Improving decentralised natural resource management in the Sahel
The case of the Sourou river plain in Mali
Over the course of 2019, and despite being located in a region marked by violent conflict, the Inter collectivité du Sourou achieved a unique feat in the West African region. It developed an Integrated and Sustainable Development Programme (ISDP) that defined concrete actions to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Sourou river plain in Mali in an adaptive fashion and set itself up as the main coordinator for the implementation of this plan. Both achievements will help the region coordinate natural resource management – thereby addressing one of the region’s root causes of conflict.
This policy brief outlines how the effective devolution of power was achieved through an inclusive rather than a ‘rubber stamp’ approach to the planning process and by having a donor that made the improvement of local governance a result of its own intrinsic value. For the long- term implementation of the ISDP, care should be taken to ensure the continued inclusivity and representativeness of local development and resource management while remaining mindful of the interaction of this new governance structure with existing governance and power structures.
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This report series is also available in French.
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The work of humanitarian aid workers and the accompanied negotiations are crucial for delivering aid to those in need. The ability to effectively negotiate in stressful circumstances is a skill which is essential to every humanitarian worker: from the field-based aid worker negotiating access on the frontline to the manager in headquarters talking to donors and governments.
