-2013 Stakeholder: Citizens / Civil Society Organisations, National and Local Government, Water Service Providers, Water Users

Entry Points: • Community Empowerment • Participatory Public Finance • Local Water Governance • Capacity development

Project Description: UNDP Philippines together with PACDE has been supporting the Water Integrity project in the municipality of Sibagat, a poor remote town in the southernmost part of the Philippine archipelago. The project attempts to mitigate corruption in water governance using participatory public finance - a framework which recognises the responsibility of citizens to engage and monitor financial processes, so that they themselves are able to hold government officials accountable to the

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public interest. In 2012, The project developed a citizen’s handbook which was used to organise and train “Integrity-Watch for Water Anti-Corruption Groups” (IWAGs), which monitored the public finance cycles specific to their local water projects. In 2013, the capacities of the IWAGs were strengthened further, broadening their knowledge of public finance, and broaden their networks with neighbouring civil society organisations. The guidebook was also integrated into a Local Water Governance Toolbox, which was rolled out to 11 regional hubs across the country. This allows other local government units to replicate the IWAGs nationwide, scaling up and sustaining the activity beyond the project completion date. Finally, the project has built strong local constituencies to push their local governments to ensure that water is prioritised in the budget process, and advocate for local ordinances which strengthen water governance.

Lessons Learned: Participatory Public Finance can be used as a general framework to train citizens to monitor and advocate for the effective delivery of public services other than water. Water is no longer viewed merely as a utility or a construction concern, rather as a multi-dimensional governance concern – from a Universal Right to….to an Integrity issue ….and finally as a Catalyst for Change Links: Project Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAEYgm8inLU&feature=youtu.be Contact: Emmanuel Buendia, emmanuel.buendia@undp.org

CASE STUDY 39: REINFORCEMENT OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY (LOD III) Project Title: Reinforcement of Local Democracy III (LOD III) Country: Bosnia & Herzegovina Costs: USD 2,066,600.Duration: 2012 - 2014 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Association of Municipalities and Cities, CSOs

Entry Points: Local Governance Decentralization Service Delivery Empowerment of Vulnerable Communities • Capacity development • Citizen participation • • • •

Project Description: The overall objective of the LOD III project is to contribute to democratic stabilization, conciliation, and further development through support to selected municipalities in establishing improved local self-governance unit/civil society relations and facilitating financing mechanisms for improved service delivery. Specific objectives include facilitating permanent partnerships between CSOs and local self-governance units, generating unified and transparent mechanisms for disbursing municipal funds foreseen for CSO project-based activities in accordance with local service needs and identified priorities and encouraging CSOs to specialize their activities and become more responsive to local needs and less dependent on current donor priorities. As a result of the interventions under LOD, the municipalities will co-finance all selected CSO projects with at least 10% of the budget and commit to continue financing CSOs with a separate budget line. 10 local self governance units will use transparent mechanisms for the disbursement of funds foreseen for CSO projects. At least one successful and transparent municipal call for CSO proposals will be executed in accordance with the projects mechanisms for funds disbursement. Mechanism for monitoring and evaluation of project activities and results implemented by CSOs will be institutionalized and local stakeholders are aware of the necessity to strengthen their capacities.

Links: Project Announcement: http://www.undp.ba/index.aspx?PID=7&RID=782 Contact: Klelija.Balta@undp.org, klelija.balta@undp.org

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CASE STUDY 40: RESILIENT LOCAL PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT Project Title: Resilient Local Planning for Sustainable Local Development Stakeholder: National government, Local Authorities, City Planners, Architects

Entry Points: • Xxxx

Project Description: The scope and speed of environmental and settlement changes taking place demands that policymakers and planners define compelling visions and integrated design measures for shaping resilient communities, in which they can develop the physical and institutional capacity for constant change. Including almost all areas, from energy to transportation, water and green infrastructure, all stakeholders are requested to shape these systems to reduce the ecological footprint, configure resilient communities and adapt them to the impacts of climate change. A resilient planning requires to expand traditional strategies and to include principles of sustainable design for resource efficiency, green procurement and green infrastructure, solar design etc.

Measures for resilient cities are e.g. urban ventilation systems by creating micro-climates through wellplaced parks, water bodies and streets. Those elements can mitigate the urban heat island effect and therefore increase passive cooling, which reduces energy consumption, and allows fresh air distribution. Thanh Hoa City in Vietnam uses these strategies by constructing linear parks along canals serving as fresh air corridors through the city grid.

Also solar design is an effective strategy to increase living comfort and reduce energy consumption, as urban buildings are aligned in a way that they are illuminated by direct sunlight during winter months and some shadow during most of the summer days. This affects the human thermal sensation at street level and therefore energy consumption.

Other components of resilient urban design are maximization of green infrastructure with planted courtyards, water bodies, green corridors, gardens or living walls, the maximization of urban surface reflectivity, sky visibility and green energy of course.

In several countries, projects for climate change adaptation are already in place. In Armenia, 55 hectares of juniper and oak forests are restored in order to preserve the forest’s complex ecosystem and its long term resilience to climate aridification. Local community members were involved in the implementation of this project to raise awareness and understand the anthropogenic impacts on the forest.

In Albania, 5000 square meters of degraded sand dunes along a river were rehabilitated. The area is critical for buffering the vulnerable coast from sea surges and potentially rising sea levels. But also the cultivation of more less water-intensive fruits and vegetable crops, at the expense of cotton and other less sustainable agricultural activities, is contributing to resilient local planning. Local authorities developed adaptation plans based on which the priority risks and adaptation actions were identified.

The project also showed that a close cooperation with local governments and local-level stakeholders already in an early stage is the key to success in the development and implementation of climate change adaptation plans.

Several organizations are developing new methods and tools to assist in adaptation planning and resilience building. Those methodologies assess of how well climate risks to development are managed by institutions, how successful adaptation interventions are in reducing vulnerability and keeping development ‘on track’ in the face of changing climate risks.

Links: On urban resilience planning: http://resilient-cities.iclei.org/bonn2011/ resilience-resource-point/resilience-library/urban-resilience-planning/ Raven, J. (2011). Cooling the Public Realm: Climate-Resilient Urban Design. Shaping Resilient Cities for the 21st Century by Adapting Urban Design to Climate Change. Available online at https://www.usgbc. org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=10763

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On urban adaptation strategies: http://resilient-cities.iclei.org/bonn2011/resilience-resource-point/ resilience-library/examples-of-urban-adaptation-strategies/ Methodologies and tools: http://resilient-cities.iclei.org/bonn2011/resilience-resource-point/ resilience-library/methodologies-and-tools/

CASE STUDY 41: STRENGTHENING LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNANCE IN KVEMO KARTLI REGION Project Title: Strengthening Local and Regional Governance in the Kvemo Kartli Region Country: Georgia Costs: USD 1.42 Mill.; Duration: 2007 - 2010 Stakeholder: National government, Local Authorities

Entry Points: • Local Governance • •Capacity Development • Empowerment of Vulnerable Communities • Service-delivery

Project Description: The project aimed to strengthen the local and regional governance structures in Kvemo Kartli region through a combination of capacity development tools and decentralization reform. The project has adapted the UNDP capacity assessment methodology to the Georgia context and organized the institutional baseline assessment that revealed major gaps within in the areas of strategic planning, budgeting, implementation, communication and coordination. In response to the assessment results, UNDP designed the comprehensive capacity development methodology.

Most importantly, the capacity development methodology combined theoretical, as well as practical exercises, for instance, strategic planning was enhanced during a practical Municipal Development Planning exercise. As a result, all 7 municipalities of the region have produced their first ever municipal development plans in a participatory manner. Implementation of the Municipal Development Plans was supported by extending small grants to 6 municipalities to carry out a priority action from the plan (project management and implementation capacities). As a result of the comprehensive approach of the project, the local planning and service-delivery, including for the prevailing minority population, has considerable improved.

Lessons Learned: Capacity development is a long term exercise, but not particularly costly. Capacity assessment is met by uncertainty initially by local authorities, but a regular communication and their personal involvement into the design helped to overcome this. Combining the theoretical and practical methods of capacity development was the most effective.

Knowledge Products: Institutional baseline assessment study (capacity assessment): http://undp.org.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=24&info_id=422 Links: Project overview: http://www.impactalliance.org/ev_en.php?ID=49276_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC, http://www.undp.org.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=40&pr_id=45 Contact: Natia Natsvlishvili, natia.natsvlishvili@undp.org

CASE STUDY 42: INTER MUNICIPAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME Project Title: Inter Municipal Cooperation Programme Country: Macedonia Costs: USD 1,3 Mio. Duration: 2006 - 2010 Stakeholder: National Government, Ministry of Local-self Government and Other Ministries, Association of local self-government units (ZELS), Civil Servant Agency, Local Authorities

Entry Points: • Inter-municipal Cooperation • Service Delivery • Business Development • Capacity Development • Local Governance

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Project Description: The project supported strengthening the inter-municipal set-up of 22 partnerships involving 48 municipalities in total with the aim to improve delivery of local services to local citizens. In particular, the inter-municipal cooperation was fostered in the areas of tax collection, urban planning, financial management, social protection, inspections, environment and local development.

Smaller municipalities are now able to provide better services particularly to vulnerable groups and 920 representatives of local authorities and municipal administration were trained on IMC. Furthermore, basic trainings informed local authorities on energy efficiency matters, which resulted in functional analysis of the energy management on local level, the establishment of the legal requirements regarding EE in public buildings and a joint action plan. At the end of the second project year, 74% of the municipalities still participated in IMC activities, which shows the sustainability of this approach.

Lessons Learned: Resistance at the local authorities towards the establishment of IMC was overcome by very intense presence on the field, strong awareness raising, increased quality of public services and capacity building activities developed in order the concept of IMC and its benefits to be internalized and accepted. Lack of enabling IMC legal environment was overcome through support of central government institutions in policy dialog and upgrading of legislation as precondition for successful implementation of inter-municipal cooperation on national scale. Implementation of the grants schemes was based on substantial needs analysis and participatory approach by involving relevant stakeholders.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.undp.org.mk/content/Projects/13%20IMC.pdf; http://europeandcis.undp.org/environment/kyrgyzstan/show/69B5B6C2-F203-1EE9-B0A904160813AAC2; http://www.undp.org.mk/content/projects/IMC%204%20Project%20Doc%20brief.pdf Contact: Mihaela Stojkoska, mihaela.stojkoska@undp.org;

CASE STUDY 43: Joint Integrated Local Development Programme Project Title: Decentralization, Human rights and Gender - Joint Integrated Local Dev. Programme (UNJP) Country: Moldova Costs: USD 14,685,431 Duration: 2009 - 2015 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, UNDP, UN Women

Entry Points: Local Governance Decentralization Service Delivery Empowerment of Communities • Capacity development • Citizen participation • • • •

Project Description: The JILDP was designed to improve the policy framework, as well as to support administrative systems and procedures focused on efficient transfer of competencies to Local Public Administrations (LPAs) and the decentralization and promotion of LPAs’ role in decision-making.

The newly approved National Decentralization Strategy is owned and accepted by all the key stakeholders in central government, local governments and civil society. The nationwide consultation process for the Strategy involved over 2400 participants. A new intergovernmental fiscal relations system will be implemented as of 2014, while sectoral decentralization roadmaps in education, social services, property, health and communal services are being elaborated and implemented.

Over 9,000 members of local authorities were trained on local public administration, rights based and gender responsive planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development initiatives.

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70 communities initiated community initiatives to address improved social and education services, access to community centers, public illumination, transportation, and water for more than 150.000 persons. Through community meetings, rural communities and CSOs got empowered to actively participate in local development planning, implementation and monitoring and have better access to improved service delivery and community infrastructure.

The inter-municipal cooperation mechanism has been developed and piloted in 7 communities of Moldova, thus laying the ground for further joint service delivery and informing the territorial-administrative consolidation of the country. A large, active and dynamic national association of LPAs, the Congress of Local Public Authorities (CALM) is emerging and playing an increasingly important role in pushing the decentralization process forward. Also, for the first time in Moldova, a Network of Women Mayors was created under CALM’s aegis.

Lessons Learned: Constant efforts and increased resources should be directed to the institutional capacity building for decentralization. Mainstreaming gender and human rights in the decentralization process is critical to reach the main goal of the decentralization reform of equal access to quality public services.. Consolidated efforts with central authorities and development partners to promote and build IMC capacity are necessary. Community empowerment should be treated as a key element for local development initiatives along with local governance and services.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.undp.md/projects/JILDP.shtml, http://mptf.undp.org/factsheet/ fund/JMD00 Contact: Mihail Roscovan, mihail.roscovan@undp.org,

Valeria Ieseanu, valeria.ieseanu@undp.org

CASE STUDY 45: ENHANCE GENDER EQUALITY Project Title: Enhance Gender Equality (UNJP) Country: Georgia Costs: USD 5 Mill.

Duration: 2008 - 2014 Stakeholder: National Government, Local Authorities, Women’s NGOs, UNDP, UNWomen, UNFPA

Entry Points: • Community Empowerment • Gender • Local Governance • Capacity Development

Project Description: The overall goal of the programme is to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through strengthening capacities in the national and local government, civil society and communities. UNDP partners with UNWomen and UNFPA to join forces and collectively promote gender equality. The UNJP is managed using pass-through modality, with UNDP serving as administrative agent. The agencies have their distinct priorities to address in the framework of the UNJP, based upon their experience, i.e. UNDP works on political and economic empowerment, UNWomen –on demostic violence and UNFPA –on SRHR. Each agency has a PIU, and the UNDP recruited manager of its component serves with a coordination function. The PIUs sit in the joint premise and hence share information regularly. The use of joint premise is goverened by a simple Memorandum of Understanding, which spells out obligations of each agency. Before launching activities, the agencies have made a decision to design a common programme logo and other visibiltiy materials and use the common logo in ALL programme supported events. This has resolved the visibility risks.

Links: Project Overview: http://mptf.undp.org/factsheet/fund/JGE00 Contact: Natia Natsvlishvili, natia.natsvlishvili@undp.org

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CASE STUDY 46: COMMUNITIES PROGRAMME Project Title: Communities Programme Country: Tajikistan Costs: USD 6,357,915.Duration: 2011-2015 Stakeholder: National Government, Governmental Agencies, Regional/District Government, NGOs, Private Sector, Agricultural Sector

• • • • •

Entry Points: Capacity Building Local Planning Local Governance •Infrastructure Microfinance tools

Project Description: The Communities Programme (CP) is the largest and the most complex programme of UNDP in Tajikistan. The CP was launched in 2003 and is based on initiatives of UNDP implemented since 1996. CP operates through its 5 Area Offices. To date, CP has covered 46 districts of the country and over 3,000,000 people.

The programme provides a wide range of services to its beneficiaries. These include comprehensive capacity building packages such as knowledge, skills and tools, including infrastructure and microfinance for local economic development. During the first phase (2004 – 2006) of the programme, the development context in the country required addressing the immediate needs of the target beneficiaries and is often referred to as the humanitarian phase.

During the 2nd phase the interventions of CP included sustainability elements to ensure required set of skills and knowledge as well as institutions are in place for lasting results. This phase (2007-2009) is often referred to as the development phase.

The third phase of CP was launched in 2010 and will last until the end of 2015. This timing is aligned with MDGs and also the UNDP Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) for 2010-2015.

The evolution is a clear demonstration of the scale-up capacities and opportunities used by this programme.

Most importantly, in this phase, CP is applying programmatic, rather than project approach to development. Programmatic approach taken forward by the programme is based on the following principles: - t he new initiatives are built on past achievements and extensively use connections, networks, mechanisms and structures put in place by the programme as result of past initiatives.

- t he new initiatives of CP ensure strong linkages with existing programmes and initiatives.

The CP has proposed a novel method of programme implementation drawing upon its capacities established at the field offices level. In particular, the CP provides the local level implementation support to any other programme, that operates at the national level and does not have the local level resources.

In practice, the cooperation may take formal, or informal nature. In the more formal examples, the MOU is being signed between the 2 programmes, certified at the CO level with the respective programme analysts and the senior manager of the office. The MoU spells out the concrete services, that is to be provided by the CP to other programme and the budget for the services. Upon signing the MOU, the CP receives the COA for the services that it provides. If the CP needs to add up a staff for fulfilling the additional function, the costs of the extra personnel is budgeted and being covered from the provided account. After the signature of the MoU, the staff of the CP is being responsible to carry out the activities, including procurement, recruitment, etc. Monitoring of the field level actions is also undertaken regularly by the CP. The partner programme also does the monitoring actions, but in much less scope. When CP is undertaken expenditure on behalf of the partner programme, the programme analyst of the respective programme is responsible for certifying it at the CO level.

On return, the CP is also entitled to receive services from the national level programmes in the same

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fashion, i.e. resort to the technical or advocacy experience of national programmes.

Such programmatic approach has brought numerous benefits such as (a) implementation of local activities with limited delays and lower overhead costs [cost effectiveness]; (b) minimized duplication and maximized coordination within UNDP [efficiency]. By distributing the work based on their comparative advantages, the programmes were able to remain strategically focused. The operational efficiency has also been enhanced, such as two programmes joining resources to hire one staff member (i.e. engineer) to serve to the both programmes and ensure synergies. It is estimated, that the enhanced synergies and cooperation has resulted in decrease of operational expenditures by about 35 % on an expense of reduced travel, monitoring and staff costs.

Finally, to record and illustrate its practices, the CP has developed the SOPs of cooperation among programmes that is expected to further promote this practice.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.undp.tj/site/index.php/en/our-programme/poverty-reduction Contact: Gulbahor Nematova, gulbahor.nematova@undp.org

CASE STUDY 47: TRANSPARENT TOWN Project Title: Transparent Town Country: Slovak Republic Costs: EUR 23,000.Duration: 2008 - ongoing Stakeholder: Local Authorities, NGO, US Embassy in Slovakia

Entry Points: • Transparency & Anti-corruption • IT-services • Community Empowerment • Citizen Participation • Government Finances

Project Description: The ‘Transparent Town’ Project of the city of Martin, Slovak Republic, was launched in 2008 to increase transparency of the town council, enhance citizen engagement in governance, and reduce corruption in its activities.

In collaboration with the NGO “Transparency International Slovakia” the municipality identified 17 key policies that might have an effect on the extent of corruption in the town. In the second phase, individual anticorruption measures were defined and the “Digital Town”-project, aiming at introducing the e-Government concept and bringing free internet to citizens, full digitalization of the Town Council meetings and gradual introduction of intelligent electronic application forms. Furthermore, an Ethical Code for all employees of the Town Hall defines the rules for an impartial execution of work.

The town council launched a website for citizens to monitor their municipality and take on the role of watchdogs 24/7. The site includes: • Electronic auctions (used for procuring goods and services) • Electronic market research • Electronic bidding • Map of electronic auctions • Mayor’s diary • Details about the city budget and assets (including all contracts and invoices) • City grants, policy and information on recruitment of officials.

The introduction of electronic auctions alone led to savings of 21 percent of the city’s budget.

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Simple ways for citizens to interact including electronic opinion polls and online notes or requests from citizens provided an opportunity for the city to learn about citizen opinions and take them into consideration during city planning.

Lessons Learned: Finding a partner with experience and professional expertise on corruption was essential. Also, members of the Town Council have to fully support the implementation of the transparency measures and allocate budget to the project. Some of the proposed measures met with obstacles from the legislature point of view though, e.g. in the disclosure of personal data of employees and elected officials.

Links: www.martin.sk, www.transparentnemesto.sk, http://www.transparenttown.eu/, www.martin.ebit.sk Contact: transparenttown@martin.sk

CASE STUDY 48: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE – DECENTRALIZATION AND PARTNERSHIP Project Title: Local governance support: participation and partnership (LGSP) Country: Uzbekistan Costs: USD 2,140,000 Duration: 2010 - 2013 Stakeholder: Cabinet of Ministers, Djizak and Namangan regional authorities

• • • • •

Entry Points: Decentralization E-governance Access to information Capacity development Public-private partnership

Project Description: The LGSP was approved according to the Resolution No. 40 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan on March 09, 2010. The National Implementing Partner of the Project is the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan. The project activities are carried out in Djizak and Namangan regions of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with the respective regional khokimiyats (local authorities in Uzbekistan). The Project aims at assisting the Government in reforming the local governance by improving the performance of khokimiyats, strengthening their capacity and optimizing the fulfillment of functions by local government institutions. Supporting effective cooperation and partnership among the local government authorities, civil society organizations and the private sector is a key priority to achieve sustainable regional development.

The project is undertaking its activities at two levels of government: central (Cabinet of Ministers) and local (two pilot regions). At the central level (national decision-making level) the project is engaged in providing assistance in modernizing the public administration system by undertaking a number of analytical research on decentralization issues and analyzing institutional and legal basis (including functional review) to improve the cooperation between local executive and representative bodies.

In particular, more than 20 analytical papers were prepared on various thematic areas such as: local governance reform, fiscal decentralization, regional development strategic planning, cooperation of governmental organizations with NGOs and private sector in the pilot regions, the concept note on One-Stop-Shop for delivering public services, access of citizens to information about performance of government agencies, local public services delivery etc.

Project is also piloting a number of initiatives at the local level (the regional and district decisionmaking levels), including the following: To facilitate citizens’ access to public information, LGSP has managed to receive the additional funding from DGTTF to establish 6 Local Government Information Centers (LGIC) of regional, city and district khokimiyats. This pilot model was presented to other 5 regions of Uzbekistan. Also more than 300 civil servants of local authorities received electronic digital signatures and on-the-job training to handle

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internal document flow through “E-Hujjat”, the electronic document management system. The official websites www.jizzax.uz and www.namangan.uz of regional khokimiyats were updated to be userfriendly and client-oriented providing more diverse information to various target groups. In order to demonstrate modern approach on municipal management pertaining to local public services delivery, Project organized trainings for more than 200 civil servants to strengthen their individual functional capacity. 2 One-Stop-Shops (OSS) on public services were established in Djizak and Namangan cities to deliver services to local population more effectively and timely on a “single window” basis.

Their interactive and information services will shortly be available online at www.biroyna.uz. The systemic capacity development of middle and junior ranking civil servants will be supported through distance education system which to be developed in close partnership with the Academy of Public Administration of Uzbekistan. The development of community-based tourism through marketing and online branding (http://www.facebook.com/Zaamin.uz?ref=stream, http://twitter.com/Zaamin_Brand, http://www.slideshare.net/zaamin) of Zaamin district in Djizak region and diversification of touristic services (www.zaamin.uz) available therein has created an innovative model to develop agrarian regions through improvement of tourist services in other regions of Uzbekistan. This model was presented to Navoiy and Samarkand regions.

Piloting in two regions allowed testing innovative ideas, further analyzing lessons learned and receiving recommendations for nationwide replication and implementation. Some of these concepts, especially, on OSS, LGIC, and tourism development were shared with the Academy of Public Administration of Uzbekistan, UNICEF, GIZ, other UNDP projects and partners.

In September 2011 the Prime Minister approved the establishment of the Inter-Agency Coordination Working Group with involvement of top government officials to coordinate, monitor and control the efficient implementation of the project. All analytical and practical project recommendations are discussed at regular meetings of the Inter-Agency Coordination Working Group before sending them out to Government agencies for consideration and follow-up.

Lessons learned: A good networking with regional beneficiaries to discuss the pending issues and quickly resolve the organizational matters was essential. To this end, 8 working groups created according to the decision of regional khokim (mayor) met several times to discuss the progress on project implementation and make proposals to key decision makers. A clear communication of results to public through online publication of analytical reports and targeted dissemination thereof was a key to building long-term partnerships with different stakeholders. Providing evidence-based policy advice to the central Government through Inter-Agency Coordinating Working Group has led to follow-up measures by ministries and agencies to support pilot initiatives in regions.

Links: Project Overview: http://www.undp.uz/en/projects/project.php?id=161, http://www.lgsp.uz Contact: Aziza Umarova, aziza.umarova@undp.org,

Dilshod Isroilov, dilshod.isroilov@undp.org,

Azizkhon Bakhadirov, azizkhon.bakhadirov@undp.org

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2. COMMUNICATING OUR WORK: BLOG POSTS ON SUSTAINABLE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT 2. Communicating our Work: Blog Posts on Sustainable Local Development

“I am Yerjanik and trust me I’m happy…”

UNDP Armenia started to interview their clients and to let them have their say on UNDP’s work.

“After the independence of Armenia the war, blockade, earthquake and pervasive unemployment made impossible to survive, and like many other migrant workers I left our village to support my parents and family.

A few years I spent in Russia. One day when I was talking to my family they told me that new programs were being implemented in the village and it gave me a hope for new perspectives. Immediately I made ​​a decision, bought a ticket and got back to Armenia, to my homeland.

I have established a greenhouse with the support of UNDP and started to grow tomatoes and cucumber. In the first year there were days when I spent days and nights in the greenhouse regulating the temperature like one would take care of a child. Drip irrigation, new seedlings, experiments, experiments…

UNDP has been consistent with its support and lent a helping hand again. With the support of Aid for Trade Project funded by the Government of Finland I underwent trainings on Agro-marketing delivered by the best specialists in the country. I learned various greenhouse crop production technologies and fundamental principles of marketing that enriched my knowledge acquired from my own experience. My newly acquired knowledge and skills allowed me to scientifically organize my business as well as to make it useful for many people in our village through providing consultancy to those who have greenhouses. Furthermore, my broad social network helps them to obtain seedlings, plantlets and fertilizers. Currently more than 40 greenhouses in Lusadzor and neighboring communities make use of my consultancy.

My family is not socially vulnerable anymore and I am a recognized greenhouse cultivation specialist in Tavush region. I am Yerjanik (In Armenian my name means happy) and trust me I’m happy...

I am grateful to the UNDP for the opportunity to get back to my family, to become and feel selfsufficient and reliant on my own hard work.”

Yerjanik Ayvazyan

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Development through partnership: Biodiversity and Business

By Sevara Sharapova, UNDP in Uzbekistan When I followed the International Development Studies program at Ohio University I became interested in how the private sector can contribute to development in local communities.

I learned that working together is the most efficient way of achieving development goals. After graduation I got my dream job – I do public relations for a UNDP-Global Environment Facility (GEF) project that helps to include biodiversity in the policies and and activities of Uzbekistan’s oil and gas sector.

One of my tasks is to get the representatives of the oil and gas industry involved in biodiversity conservation activities.

It is known that drilling for oil and gas can have a negative impact on biodiversity.

“It is quite possible that some workers of the oil and gas companies operating on the Ustyurt Plateau simply do not know that open ditches for gas pipeline create a barrier for saiga migration,” said Liliya Zakirova from the Uzbek Research and Design Institute.

“Maybe they do not know that Saiga antelopes cannot jump over them. I think if they were aware of this they would avoid doing that, they would take measures to arrange crossings over the ditches, to fill them in time, to choose the time different from the time of saiga migration to perform works. It is therefore important to inform the employees at all levels about the habitats, migration routes and the habits of this rare antelope.”

On the other hand, the oil and gas industry can play a leading role in Uzbekistan’s development. How can we combine our economic, social and environmental goals?

The answer is to make sure that the principles of biodiversity conservation are included in Uzbekistan’s oil and gas policies and operations.

One of our project activities is a campaign to raise awareness of people working for oil and gas companies about the importance of responsible behaviour and policies when it comes to biodiversity. Our campaign consisted of: • An essay competition (in Russian) • A photography competition • A screenplay competition • A quiz (in Russian) At the beginning of our campaign, many people thought that the business community might not support the idea. Some told me that it was not realistic to get such serious industries on board; some were even more pessimistic – they told me that the oil and gas industry representatives would ignore our ideas.

They all turned out to be wrong. On the contrary, business people not only liked the idea, but found it to be very relevant.

“When I was a student, I was taught how to drill but not to protect the environment,” said Erkin Mamadjanov from Gazprom Zarubezhneftegaz, one of the leading Russian gas companies.

“It does not mean that there were no courses on environmental protection at all. There was one short

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course on the basics, which I had to take, but in general the issue was not a priority in the curriculum.

As a result, I needed to catch up with my studies on environmental protection when I started my work on the ground. I think it is important for students to learn about biodiversity.�

As the result of our campaign we were able to get the support of several companies. The journal of National Holding Company Uzbekneftegaz, the Uzbek journal of oil and gas, which is distributed among oil and gas organizations in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia, is going to publish several of the prize-winning essays on biodiversity this year. The PETRONAS Carigali (Urga) Operating Company recruited one of the prize-winners, Ikboljon Mamatrakhimov, for an internship.

The experience has been very enlightening for me. It has taught me that if we want to make a difference, we should not make assumptions (that might be wrong), but take action.

I learned that if we want the business community to accept responsibility for biodiversity conservation in the areas where they operate, we should make them aware of the issue. At the same time, we should find other ways (for example, through strict environmental regulations) to convince them that responsible behaviour towards biodiversity should be the norm.

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Some talk, we do – a fun way to go green

By Komila Rakhimova, UNDP in Uzbekistan A few months ago, instead of driving our cars, we started cycling to work together with a colleague.

This has created a buzz of emotions among colleagues –admiration, humour, and concerns - as well as numerous questions on safety, time, interest and even pitty for the car in the garage.

Each of us had various reasons to choose cycling over driving. Initially sustainable development and environmental concerns were not the chief motivator, but the more we thought about the benefits of this initiative, the more obvious they became.

There are several routes that we can take to work though we prefer the longer one, about 10 km one way, that runs through a city park with bright green lawns and cool air. The other cool part is a straight downhill road where we manage to speed to over 55km p/h. Fresh morning breeze, a squirrel on a tree, rainbows in small fountains – these are the new experiences that add to our good relaxed mood.

Since we start quite early we can choose to pause at an ice-cream shop for vanilla cornetto. Now compare that to morning fever of driving in hectic traffic, breathing car exhausts, being apprehensive about breaking a road rules followed by unpleasant conversation with policemen, disappointment at malfunctioning streetlights, topped up by vain attempts to find a parking space near the office.

Positive environmental impact adds up to nice figures too. My colleague’s annual mileage on car ran to 15.000 km, equaling to 2.000 USD spent on fuel and 1.000 USD on maintenance. His car’s CO2 emissions were 5.21 metric tons per year, which is comparable to 13 years of non-stop usage of one 100W bulb! I drive less and own a small car, so I spent roughly 450 USD annually on fuel and about 200 USD on maintenance, exhausting 1 metric ton of CO2 per year. This is comparable to 6 years non-stop work of a midsize fridge! Now our commute emission equals zero and the realization that we are adding to a safer and greener future is quite pleasing.

Obviously there were concerns when we discussed launching on this new experience. Friends and relatives were worried about safety. But cycling is not more dangerous than driving a car or being a pedestrian. It takes knowing road rules, being attentive on the road, and observing basic security measures. Other obstacles include pedestrians, drivers and other cyclists who break road rules. Also, occasionally, driving on a straight side road, we come across a ditch or steps. This means we need to get down and carry the bicycles in our hands. The local bicycle spare parts and accessories market is quite limited too, so we order mostly from abroad. Thus there is much yet to be done to make the city safe and friendly towards cyclists and to raise general awareness about road rules.

Overall, despite a few challenges, the experience has been great so far. We encourage everyone to start doing what we preach and join the “green” cycling world.

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This city is what it is because its citizens are what they are

By Olena Ursu, UNDP in Ukraine A staggering 54 percent of Ukrainians are mostly, or partially, dissatisfied with the services delivered by the state or local authorities (Source: UNDP-supported manual, pdf, Ukrainian).

Therefore earlier this year, the Government of Ukraine committed to reforms in the area of good governance, access to information, anticorruption and e-governance by approving an action plan to implement the Open Government Partnership initiative.

But local governments, which have always been at the forefront of communication with citizens, demonstrated an interest in becoming citizen-oriented much earlier.

Our project launched partnership with Voznesensk municipality (population: 37,000) in 2006, and supported its efforts with community-based development: 25 joint projects with a budget of approximately $290,000 helped benefit 17,800 citizens (48 percent of the total population of the city), and built trust between the community and their local government. At the same time, citizens became more demanding about the quality of administrative services.

In response, the municipality, with support from UNDP, implemented a number of projects: It was among the first 10 cities (out of 454 in Ukraine) which introduced the quality management system for municipal services in accordance with ISO 9001:2001 (and later upgraded it to the 2008 version). As part of this initiative, technological and information cards were developed for 91 administrative services provided by the city council; the Code of Conduct, Municipal Policy on Quality were developed and approved; and the staff was trained on the quality of service delivery to citizens.

After three years of quality management systems/ISO, the municipality realized that many procedures related to providing administrative services could be improved by going digital. The municipality computerized its administrative processes, and created data processing systems to support interaction between service providers and citizens and businesses.

The municipality quickly followed up with an initiative to provide the maximum number of services to citizens according to the one-stop-shop principle. In Ukraine, there are great examples to follow, as in the case of a one stop shop centre in Ivano-Frankivsk municipality. It allows citizens to check online what kind of documents they need to prepare to get the service they want, as well as to check the status of their application.

Given that 27 percent of Ukrainians (10.2 million) have Internet access (according to a 2009 study by GFK), such projects have the potential for wider involvement of local communities in decision making, and they will surely advise the authorities how they can improve further.

As Plato said, “This City is what it is because its citizens are what they are.�

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What do you need to start building a city?

By Bakhtiyor Ergashev, UNDP in Uzbekistan What does a modern city mean to you? To me, as a resident of Tashkent, the largest city in Central Asia, it means, above all, access to hot and cold running water, a sewage system, a continuous gas supply, electricity, heat in the winter—in other words, a feeling of comfort.

The urban population in Uzbekistan is steadily growing. As of 1 July, 2011, 14.65 million people, or 51.4 percent of the population, were living in cities and urban-type settlements. Uzbekistan’s population in 2025 is projected at 33.4 million. At the current growth rate, the urban population in 2025 will be 17.17 million. (Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs) How can cities cope with this kind of demographic pressure? (See: Improving Municipal Governance and Urban Infrastructure in Uzbekistan) After all, the condition of urban infrastructure is a reflection of quality of life. And let’s not forget that another dimension of the development of urban infrastructure is to provide opportunities for business to grow through innovation.

Only if cities are able to provide access for businesses to continuous light, gas, water and sewage disposal will cities become points of growth for industry and innovation.

What enterprise can function – or thrive – if there are regular power outages, gas-supply interruptions, or no access to water? (See: Welfare and Urbanization in Uzbekistan) Under such conditions, is there any hope for the development not only of cities, but of the economy as a whole?

From this standpoint, urban infrastructure is of paramount and pressing importance. For example, in order for Uzbekistan to cope with the increased pressure on urban infrastructure, by 2025 it will be necessary to: Build up the supply of drinking water in cities to 1.2 billion cubic metres per year Replace 3,700 kilometres of water pipes and 1,700 kilometres of sewer pipes, and half of urban underground gas lines Increase the capacity of the electricity supply by 23 to 25 percent, the gas supply by 10 to 12 percent, and urban waste disposal by threefold.

It goes without saying that a major factor is wear and tear to infrastructure built back in the Soviet era.

More than 50 percent of underground gas lines operate beyond their standard service life. It is estimated that 500 million cubic metres of gas are lost, 60 percent of heat, 40 percent of drinking water, and 25 percent of electricity – due to deteriorating infrastructure.

The Government of Uzbekistan must be given credit for allocating major capital investments to urban infrastructure. For example, more than $8.4 billion is marked for investment during 2011 and 2015.

But how productive will these infusions be if the employees of the companies involved don’t have the necessary skills and knowledge about how to regulate and coordinate the condition of infrastructure at the local level?

Who pays for these losses in the event of accidents or substandard repairs? Urban residents and business people do. We incur loss of both natural and financial resources.

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Is there a way out of this situation? Of course, as we have already realized, these issues largely depend on the system of governance.

One of the ideas of the working group that was hired to prepare a report on municipal governance was to establish a Department of Urban Infrastructure Management attached to khokimiyats (local administrations). This department would enable each city to consolidate activities of the various companies responsible for providing infrastructure services.

This would allow for streamlining the use of public funds and attracting foreign investment, small business and private enterprise to infrastructure development projects. Urbanization for Uzbekistan is an irreversible process. Cities and the urban population will grow, and therefore so will the demand for infrastructure. And as a result, it is important to strike the necessary balance between the demand of urban residents and businesses on the one hand and the Government’s capabilities on the other.

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Chasing the Change

By Anvar Meliboev This is my second blog out of several ones devoted to working with local communities in Uzbekistan. The blog highlights short but yet life brought examples.

Traveling to regions is always a good way to discover new things such as a specific traditional dish, which you never tried before, a specific word or phrase used among local people, customs and traditions or even a new legend/ historical facts relevant to your travel of destination. For me, these travels also help to spotlight the most pressing issues people have to face, sometimes dealing with limited access to electricity and lack of information technologies. Hours and hours of conversations with local communities leave you with an impression to adjust your plans in line with existing local realities to catch up with changes. And interestingly enough, the issues people have, are not always permanent, they change constantly, depending on various situations and conditions. Tura Halikov, Deputy Director of Surkhan Strict Nature Reserve in Surkandarya region reveals that just two years ago he was heavily depending on a fax machine to communicate with colleagues and partners. Now, a small wireless USB device is almost irreplaceable tool to send, receive and find out information.

People Tend to Change, People Keen to Learn In March, I was visiting Sherabad district together with a German expert who was assessing information needs of local communities on eco/nature concerned topics. A housewife of a house where we stayed for a short break tried to communicate with her using pantomime. When we were living the village, both the house wife and German started drawing on the snow, their ages, number of children trying to identify their age and gender. To be honest, it was one of the most touching and honest scenes I have ever seen.

Saying bye to each other, a local woman promised to learn basic German or English when next time our guest arrives at her village. Several months later, I visited this village again, and I met this woman, whom I could not recognize at first. After greeting me, she proudly started speaking with me in English and German languages using very simple sentences. But she was disappointed that our expert had not come. I was truly amazed how she is committed to new learning and discoveries.

Feeling of Belonging Several years ago we took a picture of a senior couple living in a remote area. The picture was included into a booklet dedicated to protected areas. Months later, a young man walked in the administrative building of our counterpart’s office in the region and requested to have one booklet depicting his grandfather and grandmother. He did not conceal gladness and grabbed several booklets to be shared with others.

In May of this year, this man was taking photographs during an awarding ceremony of children’s drawings contest organized by UNDP and partners using his brand new camera. We joked for a while and he shared with me his portfolio of photographs of people in his community and even said that, they are gender balanced.

Trusting in People, Believing in Development.

People should be a part of what we do. Thus, we gradually nurture a sense of belonging of local population to our activities. The important message we have to convey is that people and local communities are part of our work, and development would not be successfully achieved without participation of people. They are the ones who will take on our activities, when we leave.

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A big change in a small community

By Olena Ursu, UNDP in Ukraine When I am asked what my favourite story about the community-based local sustainable development is, I immediately think of the small Ukrainian city of Novograd-Volynskiy. That is where in 2005 the municipality supported by our project started promoting sustainable development principles and motivating the local citizens to get organized and implement projects to improve their living environment.

Nothing will stop people on the way to better living conditions. It has been proved by the dwellers of the 2-storeyed multiapartment house by Ivana Franka Street 32 which were brave enough to pioneer the participatory planning, prioritization of their development needs and joint project implementation in the city. Can you believe that people have lived the biggest part of their lives in the house constructed back in 1928 without the basic conveniences – water and lavatory facilities? They took water for their basic needs from the outside water pump and used the old wooden toilet – one for all 22 households…

This small community has dispelled many myths around management of the multiapartment housing stock of Ukraine. Despite the general stereotype that urban citizens are too individualistic to do something together, these citizens managed to establish water supply and sewerage systems in the house, implemented several energy efficiency projects like roof reconstruction and replacement of the old broken windows. Despite the argument that creation of homeowners’ associations is not economically justified for the houses with a few apartments inhabited by the socially vulnerable groups of population, they took charge of their destiny and created the association of co-owners of multiapartment house “Kedr” (Cedar) which still successfully manages the house. Their story opened up the city-level movement of active citizens’ participation in the local development through the activities of houseowners’ associations, service cooperatives, civil society organizations of schools and kindergartens, etc.

Eventually, the whole city refused from ZHEKs (the communal service providers the efficiency of which is often questionable) and introduced the system of managing the multiapartment housing stock by the homeowners’ associations (p.18-20). Today, there are 25 of them in the city uniting196 houses, or 87% of the total number of multiapartment houses.

As soon as the local government became citizen-oriented, it widely engaged the communities into the local decision-making, elaborated in a participatory manner and approved the strategic development plan of the city, introduced the quality management system for municipal services in accordance with ISO 9001:2008 for better service delivery, strengthened interaction with the citizens through the newly created official web-site (in Ukr), organized city-level public awareness campaigns on important agenda of sustainable development, energy saving, gender equality, HIV/AIDS prevention, and many others.

Nowadays, not a single decision on local development is made without the public hearings or the public council meeting. Don’t you agree that if the approach is properly internalized, the community engagement into local decision-making is like a ball rolling down a slope – you can’t stop it easily?

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A Close neighbor is better than a distant relative (Armenian proverb)

By Babken Babayan Well here we are as one of the first time bloggers presenting the Aid for Trade (AfT) Project which started in Armenia in spring 2011. This Project is conducted with the financial support of the Government of Finland (Wider Europe Initiative). AfT supports economic development of Tavush Region through enhancing the trade related activities. Tavush Region lies in the northeast of Armenia and borders with Georgia; in fact it is even closer to Tbilisi than to Yerevan. This region is famous with its delicious berries and fruit (especially peaches, plums and persimmons) and it also serves as a main corridor for Armenia for freight traffic to Russia and other CIS countries as well as to Europe and Turkey through Georgia.

We know that the goals can be achieved in many different ways and our team believes that it ain’t what you do, but the way that you do it! Hence the Project aims to provide adequate knowledge and skills for public sector authorities, SME’s, business support institutions, etc. who will contribute to export promotion; to enhance the Market Information Center so it is able to provide high quality customer services, to link the need & demand, the producers & consumers; and last but not least, the project will support local businesses through implementation of innovative export oriented projects/ business ideas.

Before starting capacity building we should identify the current situation. That’s why we’ve firstly conducted a study to identify the target beneficiaries in the Region (SME’s, market information center, business/farmers associations, cooperatives, public servants, etc.) and assess their actual capacities (financial, technical and business skills) as well as the potential for production, processing and export of agricultural products in Tavush Marz.

We are currently at the stage of mapping local businesses. There are certainly some challenges as we sometimes come across with businesses non-registered in tax authorities or the contrary – the registered businesses are sometimes non-operational.

One of the dilemmas we are facing now is for example which businesses to promote – should we support the start up businesses where the risks are high? Or the ones that are already operating successfully and can overcome difficulties on their own?

We would be very interested to know your opinion/experience with similar initiatives and even advice.

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Forest adaptation project in 10 points or less!

By Essi Ulander Piloting of a new format of project reporting – blogging – is launched by UNDP CO Armenia. The “Adaptation to climate change impacts in mountain forest ecosystems of Armenia” project, as one of the three volunteers, will start sending blog posts from the Climate Change Programme Unit, the project’s home base at the Ministry of Nature Protection.

First time bloggers, we are trying to get our heads around the task and the first topic, the introduction of the project. Even if yours truly is quite attracted to the ‘slogans’ of the Knowledge & Innovation -initiative – making the invisible visible, reporting about the process rather than only results, real-time communication (hopefully both ways) – I recognise how stuck I am on typical reporting and jargon like “mainstreaming” or “up-scaling”, which, in all honesty, often seem to capture the essence of an outcome quite nicely. However, one does not have to look further than the Project Document for exactly that kind of a description of the project. So to begin the project’s blogging career, for the first post we set two targets: 1) to present the project in 10 points or less and 2) to write a not-the-way-youread-it-on-the-ProDoc –post. Here goes.

The “Adaptation to climate change impacts in mountain forest ecosystems of Armenia” project (try repeating that five times quickly; henceforth the Forest Adaptation Project) is about three quarters down the line and will be wrapped in 2013. Although the project has stayed well on schedule and several project ‘successes’ have already been posted on our website, now is the time to get the last, and maybe the biggest, things done.

The issue: climate change impacts on forest ecosystems and ecosystem services. Forests tend to be at the centre of many climate change mitigation projects, but, as the name suggests, our project concentrates on enhancing forest adaptation to climate change. The aspect is relatively new and the project is piloting theoretical assumptions on the ground. The measures are important for the protection of the scarce forest resources of Armenia, but should likewise be at the heart of forest mitigation projects, like REDD+, to improve their sustainability.

The solution: adaptive forest management. Traditionally forest, or protected area management is based on expectedly unchanging conditions (static baseline); an assumption that will not hold under climate change (dynamic baseline) and especially when we look at the rotation lengths of several decades up to a century of forest stands. Adaptive forest management is not about reinventing the wheel though; it is about fine-tuning the timing and practices of current forest management, rethinking the type and mixture of seedlings, learning as we go and, most importantly, identifying local scale climate change impacts on forests.

Climate change in the forests of Armenia is a burning issue. Literally, as wildfires is one of the main threats posed by the drying and warming climate of the region. It is also a gnawing problem as leaf-eating forest pests are greatly benefitting from the new conditions. The problem is also about accumulation and tipping-point: the forests of Armenia are fragmented and degraded due to several other human factors, which are leading to reduced forest resilience under climate change.

The Forest Adaptation Project is working in the field with the abovementioned issues. Activities range from building wildfire suppression capacities to demonstration of biological pest control; stakeholders range from the Forest Enterprises, “Hayantar” (state forest authority) and the Armenian Rescue Service to elementary school children in the regions, all of which we will undoubtedly blog about later on. The project has also four reforestation sites in the Syunik region of Armenia.

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The big task remaining on the project’s to do -list is the inclusion of climate change risks into the 10-year forest management plans and their guiding documents. Watch this Space to read more about this process.

The Forest Adaptation Project is one of the only 26 projects to receive funding under GEF’s Strategic Priority on Adaptation – funding window making the project a global pilot. Examples of similar projects are not widespread.

That is the Forest Adaptation Project in 7 points! In our future posts we are planning to write more about the chosen approaches of the project, the challenges and factors contributing to the successes of the project, reports from the field from reforestation sites, maybe learning a thing or two about blogging on the way too. And better yet, we would like to hear from you what you would like to read about on the blog and greatly welcome your comments!

Say No to Paper, Praise the Electronic Prodigies in Uzbekistan

By Anvar Meliboev Imagine ten years from now, you sit in a comfortable sofa watching the latest evening news. An electronic message just received, this a notification that your request on getting registered your early retirement has been received and being proceeded by the local administration.

Does it sound a bit unrealistic?. Excuse me, but not nowadays. With booming of IT technologies and the efforts of governments to shift from paper based document management to more people-friendly and client-oriented services such as application of electronic documents and use of e-data flow is a time –driven realistic demand.

A Little Bit of History Back in 2005, the Government of Uzbekistan issued a decree on further development information and communication technologies. And, in 2011 the UNDP project “Local Governance Support” initiated development and successfully installed the e-document flow system “E-Hujjat” in Djizakh region of Uzbekistan. This work also included installation of the software in administration of Djizakh region, city of Djizakh and 12 districts of the region, which are currently exchanging information and documents with each instantaneously. More than 50 employees of the Djizakh region administration received advanced trainings on practical use of e-flow.

Put simply outdated ways of paper work are not anymore in place, and for an employee of Djizakh city and region administration embedment of these IT prodigies helps to safe time, spend less paper, and nerves spent on carrying out a bulk of papers, saying bye to a fear of losing an important letter, or even spilling a cup of coffee or tea. It is like using computers after several years of handwriting, there are many advantages in favour of IT’s.

Melted Away In History Before introduction of new e-system, in 2011, the Djizakh regional administration would approximately spend 16 million soums annually (9,000$) while the city administration - 3 million soums (1,600$). Total procurement related to paper consumption of all administrations of Djizak region was equal to 31 million soums (17,000$).

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Benefits in Numbers The Head of Administrative Department of the Djizakh Regional Khokimiyat Mr. Vakhob Alimkulov estimates that “In 2012 a decrease in paper consumption by 2-3 times is expected, which allows to spend the savings on drinking water supply, installation of pipelines, urban improvement and handling of other urgent issues.

The introduction of modern forms of paperwork made it possible to increase work productivity. If in the past the documents were transferred to regions (especially remote regions) via messengers or couriers, sometimes through passing cars, within 2-3 days, but now they are sent to lower structures instantly.

Facts to know According to experts from University of Western Australia to produce one tonne of paper one should spend: - 31,780 litres of water - 4100 kilowatt hours of electricity - 75 per cent of chlorinated bleach - 27 kilograms of air pollutants - 13 – 24 trees - 4 cubic metres of landfill - 2.5 barrels of oil

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Why should local governments spend more on economic development?

By Toni Popovski We’ve just conducted the first ever survey in the country on citizen’s perception on the quality of local public services. We targeted three rural municipalities – Konce, Krusevo and Jegunovce, as well as one urban: Cair.

I found that the results were quite astonishing.

All these municipalities have a high unemployment rate – higher than 35% , so naturally, the large majority of the citizens pinpointed that increasing the economic activity and creating new jobs is an absolute priority.

For example, 78% of the respondents in the municipality of Chair stated that they are greatly dissatisfied with the current local economic development and that more should be done to promote selfemployment opportunities and support the development of small and medium enterprises.

Also, I sadly noticed that two out of three young people (aged up to 33 years) in the rural municipalities of Konce, Krusevo and Jegunovce, turned out to be quite pessimistic when it comes to prospects for a better future. They believe that the quality of life is constantly deteriorating and that there is little hope that new jobs will be created any time soon.

It was interesting to note that all four municipalities have adopted Local Economic Development strategies and action plans (thanks to some donor assistance), but still, the implementation of these strategies is far from being adequately budgeted.

I was going through the budget projections for 2012, and noted that the municipalities of Krusevo and Jegunovce have not allocated any funds for the implementation of these strategies and that the municipalities of Cair and Konce allocated less than 2%.

Of course, I had to have a chat on this with the local officials on this, and find out what is the reason behind this, as it simply made no sense at all. It turned out that the municipalities are waiting for the state to provide grants to support entrepreneurial development at the local level and to fund self-employment programmes. This is the key reason why all four municipalities are not planning to undertake any specific measures to address and solve the problem of unemployment.

How to fight against this inertia? There must be a way to make people understand that the Self-Help principles do work…

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Inspiring Citizens to Get Involved in Shaping of the Local Policy Agenda

By Toni Popovski Thought-provoking findings about public perceptions of the country’s social services and recent policy reforms made for interesting discussion at a meeting just held in Krushevo as part of the Social Services for Social Development and Cohesion project [pdf ] aimed at supporting inclusive local development and improving the financing of local services.

Organized by UNDP in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the South-Eastern European University, the two-day meeting was attended by more than 90 local stakeholders from the pilot municipalities of Krushevo, Konche, Cair and Jegunovce, mayors from the relevant ZELS Commissions, as well as members of national coordination bodies such as the Decentralization Working Group and the Commission for Inter-Municipal Cooperation. The findings are from a detailed survey carried out by experts from the South-Eastern European University in the four pilot municipalities. The survey forms part of a wider report entitled Citizens’ Responses for Improvement of Local Policies.

I believe that this questionnaire for measuring the satisfaction of the citizens with the quality of local services can be used on a regular basis, not only by the four pilot municipalities but by all municipalities in the country.

The survey found that citizens in all four municipalities see the development of the local economy and public infrastructure as challenges that urgently need to be addressed by their local authorities.

Respondents pointed out that insufficient allocation of funds for local economic development in the budgets of these municipalities, combined with high unemployment, have led to a high level of local dependence on state interventions. Local action is possible and called for, nonetheless, to encourage greater cooperation amongst municipalities and in the private sector in support of productive economic activities at micro-region level.

Other significant results from the survey include comparative data on public perceptions of proposed reforms to integrate ethnic communities in the education and further decentralize services for social protection and childcare.

It was interesting to note that support for the concept of integrated education differed according to the ethnic composition of each municipality. Greatest resistance to the concept was evident in municipalities with balanced ethnic communities while the highest support was found where there was a clear ethnic majority. Such data will need to be taken into account in the process of introducing integrated education.

Public attitudes towards the further decentralization of social protection and childcare services also differed significantly, with citizens from the urban municipality of Cair declaring greater confidence in the central government as a provider of these services while those from the three rural municipalities expressed more trust in local authorities. In all four municipalities, however, there is an evident lack of confidence in civil society organizations and the private sector as service providers.

All participants agreed that this valuable data will definitely need to be considered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in the process of deinstitutionalizing social protection and childcare services.

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Household Garbage, That Big-City Problem

By Narghiza Alikulova There are said to be only two ways to take care of the environment: to avoid littering it or to clean up after yourself. The first option is not feasible at all, since garbage is a result of human activity. But the second one is quite doable—if the desire is there. And if the necessary procedures are implemented.

Cities and the urban population are growing, and internal migration is intensifying. All this makes efficient management of household solid waste (HSW) one of the key issues in the development of urban infrastructure and environmental conservation.

For the most part, HSW accumulates in large amounts at landfills, and the level of recycling is low. As a result, damage to the environment is increasing, and so are direct and indirect economic losses.

In Uzbekistan, the greatest quantity of HSW forms in Tashkent and the cities of the Tashkent and Samarkand regions and the Fergana Valley. For example, the city of Tashkent accounted for almost 50% of the HSW collected in the country and hauled to landfills during the period 1996-2004.

From 1996 to 2007 a total of 72.6 million m3 of HSW was collected and hauled to landfills in Uzbekistan as a whole. Yet no more than 60% of waste in the republic’s cities and district centers are actually hauled away by sanitation enterprises.

By 2025, as a result of a projected increase in urban population to 17,170,000, the amount of urban HSW will increase to 20.6 million m3 a year. This situation will be exacerbated by the low level of HSW recycling, which for the city of Tashkent is only about 5-6%, whereas in the EU countries 40% of HSW is recycled, 20% is burned for energy and only 40% is kept at landfills.

Uzbekistan currently has 182 HSW landfills, 142 of which are managed by the government and 40 by the private sector. At most landfills and dumps, however, HSW burial and decontamination procedures are not followed. Only 38 (or 20.8%) of these sites have HSW acceptance and inspection facilities and only 17 have weighing equipment. In addition, more than 90% of landfills and dumps are in unsatisfactory condition, which has a negative impact on the environment. High air temperatures, especially during the summer, contribute to the decomposition of organic substances and speed up the development of microflora, including pathogenic microorganisms.

What is the reason for the low level of HSW management?

The main problem is the fragmented and contradictory regulatory framework governing urban waste management. The second one is that the mechanism for overseeing and implementing the legal framework of urban waste management and the financial, economic, fiscal and other government regulatory tools do not yet meet the current requirements of urbanization and the economic development of cities or the high standards of environmental protection.

Therefore one of the recommendations by experts is to introduce a system of tax breaks for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who are engaged in collecting, hauling and disposing of waste, to educate the public better regarding environmental-protection measures and to foster mutually beneficial cooperation with developed countries in improving HSW management.

And now I would like to ask you, distinguished UNDP colleagues, what success stories and productive projects from the developed countries could you suggest as possible solutions?

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Improving human security in the Aral Sea region of Uzbekistan: A start of a new UN partnership

By Zakiya Abdurazakova When asked about human security, one may solely refer to the absence of violence. However, it is far more than that. In fact, human security encompasses the protection of fundamental freedoms of vulnerable population and refers to creation of enabling governance systems, effective healthcare and education sectors, so that people can enjoy fulfilled lives with dignity. Often, human security is under a serious threat in communities where environmental disasters take place, as they affect economy, healthcare and overall welfare of population, such as in case with the Aral Sea. Located in the heart of Central Asia – the Aral Sea, once the world’s fourth largest lake, has now dried up to about 30% of its initial size as the lakes that fed it were diverted for irrigation purposes. Such a dramatic environmental change has had a negative impact on the region’s economy, social sphere and livelihoods of the population. Traditionally, the Aral Sea provided both irrigation and fishing opportunities, while nowadays due to the drying up of the Sea and reduced water flow, the fishing industry and agriculture are devastated and even drinking water is scarce in many communities.

Due to the newly formed desert, frequently blowing toxic dust storms have a negative impact upon the health of the population. Up to date, a number of national and international projects have been successfully implemented in this region, nevertheless, the living standards of the population of the farthest located districts such as Muynak, Shumanay and Kanlikul, need further improvement.

A Call for Collective Action During his visit to Uzbekistan in April 2010 the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon specifically highlighted the impact that the shrinking of the Aral Sea has had on the human security and described it as “one of the world’s worst environmental disasters”. Considering the complexity of existing problems, collective actions of UN agencies become crucial in mitigating issues faced by people in this region.

Particularly, Secretary General stated “We must work together – collectively. This is a responsibility shared among the communities in the region and among the nations of the world… and UN will work to provide the necessary assistance”.

The efforts of five UN agencies in Uzbekistan - UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, WHO and UNV resulted in the launch of a Joint Programme titled “Sustaining Livelihoods Affected by the Aral Sea Disaster”. The Joint Programme is funded by the UN Trust Fund for Human Security, and aims to improve the welfare of the most vulnerable groups of population in Karakalpakstan. It seeks to support local communities of Muynak, Shumanay and Kanlikul districts in improvement of their access to basic infrastructure, including access to clean water and gas through design and implementation of community development plans, by reaching out about 130,000 people.

Addressing Poverty, Healthcare and Public Awareness This Joint Programme will also provide income generation opportunities for dekhkan farms, through introduction of improved agricultural practices and pasture management techniques, planting of new crops and tree varieties. It will also support entrepreneurial activities of women and youth by developing local handicrafts and tourism sites. Improvement of healthcare sector is also one of the targets of the Programme. These activities will be carried out through education of about 1,500 primary healthcare workers in reproductive health issues, and awareness campaign of youth on family planning, and HIV-prevention.

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By acting on community level and reaching each and every individual, the joint programme and partners aim to enhance economic opportunity, education, health care and environmental security, to ensure that people in the Aral Sea region live fulfilled lives and enjoy various opportunities that life has to offer.

Armenia: Using Public Private Partnerships for the Sustainable Development “Sweet Spot”

By Hovhannes Sarajyan In 2011 UNDP, USAID and “Eco-engineering”, a private company, launched a project to promote PET recycling in Armenia, by establishing a legislative framework that allowed for private sector investments in high-value-added recycling businesses. The Collection and Reuse of Plastic Refuse initiative was initially designed to raise awareness of the issue, to reduce pollution and to improve public health by engaging with local communities to encourage Sustainable Environmental Management in five regions (Lori, Gegharkunik, Kotayk, Ararat and Armavir) impacting the livelihoods of over 330,000 people in 12 major towns and national parks.

In partnership with local municipalities, UNDP facilitated a Public Private Dialogue processes that allowed the design of the legal conditions required for Public Private Partnerships. Also, a Capacity Development Response strategy that focused on building technical and infrastructural capacities for the differentiated treatment of waste, namely the segregation of PET bottles and plastic products, was developed. The municipalities were provided with special bins for PET waste, balers, compactors and other necessary equipment to create incentives for private businesses. A partnership model for the local authorities responsible for waste management was designed, and private companies with capacities to buy and recycle PET waste were identified. UNDP supported negotiations between partners and facilitated the design of a long-term contractual relationship between the parties. Throughout UNDP’s advisory support, and by developing “real” PPP initiatives, the knowledge and skills of partner municipalities were enhanced. An intensive public awareness campaign contributed to widely inform and encourage citizens to separate PET waste into special bins that supported the implementation process.

Triple-wins achieved include: 50-70% of PET waste recycled in participating municipalities improving the environment; diverting negative impacts of illegal dumping and reducing waste sent to the landfill benefiting over 330,000 people. Informal small scale and ad-hoc PET collection activities existed before but the sector has now been formalized and institutionalized resulting in (new) enterprise development and increases in income (up to 3%-5%) in existing waste management enterprises. Private sector growth created 50 jobs offering opportunities particularly to socially excluded residents.

A paradigm shift in municipalities’ relationships and trust towards the private sector is now evident and the capacity to identify and implement Public-Private Partnerships has greatly improved. Also, citizens’ responses exceed expectations witnessed by the immediate impact of a healthier and cleaner environment. A culture of PET recycling was relatively quickly developed: “It takes no effort to throw bottles in the bins now, and I know it is better for nature,” said a resident of Sevan community at a public awareness event organized at Lake Sevan.

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Help conserve biodiversity

By Sevara Sharapova Being part of the UNDP family, our project works with partners, including of the oil and gas companies operating in Uzbekistan, to find ways of conserving biodiversity. The dialogs with representatives of the oil and gas companies have showed that there is a demand for knowledge in the field of biodiversity conservation.

After finding out that there is a knowledge gap, we came up with several initiatives to fill the gap. One of them was an idea of launching an awareness campaign among the students who will be taking up careers in the oil and gas industry. In Tashkent, there are three universities which prepare specialists for the oil and gas sector; around 2700 students of these universities major in oil and gas sector subjects.

We chose the activities that in our opinion would build up the skills and knowledge around biodiversity conservation and eventually influence behaviors and attitudes towards the matter. We launched the essay contest, the photo contest, the screenplay contest dedicated to the World Environment Day. Also, we organized the quiz competition on the theme “Biodiversity and oil-and-gas industry”.

Questions that were put across in the quiz were categorized under four topics: 1) Uzbekistan flora and fauna; 2) the concept of biodiversity; 3) Landscapes of Uzbekistan; 4) Processing of oil and gas products. Also, the film ‘HOME’ was screened for all.

We were glad to learn that these activities have inspired some changes in knowledge and in behavior of targeted population group. Shokhrukh Kholmatov, a student of the Tashkent Chemical Technological Institute (TCTI) said that he studied the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan (the list of extinct and endangered species of flora and fauna of Uzbekistan) to get prepared for quiz. This was the activity that he never took before. The winner of the essay contest Maftuna Valieva, a student of the Tashkent State Technical University (TSTU) said that she found significant that the students majoring in oil and gas sector`s subjects took part in the contests because such activities make them more ecologically friendly.

We think that when these students graduate from universities and start work in the oil and gas industry they will apply environmentally sustainable technologies. We believe therefore that these activities along with the actions that our project has been taken to enable biodiversity-friendly legislative and institutional environment will have a long-term positive effect.

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Cricket for Peace and Development

By Nicholas Hercules Can sport really build bridges across divided communities? The UN has its Sports for Peace and Development programme yet sometimes I wonder if capital city-based policy makers sneer a little at sports when it comes to programme possibilities and under-estimate the impact potential of sport on the ground in much-deprived communities. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is however an advocate noting with some envy in an op-ed penned on the eve of the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa that FIFA had even more members than did the United Nations! Last week in early July south Serbia witnessed its first recorded game of Street T20 cricket in Bujanovac – a multi-ethnic town 10km from Kosovo comprising ethnic Albanians, Roma and Serbs -- in a partnership between the UN’s PBILD programme, the UK Embassy in Serbia, TransConflict and Cricket for Change, a UK-based NGO. Could a sport, the rules of which were little known to locals, help communities engage with one another? I asked myself. As a true believer in the power of sport to overcome most obstacles in human development, I was an optimist. Yet I harboured doubts, especially because the four-hour coaching session and matches were due to take place under the baking midday sun which saw temperatures near 40 degrees Celsius.

I needn’t have worried. Sport creates opportunities, even if it’s not the one played by tennis world number one and Serbian hero Novak Djokovic, and opportunities for a healthy lifestyle, fun and competition are scarce in the poorest part of Serbia. Thirty children, aged around 10 years, showed up in the main town square (a mere stone’s throw (or should that be a cricket ball throw?) from the municipality and PBILD office) and, thanks to simple coaching from the experts, quickly picked up the basics of cricket. Hit the ball. Run to the other end. Accumulate runs (which are like points). While the bowling (fielding) team seeks to get all the batting team members out.

Peals of laughter from the teams, decked out in colourful T-shirts and caps, soon brought attention from shoppers and shop keepers. What was this game? One enquired. Why are you allowing Roma children to play in the main square? Another asked me. I had not anticipated this opportunity to use the good news of cricket to spread the gospel of peace-building and social cohesion. The joyous faces and inter-action between team members made it easy to share with the disgruntled shop-keeper why this was a good day for Bujanovac. It was not difficult for the growing crowd to observe how the children were sharing tactics and ideas with one another on how to win; be it through catching, throwing or where to hit the ball to avoid the fielders. Thus, perhaps unwittingly, cross-cultural communication and friendships were rapidly developing among the youngsters. Only their ability to score runs or get their opponents out mattered. One’s background, economic status or school results (if you attended classes that is as many Roma still do not), quickly became irrelevant. It was a meritocracy in action.

Governance decisions were made quickly. Social cohesion advanced a bit. Upon closing the tournament all gathered for happy photo opportunities. Cricket Serbia is seeking funding to sustain the street cricket schools and PBILD is exploring using football to bring communities together, not least those divided by the new Kosovo-Serbia frontier, in the programme’s second phase starting in 2013.

Recalling the event the following day to the town’s mayor, he reminded me that while such events are useful, without economic development the region will continue to suffer from ethnic tensions. The final status of Kosovo remains a thorny question for Belgrade, yet while that continues to be very much a live issue, the economy stagnates due to the future’s uncertainty. As a new government prepares to take up the reigns in Serbia, the UN Peace-Building and Inclusive Local Development programme (PBILD) is assisting them to formulate a regional strategy for its under-developed south with a focus on economic development.

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Bicycling over the Sava River – and on towards Rio…

By Juerg Staudenmann All eyes are on Rio de Janeiro these days. But do people on the street really care about it?

My four year old daughter certainly couldn’t care less, when we got on our bikes some ten days ago for a demo fun ride through the heart of Belgrade. All she was excited about was that we just pedaled in the middle of Branko bridge together with hundreds of bicyclists, that same bridge over the Sava that we often take – by car. And, as kids in this age do, she asked the essential question: “Why don’t the police close the bridge every day, so we can always bike over the Sava?”

I basically had to agree with her: Why not, actually? The answer isn’t as obvious as it may seem: Of course, I could have made a point about closing this bridge would lead to congestion on another one.

She could have replied: “So what? Why do people take the car when they can have more fun taking the bike anyway?”

Good point, but I could have tried to explain the necessity (or habit only?) for people to use their car to go shopping (“… but why don’t they go to the shop closer to home?”); or to go to work (“…but why don’t they take the bus like you?”); or to bring their kids to school (“… but they could also take the bike like us now!?”); or….

The essential question would still remain valid: Why don’t cities simply close roads to motorized traffic, and thus provide more space for bicyclists and pedestrians? Would it really be so impossible as we usually argue? I tend to think that a central reason why people are reluctant to use their bikes in cities more often, is precisely because the streets are dominated by (their) cars, and thus dangerous.

Can we do something about it?

I’m convinced the city actually could in this case: There are numerous European towns that do provide extra space for bikes and pedestrians. Zurich for instance has closed the “Limmatquai,” the main corridor along the city river, for motorized traffic ten years ago. The discussion before that was heated.

Counter-arguments ranged from predictions about a complete traffic-collapse to the fear of shops along the route losing business. Quite the contrary happened.

Belgrade too could close the Branko Bridge and its connection on both sides, as the main transit corridor goes via the other Sava bridges anyway. Branko Bridge connects the historic city center with the banks of the Sava where tourists and citizens alike like to go lunching in one of the dozens of floating restaurants Belgrade is famous for.

Wouldn’t it be a signal for Belgrade to send to its citizens and the world as well? About caring about citizen health by decreasing air pollution along one of its main streets and providing a “free opportunity” for a work-out, caring about the economic situation by providing a safe space for low or no-cost mobility, caring about promoting new (green) jobs in and around the bicycle industry, and caring about the environment of course, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Isn’t that what we are hoping comes out of Rio+20 these days? – Some new, brave and bold steps that are so obvious “triple- (multiple-!) wins”?

Serbia, with support by UNDP and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), just finished a

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study on Achievements and Perspectives towards a Green Economy and Sustainable Growth – in time for the regional Rio+20 side-event organized by Serbia together with the “Adriatic-Ionian Initiative.”

The study takes stock of existing examples and achievements to date, and elaborates on potential areas for green growth in Serbia. The study looked into selected sectors with an aim “to trigger greening of central sectors of the economy and focus public and private sustainable investment on a low-carbon, resource-efficient path, increasing green employment and achieving social goals.” It identifies five strategic policy areas for Serbia to focus on: Harmonizing socio-economic development with the European Union’s resource-efficient and lowcarbon policies Advancing social inclusion and poverty reduction Empower the environment sector Establish a long-term institutional and financial framework in support of sustainable development (for instance a mandatory budget line for sustainable development in every key institution).

Promotion of sub-regional cooperation The study helped to inform the Serbian delegation in Rio, defining possible on-the-ground action in Serbia and will lay the foundation for the Government to define plans after the meeting in Rio. When cycling over the Sava, I didn’t hear people discussing Rio+20 or its expected outcome. What I did hear though were debates about how cycling to work would indeed not only be good for the environment and improve your health, but potentially also create new jobs and economic activity, and actually be cheaper than taking public transport, taxi or even your own car.

Without being explicitly aware of it, this group of bikers discussed the very key essence the over 150 heads of state and government should be debating about in Rio de Janeiro these days: How to seize opportunities, which generate synergies between environmental stewardship, economic growth and social inclusion, at the local level.

That’s where whatever pledges may come out of Rio+20 will need to be translated into deeds. So, people may not be aware of it, but they do care about Rio+20.

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On the road again…

By Pascale Bonzom No worries… this is not another Rio blog post… this road is taking us from Tajikistan to Russia, or rather, to start with, is taking me from Moscow to Dushanbe…

On this windy Friday night, Moscow Belaruskaya station is filled with taxi drivers looking for customers desperate to go to sleep at any cost. Instead of selecting one of them, I make my way to the street and stop one there, hoping for a better deal. It was a good choice! Unknowingly I’d picked a migrant from Dushanbe earning a living as a taxi driver in Moscow! Too happy to find someone living in his homeland and able to speak 4 and a half words in his mother tongue, Abdullo gave me the queen’s treatment, with not only a fair price but bags delivered up to my hotel’s reception. I could not help but being at the same time delighted to have found a national of the country where I had been working for the past year, and also sorry for Abdullo having to live several thousand kms away from his wife and children for the sake of getting a better income.

But unfortunately Abdullo is not an exception. There are hundreds of thousands of migrants like him making their way seasonally to Russia from Tajikistan. The country actually has a remittance inflow reaching an estimated 40% of GDP in 2011, and this number is growing!

What if we could harness these remittances to power local sustainable development in the regions of Tajikistan?... Slowly but surely creating the necessary growth that would spur jobs and opportunities, eventually reversing migration and attracting the Tajik migrants back home. And, most importantly, how?

The Rural Growth Programme (RGP), a rural local development project supporting the North of Tajikistan has been trying to address these questions over the past 3 years in partnership with DFID, UNDP, GIZ, IOM and Aga Khan Foundation. Interventions have been designed and implemented along all the migration lifecycle.

RGP has worked with local authorities to help them monitor and assess migration trends, as well as to take these into consideration when developing their local economic development plans. Local authorities as well as NGOs have been supported to offer proper migration orientation covering legal rights, language and culture to potential migrants, so that human trafficking and abuses can be minimized and the benefits of migration maximized. RGP supported 14 vocational training centers all over the region to offer courses and certificates that are in demand on the Russian labor markets, allowing better qualified migrants to receive higher salaries. This is turns allows migrants to send higher remittances back home.

The programme also worked with migrants families on budgeting and productive use of remittances.

This particularly critical work is bearing fruits with many women left behind in Tajikistan investing their husband’s remittances into micro-businesses such as rabbit breeding, sewing, or small service activities, diversifying this way their sources of income away from solely working on their family farms or on cotton fields. This allows women not only to reduce their risks from depending on a single rural activity but also to save some money and invest into their children’s education and/or to expand their small businesses. Some men are unhappy with their wifes’ initiatives and would have rather kept the money for spending on social and traditional celebrations. But most men are actually delighted to find a burgeoning and sometimes full-fledged business when they come home. So much so that some of them actually decide to stay and become self-employed.

Finally, thanks to the trainings and sensitizing carried out through the project, some families are

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actually investing in their own communities by sharing their remittances for local development initiatives, such as schools or irrigation channels rehabilitation.

Now I am dreaming of the next level‌ what if remittances could also contribute to the environmental pillar of sustainable local development as well? For instance, what if the Tajik diaspora or a percentage of migrants’ remittances could contribute to a Renewable Energy Fund that would invest into small scale renewable energy production businesses, while at the same time providing a dividend on their profits (see Abundance for an example of such fund in the UK)? This would address the issue of sustainable energy for all, in a country where an estimated 1 million people in rural areas spend much of the winter without regular electricity supplies. Or what if remittances could be attracted to invest into energy efficient technologies such as those used for drying apricots (one of the most important export product in the North of the country) or water efficient techniques such as drip irrigation to support farm production?This would for sure change the face of Tajikistan’s rural areas and possibly lure the migrants to come home and craft a better future for their families and country.

This would also hopefully stop the migrants from hitting the road to Russia again, except of course this time, on holidays!

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UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre Grosslingova 35, Bratislava 81109 Slovakia Tel: +421 2 59337 111 Fax: +421 2 59337 450 http://europeandcis.undp.org