September 3, 2002 -- UNDP launched a series of strategic partnerships at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg Thursday to promote local community participation in sustainable development.
The partnerships aim to mobilize human, institutional and financial resources for initiatives in water, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity (WEHAB) - areas UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has outlined as the focus of WSSD.
Speaking at the launch, UNDP Associate Administrator Zephirin Diabre pointed out that the greatest successes in sustainable development have occurred at the local level. "Over the last decade, UNDP has observed that throughout the world, communities have been courageously and effectively working to eradicate their own poverty while protecting the environment that sustains them," he said.
Alvaro Umana, the UNDP Environmentally Sustainable Group leader, introduced five of the new initiatives, including Capacity 2015, which will help countries to build capacities to benefit from globalization and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Other initiatives deal with water, energy, dryland agriculture and biodiversity.
Umana pointed out that rather than processing a plethora of disconnected projects, UNDP has developed an integrated package of initiatives that will create enabling conditions and develop capacities at the local and national levels to reduce poverty, protect the environment and achieve sustainable development.
UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Nadine Gordimer gave a presentation on freedom from poverty as an essential human right. It preceded testimonies from four representatives of local communities that are making a real difference in each of the WEHAB areas.
Nalini Burn, who works in Mali, described a "multi-function energy platform" featuring a diesel engine that communities can use for various daily purposes. Such modern energy services have boosted community income generation and women's health. "Women say I am tired ... my body feels as though it is breaking ... I sent my children to bed hungry because I do not have the energy to pound the grain and prepare their food," she said. "Energy liberates women from back-breaking effort."
Sunia Delaijagi from Fiji underlined the importance of local community participation in water management. "One of the most important aspects to consider when approaching communities is culture and indigenous knowledge," he said. "Creating local management plans with full community involvement takes a long time."
Will Mejia from Belize explained how community involvement in biodiversity conservation has increased income for local residents. "People who used to poach fish from protected areas using gill nets were willing to stop poaching and change to guiding eco-tourists interested in fly fishing. One man who used to earn only $600 per year managed to increase his income ten-fold."
Siima Bakengesa from Tanzania described how growing trees on farms in a semi-arid area had increased maize and milk output, and released women from the drudgery of searching for firewood every day. "Fertilizers are too expensive. We have proved the economic feasibility of using trees to enrich the soil," she said, pointing out, however, that the international market and not the people "who dig the soil" set produce prices.
