AFD - Taking action in situations of fragility, crisis and violence

© Pierre Terdjman

Agence Française de Développement

TAKING ACTION IN SITUATIONS OF FRAGILITY, CRISIS AND VIOLENCE

AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT TAKING ACTION IN SITUATIONS OF FRAGILITY, CRISIS AND VIOLENCE

Key figures Nearly a quarter of the world’s population, i.e.

over 1.5 billion people, live in countries affected by a violent conflict.

A major episode of violence can erase the economic

progress achieved during a generation.

40 % of countries emerging from armed conflict fall

back into conflict within ten years.

Some 2.6 billion people have been affected

by a natural disaster over the past ten years, against 1.6 billion during the previous decade.

95 % of deaths caused by natural disasters occur

in developing countries.

Less than 0.5 % of international aid has been spent

on crisis prevention over the past 25 years.

Source: World Bank, UN.

Social and political violence, which is often related to the extreme fragility of certain States and societies, poses a major challenge to the development community. Today, it is recognized that there is no security without development and no development without a minimum of human security. We know that several characteristics of underdevelopment constitute a breeding ground for armed violence: absence of State authority and public services in entire areas of the territory, social and geographic inequalities, food insecurity, low level of agricultural productivity.

In the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reducing the structural factors of fragility and managing crises and their impacts are two important focuses of international aid.

AFD is faced with crisis situations in a number of its countries of operation. This term covers different issues: Armed conflict or post-conflict situations; Natural disasters or health crises – such as the Ebola epidemic; Failing States, which are struggling to perform vital missions of

public authority; Societies that are divided, unstable or marked by pockets of instabil-

ity and violence.

“(…) our development policy must evolve, must be overhauled and the tools for this policy must be further strengthened” François Hollande

In these situations, as elsewhere, AFD’s mandate is to assist the process of economic and social development or contribute to creating the basis for it. To achieve this, it must tailor its methods to the specificities of these contexts. It is for this reason that, at the request of its line ministries and in close consultation with the other relevant French and European actors, AFD has adopted a specific approach for its operations in the situations of crisis, post-crisis, or extreme fragility of States and societies. This framework for action sets out four main orientations.

Health crisis, West Africa © All rights reserved

AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT TAKING ACTION IN SITUATIONS OF FRAGILITY, CRISIS AND VIOLENCE

Four principles for intervention in crisis and fragile situations “Do no harm”: avoid unintended consequences

on conflict and fragility.

Prioritize “double dividend operations”

combining development and prevention.

Coordinate emergency and developement

operations more effectively.

Enhance coordination with international

partners by acting together.

These four principles are underpinned by one priority: base AFD’s action on a more thorough analysis of contexts and their development.

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“Do no harm”

The choices for AFD’s operations are based on a more in-depth analysis of the context, particularly of the local conflicts and power relations. As with any external action, development assistance can have unintended effects. Consequently the overarching objective of this approach is to avoid to contribute inadvertently to fuelling the causes of the crisis or the structural weakness in which it takes root.

This involves gaining an understanding of all the components of the situation (economic, social, political, environmental) in order to grasp more effectively the causes and dynamics. This approach allows AFD to be better prepared to identify and take account of potential barriers to the implementation of projects.

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rioritize P “double dividend” operations combining development and prevention

“Double dividend” operations allow development projects to be designed as tools to prevent crises and violence and are part of an approach to fight against social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities. They aim to finance a development good (such as an improvement in social services, public infrastructure, economic productivity or environmental conservation), as is the case for all AFD-funded projects, while adding an additional objective: contribute to reducing certain fragilities which have been diagnosed and to reinforcing the capacity of States and societies to tackle the next crises.

Water program in the Sahel © Jean-Bernard Véron

Preventing conflicts between herders and farmers in the Sahel In an unstable environment, local conflicts can fuel regional or even international tensions. This is the case in the Sahel where the combined effects of population growth, climate change impacts and refugee flows give rise to conflicts, which often crystallize around the use of natural resources. AFD works to reduce these root causes of conflict and contain the spread of violence at regional level by implementing programs to manage land disputes between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers.

These programs aim to achieve both rapid results for these communities and, in the long term, strengthen institutions that will enable a sustainable management of resources.

The pastoral water programs financed for 15 years now in Chad facilitate compromises between communities by securing access to grazing land through the creation of water points and the marking out of transhumance corridors – in consultation with sedentary communities.

AFD is today financing several pastoral water projects in Chad. This includes the Almy Bahaïm project (water forlivestock) in the East and Almy al Afia project (water for peace) in the center of the country. Several new projects are in the process of being appraised, in close cooperation with the European Commission and World Bank, in other countries of the Sahel band that are affected by similar tensions.

AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT TAKING ACTION IN SITUATIONS OF FRAGILITY, CRISIS AND VIOLENCE

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Coordinate emergency and developement operations more effectively

During a crisis, post-conflict situation, or in the aftermath of a natural disaster, emergency operations led by humanitarian actors are crucial to allowing the actions of development donors like AFD. Indeed, the decisions taken during the emergency phase have impacts on the recovery capacity of communities and on the longterm development processes. Conversely, only long-term action can build the capacity of societies and States to cope with health, environmental or political crises.

While humanitarian action, which has specific forms of action and financing, is not part of the mandate entrusted to AFD, Agence

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E nhance coordination with international partners by acting together

Effective coordination between international actors plays a fundamental role in the success of the actions conducted in situations of crisis. In view of the scale of these challenges, AFD’s policy is to base its operations on a collective framework that coordinates the expertise and resources of all international actors: other bilateral donors (such as the UK’s DFID or Germany’s KfW), European Commission, multilateral institutions (UN agencies, African Development Bank, World Bank…), non-governmental organizations, philanthropic foundations, the private sector and, of course, the other French public institutions: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Ministry of Defence, and international technical assistance operators. The construction of lasting peace requires effective collective between all local and international actors.

Française de Développement does, nevertheless, work to improve coordination between humanitarian interventions and development operations. This reduces tension between immediate needs and long-term needs. Combining rapid action to preserve lives and long-term action to support local actors in the reconstruction of their country involves mobilizing the complementary expertise of humanitarian workers and developers. The aim is to support local partners and enhance the effectiveness of international aid. This sometimes requires swift action alongside humanitarian professionals in order to make it easier for development actions to take over.

Central African Republic: Innovating to face an extreme situation – the “Bêkou” Fund The international community has achieved mixed results in terms of post-crisis stabilization and reconstruction. The Bêkou Fund (which means “hope” in Sango) meets the need to reach a new stage in terms of coordinating international aid in these contexts. The European Commission and Dutch, German, and French cooperation have decided to pool not only financing but also analysis and implementation capacities to manage the crisis in the Central African Republic.

The Bêkou Fund was set up to give communities access to essential services (water and sanitation, food, healthcare, etc.) and revive economic activity.

The Fund also finances actions in neighboring countries affected by the crisis with a view to prevention. It promotes synergy between the actions of the international partners who will support the Central African authorities during the post-crisis period in the coming years. It reduces the risk of the country becoming once again an “aid orphan”.

“The Bêkou Fund has created strong synergies between international partners to help the Central African authorities to get out of the crisis.”

Central African Republic © Pierre Terdjman

Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development.

AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT TAKING ACTION IN SITUATIONS OF FRAGILITY, CRISIS AND VIOLENCE

More agile responses in volatile contexts The proliferation of crisis situations means that donors have to better prepare for them when they occur. Indeed, while each crisis is unique and requires specific responses, what all crisis situations have in common is the extreme volatility of the situation. In order to tailor its activity and organization to the evolution of the context, AFD adapts its strategies for operations in the most vulnerable countries and develops its financial instruments. This approach, combined with an anticipation process, improves the responsiveness and flexibility of AFD’s operations and financing.

The fact that crises spread beyond borders has also alerted development actors to the need to set out their responses in a regional context, and the persistence nature of crises calls for long-term action. For this reason, AFD focuses now on applying multi-year initiatives to crisis hotbeds – including beyond national borders.

Dealing with trauma by mainstreaming psychosocial components into post-crisis projects In its efforts to take the human consequences of conflicts into account, AFD contributes to the management of individual and collective trauma by promoting the rebuilding of social ties in societies which have been weakened and are very often divided, traumatized and racked by violence.

Syria, Lebanon, Jordan: Preventing tensions between refugees and host communities The influx of Syrian refugees puts pressure on public services in certain regions in Jordan and Lebanon: water scarcity, increase in sanitation needs, saturation of education and health facilities, etc. AFD has decided to support populations who host refugees in order to help them address the increase in demand for public services and thereby prevent tensions between refugees and host communities, which could jeopardize social cohesion or trigger new cycles of violence.

EUR 4m were mobilized early in the crisis to help the most affected local authorities. This project has been designed in close partnership with the public authorities along with international and local NGOs. It includes psychosocial care for traumatized populations via individual and collective (families, communities) activities.

It is being expanded and regionalized through the mobilization of additional funds.

Syrian refugees © AFD, Soraya Gouyette

AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT

PROPARCO, AFD’s subsidiary dedicated to private investment, promotes private investment in emerging and developing countries in order to boost growth, promote sustainable development and reach the Millennium Development Goals.

Its financing is tailored to the specific needs of investors in the productive sector, financial systems, infrastructure and private equity investment.

The French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) is a financial instrument of French cooperation and development policy, dedicated to the protection of the global environment in developing countries and emerging markets.

www.proparco.fr

www.ffem.fr - ffem@afd.fr

AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT 5 rue Roland Barthes 75598 Paris Cedex 12 – France Tél. +33 1 53 44 31 31 Fax +33 1 44 87 99 39 www.afd.fr

With funds of €90 million for 2015-2018, the FFEM supports innovative work in developing countries in the following areas: climate, biodiversity, international waters, soil degradation including deforestation, persistent organic pollutants and the ozone layer. At the end of 2015, the FFEM had received financial pledges of €331 million, with 285 projects in their portfolio, 67% of which are in Africa and the Mediterranean.

CROSSCUTTING SUPPORT DEPARTMENT (DAT) CRISIS PREVENTION AND POST-CONFLICT UNIT (CCC)

Creation: Planet 7 – December 2014 / Updated may 2016

Afghanistan © Oriane Zerah

10-31-1482 / PEFC certified / This publication comes from sustainably managed forests and certified sources. / pefc-france.org

Agence Française de Développement (AFD), a public financial institution that implements the policy defined by the French Government, works to combat poverty and promote sustainable development. AFD operates on four continents via a network of 75 offices and finances and supports projects that improve living conditions for populations, boost economic growth and protect the planet. In 2015, AFD earmarked EUR 8.3bn to finance projects in developing countries and for overseas France.