Delivering Sustainable Solutions : engaging with

Governments and Aid Agencies.WWF annual conference 2004

NGO and DonorsA key partnership for sustainable development

Pierre Jacquet Executive Director for Strategy & Chief Economist

French Development Agency (AFD)

Antananarivo. 6-8-2004

Outline• Why are we here :

– Who are we ? The French main operator of ODA– Development aid and Sustainable Development

• MDG : a missed opportunity for SD ?

• Is NRM pro-poor?

• NGO and donors : unlikely but critical relationship– Why should NGOs be concerned with economic development ?

– a balanced partnership between NGOs and donors

• Challenges ahead

Who are we ? (1/3)

• AFD

– Key operator of French ODA within the French ODA system

– Active in 60 countries (Africa, Asia, French overseas territories) with a network of 45 « agencies ».

– 6 « new » countries opened in 2003 to our operations (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Thailand and China)

• TOTAL OPERATIONS (2002) : € 1.6 billion (incl. 0.5 in French overseas territories)

• 1.200 employees

• AFD also manages the French GEF (FFEM)

TOTAL INVESTMENT (2002) € 1 652 M

PROJECT FINANCING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES : € 777 M

URBAN EQUIPMT116,6116,6

TRANSPORT

113113

ENERGY

92,792,7

FINANCIAL SECTOR 235,6235,6

OTHERS

(Education, industries etc.)

120,3120,3

RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT

70,370,3

Who are we (2/3)

Who are we (3/3)

• A major reform of AFD undertaken in 2002– A small, bilateral institution --> strategic focus, search

for impacts

– Key objectives : Global public goods, poverty reduction, sustainable development. View of ODA as a major public policy for globalization, at the juncture of the interests of the North and of the South

– Key commitments : quality, effectiveness• Measuring impacts, accounting for the use of public resources

• Managing for results

• Strategic thinking

Outline• Why are we here :

– Who are we ? The French main operator of ODA

– Development aid and Sustainable Development• MDG : a missed opportunity for SD ?

• Is NRM pro-poor?

• NGO and donors : unlikely but critical relationship– Why should NGOs be concerned with economic development ?

– a balanced partnership between NGOs and donors

• Challenges ahead

ODA and Environment

• Three reasons why environment is at the heart of effective ODA– Fragile natural resources are often the only assets of the

poors : conservation is crucial for development. SD as a social process and a negotiation rather than a result

– Environment is key to several Global public goods

– Evolution of donors ’ perspectives : NRM is a central ingredient for quality and accountability

ODA and NRM (2): What role for MDGs?

• MDG is a powerful rallying message for donors• It is now universally used to measure impacts and communicate

on results• SD should lead to increased focus on environment. But

environment has only a backseat (MDG 7 : environment with water, sanitation and slums).

• We should see MDGs as a scorecard, not as exclusive focus or principles for action– Our objectives are wider– Results matter; long term, perennial results imply a focus on development

and growth processes. Here is the link with SD

Is NRM pro-poor?

• Like growth, NRM is an essential part of any sustainable pro-poor policy

• But NRM is not necessarily framed as a pro-poor policy, nor is it necessarily contributing to poverty reduction.

• Donors currently think of operationalizing pro-poor growth strategies. Similarly, there is a need to operationalize pro-poor NRM strategies

Outline• Why are we here :

– Who are we ? The French main operator of ODA

– Development aid and Sustainable Development• MDG : a missed opportunity for SD ?

• Is NRM pro-poor?

• NGO and donors : unlikely but critical relationship– Why should NGOs promote economic development ?– a balanced partnership between NGOs and donors

• Challenges ahead

Why should environmental NGOs promote economic development?

• Poverty traps : activities mining environment (soil, water resources, forests, biodiversity)

• SD implies the ability to think ahead, which depends on the standard of living. The poor have very short term horizons.

• SD implies growth and poverty reduction : the environment concern alone is not sustainable. How do your programmes meet the test ?

•Forests for life•living waters•endangered seas•species …

==>from a poverty-growth-inequality triangle to a SD quadrangle involving NRM

Outline• Why are we here :

– Who are we ? The French main operator of ODA

– Development aid and Sustainable Development• MDG : a missed opportunity for SD ?

• Is NRM pro-poor?

• NGO and donors : unlikely but critical relationship– Why should NGOs be concerned with economic development ?

– A balanced partnership between NGOs and donors

• Challenges ahead

Environment for development

• Influence all stakeholders in development South and North : governments (including Ministries of finance), businesses, donors, local populations

• Mainstream environment in national strategies (PRSPs) and in national sector policies (infrastructure, energy, agriculture, urban planning, etc)

• Build local capacities : – NGOs close to populations

– Build local capacities to negotiate and operate sustainable development

• Provide scientific inputs to make the case for SD (ecoregion,

hotspots ...)

Balanced partnership

• Building on specific & complementary expertise

– Exchanging field experiences & methodologies

– Independent monitoring of our results

• A professional Alliance

– The political implications of our partnership : needs for

consistency & responsibility

– Trust and long-term relationship : on the field in the countries but

also between WWF-AFD headquarters

The role of economics

• Valuing the contribution of environmental approaches to convince all stakeholders

• Three examples to highlight the importance a common understanding, vision and objective of NGOs, Populations, Government and Donors :– Protected areas in Madagascar

– Costs of environmental degradation

– Sustainable management of central Africa forests

( -9 / +10) $Total

290 000 water user households (irrigated rice farmers, drinkable water)

+3 $(Very

conservative assumption)

Hydrological protection of watersheds

Tourism operators (90%) / PA Network managers (10%)

+4 $Eco-tourism

PA Network manager

+3 $Biodiversity conservation

50 000 farmers households

- 4 $Deforestation opportunity cost

5 $

(still discussed)

Cost of network management and development

Gainers/ Losers (for the network (1.5 million hectares)

Amount per hectare of PA and per year

Cost/benefit

Cost/Benefit Analysis

Source : WB-AFD Carret-Loyer

0,00%

0,50%

1,00%

1,50%

Algeria Egypt Syria Lebanon Tunisia Morocco

Damage costs from Land Degradation

Source :Cost of Environmental Degradation. WB Maria Sarraf Annual damage costs from land degradation as % of GDP

Congo basin forest management

• A strong scientific justification : second world forest basin with high megabiodiversity in rather good condition

• Conflictual approaches : conservation, fiscal and tax incomes, transparency, legislation, sustainable management of forest concessions, illegal logging, bushmeat…

• Result : Confusion, none of these approaches is sustainable by itself.

• PROPOSAL : a joint promotion of the sustainable management of 100% of this natural resource asset :

– 10% in Protected areas (PAs)

– 90 % in sustainable forest concessions (big, medium and villages)

– in a sectorial policy framework including World Bank

• The paradox : WWF is collaborating with AFD on that concern while others are fighting against

Outline• Why are we here :

– Who are we ? The French main operator of ODA

– Development aid and Sustainable Development• MDG : a missed opportunity for SD ?

• Is NRM pro-poor?

• NGO and donors : unlikely but critical relationship– Why should NGOs be concerned with economic development ?

– a balanced partnership between NGOs and donors

• Challenges ahead

Four challenges ahead• 1. High priority : develop our common actions on the field =

Quirimbas, tropical forest, PAs of Madagascar, marine environment ...

• 2. Invest more in institutions for NRM :– At the national level : sector approach (ex: malagasian fisheries),

national development policies or PRSP

– At the global level : the environment pillar of global governance is yet to create

• 3. ODA is set to increase over the coming years : how shall we together push environment ahead to the front seat?

Even more challenging !• 4. Consensus building through a sound economic

analysis of the environment-development nexus :– on climate : consensus on the causes and explanations; no

consensus on impacts.

– on biodiversity : promising examples of work at the global level (ecoregions, hotspots, red list …) but no consensus on causes and impacts

Thank you

Pierre Jacquet Director for Strategy & Chief Economist Agence Française de DéveloppementAFD