Building Resilient Societies: Evolving Solutions

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November 2013

Building Resilient Societies:Evolving Solutions

Engagement in Fragile and Conict-Affected Situations

People living in weak or fragile economies and societiesand those who have experienced conict have had toendure devastating poverty, disadvantage, and inequality.Te rest of the world has struggled to assist.

Countries that may beconsidered fragile or thathave experienced conict,whether at a nationalor subnational level, areorganizing to unify theirvoices on the global stage.High-level meetings havebeen held and declarationsof intent have been issued,but this commitment needsto be translated into moreeffective action on theground. A forum was heldin Manila in June 2013to translate international

intent into in-countryactions so that more resilientand more inclusive societies

Basics of Fragile Situations .................................... 2

Moving the International Agenda Forward ........... 2

A Complex Story of Exclusion ............................... 3

Working Better ..................................................... 6

Lessons and Directions ......................................... 6

What Next to Overcome Exclusion? .................... 10

This publication is part of the regional technicalassistance project Enhancing ADBs Engagement inFragile and Conflict-Affected Situations (TA 8065-REG). Consultant economist Stephen Pollard preparedthis publication under the guidance of the ADB focalpoint for fragile situations, Patrick Safran, with editorialand design inputs from consultant Cyrel San Gabriel.A panel of reviewers, including Aaron Batten, Claudia

Buentjen, and Emma Veve of ADB; Francisco Jota Laraof International Alert; and Senator Mattlan Zackhrasof the Republic of the Marshall Islands, providedcomments and technical inputs.

may emerge. Tis note summarizes the complex storyof exclusion and the recommendations for action thatemerge from the Manila Forum,1the recent literature,and the latest international discussions.

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1 ADBAustralian Aid Forum on Building Resilience to Fragility in Asia and the Pacic: Proceedings. Manila. 67 June 2013.


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Basics of FragileSituations

One in four people in the world, more than1.5 billion, live in fragile and conict-affectedsituations (FCAS). By 2015, half of the worldspoor who live on less than $1.25 a day will be infragile states.2

More conicts are seen in Asia than elsewhereand their frequency has not declined. Whiledevastating for individual countries or areas,these conicts have not yet derailed economicdevelopment in Asia as a whole, but they remain athreat to growth and stability.3

Fragility remains one of the biggest obstacles topeacebuilding and poverty reduction, making thisa primary development challenge and priority forthe international development community.4

Low-income fragile and conict-affected countriesare off track in achieving the MillenniumDevelopment Goals by 2015 (footnote 2). Women and girls in FCAS fare notably worse than

their counterparts in other developing countries onmany human development indicators.5

Te small and geographically isolated islandcountries in the Pacic are especially vulnerableto internal and external shocks because ofweaknesses in public governance, weak policies,underdeveloped domestic markets, limitedeconomic opportunities, and the effects of climate

change, including rising sea levels (footnote 3). Development partners are therefore increasingly

focusing their assistance on the needs of countrieswith FCAS.6

Te New Deal for Engagement in Fragile Statesemphasizes that the current ways of workingin FCAS need improvement.7 Fragility and

conict are costly for a country and its citizens,for neighboring countries, and for the globalcommunity. In terms of development assistance,the policies, principles, and operational approachesthat development agencies normally apply can

be ineffective. Tey may even risk adding to thediffi culties nations already face in establishing theeffective and legitimate institutions and leadershipneeded to transition to stability and sustaineddevelopment over the long term. Failure to engagein FCAS differently and better can incur human,social, economic, and security costs.

Moving the InternationalAgenda ForwardTe international FCAS agenda has progressed from theParis Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in 2005 to theOECD Principles for Good International Engagement inFragile States and Situations (2007), the Accra Agenda for

2 World Bank. 2011. World Development Report 2011: Conict, Security, and Development.Washington, DC; and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development (OECD). 2013. Fragile States 2013: Resource Flows and rends in a Shifting World. Paris.

3 ADB. 2012. Working Differently in Fragile and Conict-Affected Situations: Te ADB Experience. Manila.4 OECD. 2012. Fragile States 2013: Resource Flows and rends in a Shifting World. Paris; and footnote 3.5 ADB. 2013. Operational Plan for Enhancing ADBs Effectiveness in Fragile and Conict-Affected Situations. Manila; and footnote 4.6 Te United Kingdom (UK) plans to provide 30% of its overseas development assistance to fragile and conict-affected states by 2015, according to the

Operational Plan 20112015 of the Department for International Developments (DFID) Governance and Fragile States Department. Te Independent Review

of Aid Effectivenessof 2011 called for 50% of Australias bilateral and regional aid to be spent in fragile states.7 International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding. 2011. New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States. Te New Deal was endorsed at the Fourth High

Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness at Busan in the Republic of Korea, 29 November1 December 2011.

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Action (2008), the Dili Declaration of 2010, further g7+Statements in 2011, the Busan New Deal for Engagement

in Fragile States also in 2011, the Dili Consensus inFebruary 2013, and the Washington Communiqu ofApril 2013. However, this agenda is not complete. TeWashington Communiqu stresses the value of a post-2015 development agenda that recognizes the universalimportance of peacebuilding and statebuilding and thatreects the results and lessons of the New Deal. Further,as the New Deal states, Te current ways of working infragile states need serious improvement. A New Dealfor engagement in fragile states is necessary.

Te Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the AustralianAgency for International Development (Australian Aid)

jointly hosted a High-Level Forum on Building Resilienceto Fragility in Asia and the Pacic from 6 to 7 June 2013in Manila (the Manila Forum). Te Manila forum wasdesigned to exchange ideas on new ways of engagementand what constitutes working differently and workingbetter in FCAS to help build resilience to fragility andconict. In the forum workshop, participants were asked(i) how stronger partnerships for building resilience couldbe formed, (ii) how to encourage country ownershipand leadership to build on the Dili Consensus and theWashington Communiqu, and (iii) how to contribute toNew Deal implementation.

More than 60 participants, including high-rankinggovernment offi cials and senior representatives fromdevelopment partners and civil society organizations,

joined the forum.8 Tis brief has been prepared topromote the adoption of the Manila Forums ve priority

recommendations. Tis set of recommendations, which issupported by recent literature, aims to guide all concernedparties as to how to work differently in FCAS. Teserecommendations can be immediately applied to buildresilience to fragility and conict. Te structure of thisnote follows that of the Manila Forum agenda.

A Complex Story

of ExclusionAs described by the participants of the Manila Forum,key interrelated factors describe both fragile and conict-affected situations. Tese are weak political relationships,if not outright capture of the political leadership underconict; the imperfect functioning of the state andassociated processes of governance; a weak economy;and for some countries, the impact of natural disastersand climate change. As a direct result of this complexsituation, people can be marginalized and excludedfrom the development process (Figure 1). Te excluded

can comprise displaced ethnic minorities, those withoutsecurity to land, the aged, youth, women, and theunemployed, as well as those who are geographically

8 A full record of the forum proceedings has been published. See ADB. 2013. Forum on Building Resilience to Fragility in Asia and the Pacic: Proceedings. Manila.

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Power

Political

Processes

Economy

Prices

Structure

State

Capacities

Institutions

Governance

Nature

Figure 1 Inclusion or Exclusion?

isolated. Tis exclusion may be enforced as a result ofconict or it can be far more indirect and less readilyapparent, as in the case of weak governance or pooreconomic policy. Tis story of fragility and conict hasresulted in displacement of people, loss of livelihoodsand lives, poor and sometimes tragic insecurity, injustice,and other problematic social and economic outcomes,including unemployment, inequality, and poverty. It is astory of exclusion.

POWER

Fragility and conict shape, and are shaped by, governmentdecision making. In fragile Pacic countries, the politicalleadership, while commonly elected, can be subsequentlyguided by family and clan interests rather than nationalinterests or the principles of sound governance. Becauseof the weak political party systems and frequent changesof government, politicians have struggled to develop andimplement long-term policy priorities, focusing insteadon short-term political survival. A political economy thatcan further protect existing vested interests of certain elitegroups may also curtail, if not prevent, change or reform

in the greater public interest.9Control over governmentdecision making can lead to some people being excludedfrom security, justice, and other essential public servicesand from economic opportunities.

STATE

Limited government capacities to handle FCAS,underdeveloped and non-inclusive institutions, and poorunderstanding of the means to growth and to delivering

better public services can combine to result in a lack ofeconomic opportunity and access to public services. Weakgovernance processes compound thisthat is, a lackof accountability, transparency, and participation. Tefailure of the state and governance can be particularlyacute in the delivery of essential public services to moreremote areas and to the poor. In other circumstances, toomany organizations with uncoordinated and overlappingmandates can complicate and curtail service delivery. Afew personal interests may also capture state functions.Tis may be particularly severe in oil, minerals, andother resource-rich economies. A weak state and weakgovernance can lead to exclusion.10

Source: ADB.

9 An example here is the payment of board members of state-owned enterprises in the Republic of Kiribati preventing reform of ownership as cited in ADB. 2009.

Kiribatis Political Economy and Capacity Development. Manila.10 OECD Fragile States Principle #2, Do No Harm, states: International interventions can inadvertently create societal divisions and worsen corruption and

abuse, if they are not based on strong conict and governance analysis, and designed with appropriate safeguards.


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ECONOMY

Some FCAS economies use hard foreign currencies astheir own means of nancial exchange and transactionand they may otherwise employ sound monetary policiesthat promote macroeconomic stability. Another set ofFCAS economies have established sovereign trust fundsand they, at least in some years, carefully managed their

scal affairs. While some FCAS economies may at timesbe well managed for short-term price stabilization, theycommonly remain price takers and their economies canbe destabilized by uctuations in world prices. Te veryfabric of the economy can also be much more diffi cult tox, even in the long term.

As the ADB and World Bank annual countryperformance assessments have described for the past12 years or more, growth and development in FCASeconomies has been greatly constrained by poor policiesand institutions.11 Tis is most especially the case for arange of structural policies where, for example (i) a weakenvironment for business curtails private investment;(ii) ineffi cient state-owned enterprises fail to deliver

services, crowd out private business, and debilitategovernment nances; and (iii) traditional systems oftenure and a shortage of secure title can prevent land fromcontributing to economic development.12Such structuralimpediments restrict investment, job creation, economicgrowth, and revenue generation for public infrastructure,

11 Te system was adopted by ADB in 2001. Te performance-based allocation system was revised in 2004, 2007, and 2008. ADB. 2004. Review of the Asian

Development Banks Policy on the Performance-Based Allocation of Asian Development Fund Resources. Manila; ADB. 2007. Revising the Framework for Asian

Development Fund Grants. Manila; and ADB. 2008. Rening the Performance-Based Allocation of Asian Development Fund Resources. Manila.12 Land tenure was cited in the Manila Forum as a cause of conict in Mindanao and the reason for a lack of growth in the Pacic.

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welfare, and social growth. Tis is another way in whichpeople are excluded.

Population growth that outpaces both economicgrowth and migration opportunities leads to increasingunemployment, with youth unemployment of particularconcern today. Lack of domestic growth may in turn alsolead to a continued overdependence on foreign assistancethat may further diminish incentives for domestic reform.

Public sector borrowing without growth eventually leadsto scal diffi culty and indebtedness, threatening theprovision of public infrastructure and services as well aseconomic stability. Poor structural policies, a dependenceon external assistance, and excessive borrowing may createor worsen fragility and exclude some of a countrys citizensfrom the benets of greater growth and development.

NATURE

Natural disasters, including extreme weather conditions,and the impacts of climate change have already eroded,

if not removed, peoples livelihoods and supportingeconomic and social infrastructure. Climate changethreatens food security, most especially in the fragilereefs and freshwater lenses of the atoll countries. Tecomparative isolation and inadequate transport andcommunication of many communities in the Pacic canalso sustain a lack of information and understanding ofthe means to growth and development and thereforemarginalize or exclude people.

Working BetterSome, though noticeably not all, FCAS-affectedgovernments and their development partners haveeither aligned with certain principles of engagement orhave signed international agreements to help alleviatefragility and conict.13 Development partners have also

formulated their own approaches, strategies, plans, andassessment tools, and strengthened logistics planning andmanagement to direct their assistance to FCAS. However,despite all the existing agreements, arrangements, andtailored approaches, fragility and conict persist. Asthe UKs Department for International Development(DFID) states, We will not achieve the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) or eliminate global

poverty if the international community does not addressconict and fragility more effectively. Simply increasingthe volume of aid will not be enough without tacklingthe underlying causes directly. Tere is a tendency indevelopment to work around conict and fragility. Astep change in international approaches is required.14Te New Deal for Engagement in Fragile Statesemphasizesthat the current ways of working in fragile states needserious improvement. Te Manila Forum participantscalled for a paradigm shift in the way the internationalcommunity helps to build the resilience of FCAS.

Lessons and DirectionsAN INTEGRATED FRAMEWORKAND BROAD DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

If the complex web of marginalization and exclusion thatwas depicted by the Manila Forum is to be overcome,then FCAS-affected governments and their developmentpartners will need to embrace an integrated frameworkthat addresses all components: power (politics and politicaleconomy, safety, and security); economy (prices, policies,markets, structure, income, and opportunity); and thestate (institutions, access to public services, law andjustice, and governance processes).15 More attention toclimate adaptation, better risk assessment, and enhancedresponses to natural disasters are also called for. Restoringor strengthening the capacities, institutions, and functions

13 Tese principles and agreements include OECD. Te Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness 2005 and the Accra Agenda for Action 2008 www.oecd.org/

development/effectiveness/34428351.pdf; OECD. 2007. Principles for Fragile States and Situations. Paris. www.oecd.org/dacfragilestates; International Dialogueon Peacebuilding and Statebuilding. 2010. Dili Declaration: A New Vision for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding. imor-Leste; A New Deal for Engagement inFragile States. www.pbsbdialogue.org/documentupload/49151944.pdf; International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding. Participating Countries andOrganisations. www.pbsbdialogue.org/documentupload/44788922.pdf; OECD. 2007. Principles for Good International Engagement in Fragile States and

Situations. www.oecd.org/dac/incaf/38368714.pdf14 DFID. 2010. Building Peaceful States and Societies.A DFID Practice Paper. London.15 Tis Manila Forum observation is supported by OECD Fragile States Principle #5, which notes that the challenges faced by fragile states are multi-dimensional.

Te political, security, economic and social spheres are inter-dependent.


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of postconict or fragile states is not enough. Te processesof good governance, improved power relations between thestate and its constituents, and economic reform are also

required. Engagement with civil society and the privatesector is essential, as is building trust and condence, inorder to establish legitimacy of the state. Opportunities toparticipate in building and rebuilding relations between thestate and civil society, between the main urban center andthe periphery, and between the formal and informal sectorsare powerful tools for building a more inclusive society.Everybody needs to play a role in reconstructing the fabricof more inclusive politics, economy, state, and society.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

In responding to the complex set of FCAS issues andchallenges, there must rst be a political settlement andpolitical stability. Tis sets the stage for the reintegration,strengthened representation, and greater future inclusionof marginalized and excluded peoples. Once civil orderhas been restored, the next immediate step, in both post-conict and fragile situations, is to build or rebuild theessential state institutions. Following the strengtheningof institutions, the next step is to re-establish orimprove good governance processes of participation,accountability, transparency, and predictability that enablestate institutions to operate effectively and in an inclusivemanner. Once the state institutions are rebuilt and/orstrengthened, the incumbent government administration

can then prepare the national plans, policies, andlegislation that support public service delivery, privatemarkets, growth, and development.

FROM PRIORITY AND SEQUENCE

All these reforms need to be sequenced and paced. Teprioritization and sequencing of reforms should be inthis order: (i) political stability and civil order; (ii) stateinstitution and governance building; (iii) economic, scal,and price stabilization; and (iv) structural adjustment.Tis sequence of reforms takes many years and requireslong-term support.16Te sequence should not, however,preclude early restoration of security and justice,investment and reinvestment in building and rebuilding

essential public infrastructure, and the creation of jobs,even if these are only temporary.

TO STRENGTHENING CORE GOVERNMENTFUNCTIONS AND A SECURE PLATFORM OFASSISTANCE

In FCAS, delivering early successes is considered veryimportant for building support for the process of reform.Important areas for early intervention emphasized inthe literature and in the latest international discussionsare jobs, security, and justice.17 Based on several fragilecountries experiences, strengthening local governance,leveraging traditional community justice and resolution

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16 Te World Banks World Development Report 2011: Conict, Security, and Developmentargues in favor of sequencing of assistance.17 International Monetary Fund. 2011. Macroeconomic and Operational Challenges in Countries in Fragile Situations. Strategy, Policy and Review Department.

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processes, and building or rebuilding local communityassets can be important places to start after conict.

Te story is much more complicated, however, whenit comes to sustaining job creation, security, justice, andpublic investment. As the ADB capacity developmentstudy concluded, where the core functions of governmentare weak, as they have been in many Pacic islandcountries, the delivery of public services (such as security,justice, basic education, and basic health services) has alsobeen weak.18Additional funds alone have rarely been ableto strengthen and sustain that delivery. Strengthening coregovernment functions is a prerequisite to strengtheningstate operations and to restoring and expanding privatemarkets (Figure 2).19 Both agents of peacebuilding andstatebuilding are needed initially; and for peace to besustained, statebuilding efforts will need to be continuedinto the long term. An annual minimum level, or abasic secure platform, of assistance that is focused onstrengthening core government functions will be requiredfor some decades if the marginalization and exclusion thatresults from fragility is to be lessened.20

PARTICIPATE AND PACETO RESTORE AND REFORM

In fragile and conict-affected situations, coordinationand participation both within government and betweengovernment and civil society and the private sector arelikely to be essential.21 In the immediate to short termin some countries, civil society and the private sector

may be in a better position to supply some of the publicservices and jobs in FCAS. However, strengthening orreconstructing political relationships, state and governanceprocesses, and the economy will all require a muchlonger time.

While scal and price stabilization may be restoredwithin the short term, it is the longer-term needs ofstructural economic adjustment that present the greatersocial and political challenge in FCAS. In the longerterm, land reform and reforming state-owned enterprisesand the business environment in support of a strongereconomy leading to economic growth and development

will require the understanding and support of civil societyand the private sector. Participation is essential to buildingthis understanding and support and thereby to securinglonger-term resilience.

Post-conict reconstruction as well as state,governance, and economic reforms, especially structuralreforms, will likely incur social and political trade-offsthat is, some social and political cost. Te politicalleadership in FCAS is confronted with the great challengeof building alliances and otherwise managing the politicaleconomy of reform and of pacing economic reforms sothat it may secure social and political accommodation forthose reforms. As the International Monetary Fund (IMF)has stated, Te adoption of an overly ambitious reformstrategy risks creating unrealistic expectations that couldfurther damage the legitimacy of the state (footnote 17).Sustaining reconstruction and state, governance, andeconomic reforms will likely require rm ownership,leadership, and broad commitment. It may require

STRONGER STATE AND ECONOMY

Investment, Jobs, Incomes

Private MarketsPublic Services

Health, Education,Security, Justice

Core Government Functions

Policy, Economic Management, PublicFinancial Management, Regulation,

Civil Service Administration

Figure 2 The Role of Core Government Functions

Source: ADB.

18 ADB. 2008. Pacic Choice Learning from Success. Capacity Development Series. Manila.19 DFID and others argue the three indispensible functions are security, law and justice, and nancial and macroeconomic management. See DFID. 2010.

Building Peaceful States and Societies: A DFID Practice Paper. OECD Fragile States Principle #3 argues that strengthening the capability of states to fulll their

core functions is essential in order to reduce poverty. Priority functions include: ensuring security and justice; mobilizing revenue; establishing an enablingenvironment for basic service delivery, strong economic performance and employment generation. ADB argues that certain core state functions need to be

in place for public services and private markets to be sustained and to be improved. Tese are policy formulation (most especially structural policy), economic

management, public nancial management and procurement, revenue generation, and civil service administration. See ADB. 2008. Learning from Success.Manila.

20 Te New Deal for Engagement in Fragile Statesargues that basic government transformations may take 2040 years.21 OECD Fragile States Principle #6 states that Measures to promote the voice and participation of women, youth, minorities and other excluded groups should

be included in state-building and service delivery strategies from the outset.


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consistently bringing local voice to the national stage aswell as an adaptive program that identies and builds onthe demand for change in the local community that hasbeen impacted by fragility and conict. Again, processesof participation are essential to such reforms.

DONOR HUMILITY

Given the likely signicant involvement of foreigngovernments, the United Nations, development partners,and other international assistance in the processes ofrestoring peace and state operations after conict, robustdonor coordination is required to build resilience tofragility, to adapt to and mitigate climate change, andfor recovery after natural disasters. It is important tonote that different development partners have differentroles to play during the different stages and processes ofbuilding resilience. However, resilience that is built tolast can only come with local ownership, commitment,and leadership. As Kaplan (2009) records, there can be

an enormous gap between local informal institutions thatwork in FCAS and the foreign-imposed central formalinstitutions that are commonly not accepted by societyat large.22 Processes of peace and statebuilding shouldtherefore always be country-led and country-driven withany assistance tailored to the individual country context.As Deputy Minister Mohammad Mustafa Mastoor ofthe Afghanistan Ministry of Finance stated at the ManilaForum, No one knows the priorities and needs of a FCAScountry better than the country itself. Hence, any solutionmust be reached via a fully participatory mechanism andnot be unilaterally imposed.23

oo much assistance and its too-early provision canbe detrimental, but this may not be felt by foreign entities.Overt foreign engagement can prevent local ownership,leadership, commitment, and sustainable local solutions.

Development partners are also unlikely to have intimateknowledge of the FCAS political economy and theywill need to be informed by a critical knowledge of andattention to the political dynamics in each country orsubnational situation. Tey will likely need to bring localexpertise on board to guide their assistance. Developmentpartners are therefore obliged to take a back seat, but theirinstitutional management incentives and eager staff may

not readily adopt the detachment and humility required.Development risks are greater in FCAS than non-FCAS but the rewards from peace, stability, and resilienceare greater still. Tese risks may still need to be betterunderstood by peacebuilding and statebuilding agenciesand factored into programs of assistance.

A MORE HOPEFUL FUTURE

Tere are reasons to be optimistic. In some countries, peace has been restored, states

have been strengthened, and, as the World Bank has

recently noted, some FCAS countries have achievedsome of the Millennium Development Goals.24

FCAS countries are gaining a greater internationalvoice through the g7+ group of countries.25

While identity has been abused as a sourceof discrimination, it will remain key to socialdevelopment. Climate change is the responsibility of all and notjust those who are about to lose all. Te funds forclimate change are now becoming more available. Development partners are committing more staff

on the ground in FCAS with more funds and staff

training. Participation has led to growth and development.26

Women have acted as change agents for peace,such as in Nepal.27

22 Kaplan, S. 2009. Rethinking State Building: Fixing Fragile States. Te Broker Online. www.thebrokeronline.eu/Articles/Rethinking-state-building (05-09-2013)23 OECD Fragile States Principle #1 advocates taking context as the starting point.24 World Bank. Global Monitoring Report 2013: Monitoring the MDGs. Washington, DC.25 g7+ website. www.g7plus.org26 Examples of policies and projects where participation has led to sustainable development include the following ADB participatory projects: (i) Abbott, D. and

S. Pollard. 2004. Hardship and Poverty in the Pacic. ADB. www.adb.org/sites/default/les/pub/2004/hardship-poverty.pdf; (ii) ADB. 2009. Strengthening

Pacic Fragile States. Te Marshall Islands Example.ADB Pacic Studies Series. www.adb.org/sites/default/les/pub/2009/strengthening-pacic-fragile-states.pdf; (iii) Graham, B. 2008. Fishing for Development. Manila: ADB. www.adb.org/sites/default/les/rmi-shing-development.pdf; (iv) Graham, B. 2008.

Responding to the Youth Crisis. Manila: ADB. www.adb.org/sites/default/les/responding-youth-crisis.pdf; (v) Mackenzie, U. 2008.A ale of wo CDs: CapacityDevelopment and Community Development in the Waste, Water, and Sanitation Sector in Kiribati. Manila: ADB. www.adb.org/sites/default/les/tale-of-2-cds.pdf; (vi) Government of Nauru. National Sustainable Development Strategy 20052025. Partnership for Quality of Life. See also ADB. 2008. Pacic Choice.

Building Capacity through Participation. Nauru National Sustainable Development Strategy. Manila. www.adb.org/sites/default/les/nnsds-building-capacity.pdf;

and (vii) Yala, C.A. 2011. Political Economy Analysis of the Customary Land enure Reforms in Papua New Guinea. In Duncan, R. ed. Te Political Economy

of Economic Reform in the Pacic. Manila: ADB. www.adb.org/sites/default/les/political-economy-economic-reform-pac.pdf27 ADB. 2013. Te Role of Women in Peacebuilding in Nepal. Manila. www.adb.org/publications/role-women-peacebuilding-nepal


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What Next toOvercome Exclusion?

How can the marginalization and exclusion of peoplein FCAS that result from the composite abuse of power,weak governance, inadequate state and economic

policies, as well as from the impact of natural andenvironmental conditions, be lessened if not overcome?Many principles and much guidance have alreadybeen established. Te means to sharing power, goodgovernance, economic reform, insuring and preparingfor disasters, and adapting to climate change are largelyknown. But how can the international communityfurther embed this existing knowledge in futureefforts in each FCAS to overcome marginalization andexclusion and thereby strengthen the affected country?Te Manila Forum recommended the following vepriority actions: participation, voice, funding, mapping,

and measurement. Tese actions are supported by the

recommendations of recent literature as well as the latestinternational discussions.

RECOMMENDATION 1. INCREASEPARTICIPATION OF ALL STAKEHOLDERS

It is important to make sure that no one is left out, tokeep talking, to stay the course, to be honest, earnest,

frank and fair, said Secretary eresita Quintos Deles,Philippines Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, inthe Manila Forum closing address.

Whether the threat of marginalization and exclusionis political, economic, or state-based, or due to isolation,climate impact, or natural hazards, participation is key toproviding for inclusion. Processes of participation shouldtherefore be near the top of the list of considerationswhen designing a FCAS intervention. ADBs long-term strategic framework Strategy 2020 underscoresthe importance of participation in ADB operations andemphasizes that partnerships in general are a key driver of

change in development.28

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RECOMMENDATION 2. GIVE GREATER VOICETO FRAGILE AND CONFLICTAFFECTED STATES

All recent international meetings including the ManilaForum have agreed that it is important for the internationalcommunity to continue to raise the concerns of FCAS.As the deputy minister of nance of the Government ofAfghanistan stated, the majority of the people affected

live within the borders of countries that are not part of thisg7+ Tis has hindered the inclusivity of the g7+ and willhave to be addressed to include all the people affected byconict, regardless of their countries. Te Manila Forumwas also instrumental in bringing new voice from thePacic islands to the g7+ group of countries. ADB is wellplaced to continue to help in deepening and enriching thisexpanded voice given its developing country membership.

RECOMMENDATION 3. IMPROVE FUNDING

Aid provided to FCAS countries is typically morevolatile than aid to other countries, and less aid may beprovided due to these countries relatively poor policyand institutional performance. ADB and World Bankpolicies to allocate grant and concessional funds todeveloping member countries based on country policy andinstitutional performance can put poorly performing FCAScountries at a disadvantage. Tis allocation policy conictswith the long-term prerequisite to restore and build stateoperations including a priority focus on core governmentfunctions.29Te international community needs to agreeon a minimum base level or platform of assistance to FCAS

to build core government functions over the long term.30

ADB has already committed to preparing a draft paper forenhancing nancial resources for FCAS.31

As Senator Mattlan Zackhras from the Republic of theMarshall Islands stated, confronted by climate change thetime has come for the Pacic islands to consider whetherto invest in their future or retreat. Most islanders have noimmediate option but to continue to invest in a future intheir home islands. Tis will require further assistance tosecure food, shelter, and livelihoods.

Te international community including the ManilaForum supports the provision of more development partnerstaff and staff training to assist FCAS. A move towardcoordinated development partner funding of joint policyaction matrices such as in the cases of Samoa, Solomon Islands,and onga will reduce the proliferation of developmentpartner funding arrangements and therefore lessen the stresson limited coordination capacities of FCAS.32

RECOMMENDATION 4. MAP FRAGILITYTO BETTER UNDERSTAND AND WORKIN THE LOCAL CONTEXT

As Kaplan states, International action should focus onfacilitating local processes, leveraging local capacities andcomplementing local actions, so that local citizens can creategovernance systems appropriate to their surroundings(footnote 23). In line with the New Deal, the international

29 OECD Fragile States Principle #10 states, International actors need to address the problem of aid orphansstates where there are no signicant politicalbarriers to engagement, but few international actors are engaged and aid volumes are low.

30 OECD Fragile States Principle #9 states, Since volatility of engagement (not only aid volumes, but also diplomatic engagement and eld presence) is potentiallydestabilising for fragile states, international actors must improve aid predictability in these countries.

31 Page 30, imeline for Implementing ADBs Operational Plan for FCAS. ADB. 2013. Operational Plan for Enhancing ADBs Effectiveness in Fragile and Conict-

Affected Situations. Manila.32 See for example, Government of Samoa. 2010. Evaluation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action Samoa. Country Report.

28 December. Annex 4.

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community has already agreed to conduct joint governmentand development partner exercises to map a commonunderstanding of the local context of each FCAS. Tis wouldinclude mapping the current capacities of core governmentfunctions and the political economy. Tis in turn wouldenable FCAS governments to prepare long-term programs ofresilience building with sequenced and prioritized actions fordevelopment partner support.33Ideally this would be followed

up by regular peace and conict impact assessments. ADBhas already committed to processing a regional technicalassistance paper and mobilizing a resource group that couldsupport in-country mapping.34

RECOMMENDATION 5. MEASURE FRAGILITY

As DFID has stated, the methods for dening and classifyingfragility are contested.35 Te Manila Forum reiterated theneed to support the undertaking of research to establish howgovernment and development partners may better measureFCAS progress or deterioration in building resilience. ADBs

Economics and Research Department has already embarkedon research to contribute to FCAS measurement.

CONCRETE AND CONSTRUCTIVE DIRECTIONS

At the outset of the Manila Forum, the ADB Presidentasked that the meeting provide concrete and constructivedirections. Te ve priority recommendations furtherthe New Deal and the Washington Communiqu ina practical way that will assist operations in fragile andconict-affected countries.36 Greater participation andvoice will advance all the commitments of the New Deal.A secure platform of funding to build core governmentfunctions and funding for climate change adaptationwill assist two of the New Deals Peacebuilding andStatebuilding Goals (PSGs): Economic Foundations andRevenues and Services. A secure platform of funding willalso support the New Deals commitment to timely andpredictable aid. Mapping will further the New Deals callfor fragility assessment, a one vision, one plan and thecompact. Measurement will support the use of PSGs tomonitor progress.37

If you have 64 donors all with different ideas and

solutions you have a mess. If you have 64 donors all supportingyour vision and plan you have a recipe for success, concludedEmilia Pires, governor for the Democratic Republic ofimor-Leste in ADB; minister of nance and chair ofthe g7+; and cochair of the International Dialogue onPeacebuilding and Statebuilding.

ADBMan

ila

Forum

2013

Asian Development Bank Publication Stock No. ARM136156-2

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT

Patrick Safran

Focal Point for Fragile and Conflicted-Affected Situations

Pacific Department

Asian Development Bank

Tel +63 2 632 5615

[email protected]

OR VISIT

www.adb.org/Pacific and www.adb.org/fragile-situations

33 Tis decision supports OECD Fragile States Principle #8 to agree on practical co-ordination mechanisms between international actors.34 Footnote 31.35 DFID. 2012. Results in Fragile and Conict-Affected States and Situations: How to Note. London.36 Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Goals (PSGs) of legitimate politics, security, justice, economic foundations, and revenue and services. FOCUS: Fragility

assessment, One vision, one plan, Compact, Use PSGs to monitor, Support political dialogue and leadership RUS: ransparency, Risk-sharing, Use and strengthen

country systems, Strengthen capacities, and imely and predictable aid. Te Washington Communiqu on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding. 2013. Tird International

Dialogue Global Meeting Te New Deal: Achieving Better Results and Shaping the Global Agenda. 19 April 2013. Washington, DC.37 See A New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States. www.g7plus.org/storage/New%20Deal%20English.pdf

Building Resilient Societies: Evolving Solutions

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