MISSION REPORT ON THE FORMULATION OF THE EQUITABLE AND SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (ESHDP) FOR VANUATU

22 November to 17 December 1992

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.0 Major Findings

The ESHDP Formulation Mission was undertaken from 22 November to 17 December 1992 in Port Vila and the outer islands of Ambrym and Banks/Torres. The Mission, which comprised George Burugo (Senior Planner, NPSO), Nestor Pestelos (Community Development Specialist) and Jeff Liew (Program Formulation Coordinator), noted that:

• Policies, programs and projects exist with focus on disadvantaged communities, youth and women;

• Existing national policies aim for the attainment of economic self reliance through vigorous promotion of sustainable development, which in turn is deemed achievable through community participation in all the various stages of development planning and implementation, and by adopting a keen ecological perspective in identifying projects;

• The national plan places equal importance, along with sectoral goals, on “cross-cutting issues,” which are actually multisectoral concerns on the environment and the unique situation of ni-Vanuatu youth and women;

• The plan also seeks to improve the quality of rural life and envisions greater balance between the regions, indicating an appraisal of the relative development situation of each region;

• Disadvantaged communities have been identified for the provision of marine transport support and other much needed services in the outer islands;

• Programs and projects, either being carried out or in the pipeline, have been conceived mostly in isolation from each other and thus resulting in disparate and less effective ways to reach disadvantaged communities and groups;

• National and sub-national structures exist which can make possible a comprehensive and systematic planning and implementation of projects with the involvement of disadvantaged communities, youth and women;

• A regional planning program has been implemented since 1986 with the following major gains so far achieved:

a) collection and analysis of basic baseline and profile data for each of the regions;

b) an inventory of available resources and potential in each region;

c) identification of major problems and the formulation of sectoral strategies;

d) initial approximation of projects in line with these strategies.

2.0 Entry Point for ESHDP

The ESHDP strategy seeks to build on these existing policies, structures, plans and programs which focus on disadvantaged communities, youth and women through the implementation of a National Program on Disadvantaged Communities and Groups (NPDCG).

The logical entry point for ESHDP, based on an assessment of expected program impact on-going programs and projects for the disadvantaged, will be the perceived need to further improve the country’s regional development planning and implementation process. Specifically, ESHDP can contribute the following to further enhance this process and thus result in sustainable and cost-effective services for disadvantaged communities, women and youth in Vanuatu:

• special focus on the interrelated needs of disadvantaged communities, youth and women in specific ecological zones within each region;

• intensive capability-building efforts at community and government levels on the application of participatory methodologies in all the various steps of development planning, implementation and monitoring;

• preparation, execution and assessment/revision of ecological and community development action plans and projects;

• systematic promotion of sustainable and human development concerns at policy, planning and implementation levels of the participatory development process;

• synchronized support of government ministries, NGOs and international donor agencies based on community evolved plans and projects in specific ecological resource zones;

• convergence of services and commodities in villages and project sites.

3.0 Key Activities to Implement ESHDP

The key activities to implement the program strategy in Vanuatu will be as follows:

• put in place a bottom-up development planning process with the ecological and community development management zone (ECDMZ) as the basic area-based planning unit. The ECDMZ can be a watershed, small island and its reef etc., from which the community draws its subsistence, livelihood and traditional roles and authority from. Such an area will make planning immediately more relevant to the people and provides for the integration of environmental and resource management parameters at the community level.
  
  

• Initial intensive work in a specific ECDMZ in a selected region as basic unit (and as an advance and demonstration area) for participatory profiling and planning, as well as for actual implementation of action plans and projects with the full participation of disadvantaged communities, youth and women;

• expansion of activities to other ecological resource zones within the area and eventual coverage of the entire region, producing in the process, action plans and projects at household and village levels, area-based integrated programs and a regional development plan evolved jointly with the people and the disadvantaged population groups;

• institutionalizing the participatory development planning methodology as part of the national development planning process. It is only through a nation-wide development planning process that successful projects and methodologies (initiated in the demonstration/advance area) can be replicated throughout the country;

• intensive training of national trainers, regional planners, local government and area councils, community organizations and indigenous institutions to make possible the sustainability of projects and program concerns;

• high level advocacy and sensitization targeted at politicians and traditional leaders together with a program for mainstreaming of disadvantaged communities and groups in the formal and informal decision and resource allocation process;

• strengthening of coordinative links within the policy and planning bodies, and the various service delivery agencies, to ensure timely and adequate response to community-articulated needs;

• creation of a viable mechanism to facilitate more cost-effective donor support;

• institutional arrangement which will locate program coordination directly under a Cabinet-level body to ensure close linkage to policy.

4.0 Inputs Required for Program Implementation

The implementation of the above activities will require resources, inputs and substantive collaboration from the target communities, the local and national governments, NGOs, CBOs and religious organizations and the donor community. During the mission, the following indication of commitment and inputs were received:

4.1 National Government

§ strong support from NPSO and Local Government for the implementation of the NPDCG and willingness to allocate senior staff for program implementation and to exercise their coordination responsibility to provide the necessary program management support required

• NPSO will institutionalize the ECDMZ-based participatory development planning methodology into the national development planning process

• Directing ongoing programs and projects to the advance/ demonstration area

• Willingness from sectoral agencies to second senior staff members to the National Core Team of Trainers and Implementors and to also support their inter island travel from their regular budget

• Provision of local housing (outside of Port Vila) and operational support for any ESHDP project personnel

• Appointment of 5 regional planners

4.2 Development Partners

Consultations with the major development partner agencies indicated strong support for the proposed program scope for Vanuatu and a desire to further strengthen donor coordination and collaboration for targeting disadvantaged groups. Many donors also expressed willingness to provide funding for projects identified through the participatory planning process provided it is endorsed through the official government channel. The kind and level of support expressed by the development partners consulted are summarized below:

Peoples Republic of China

• China-based costs for short terms consultants and UNVs. UNDP has to meet all external costs.

British Aid

• will favorably consider request from government to support travel and community-based training of the National Core Team of Trainers and Implementors

• can integrate their rural health clinics, agriculture extension and urban food security projects into the national program

AIDAB

• can provide direct support to projects identified from the participatory planning process through its small projects grant (valued at AUD 220,000) which is consistently under utilized because of lack of good project proposals

• currently preparing a community-based water and sanitation pilot project (planned for 1994) which can be implemented in the selected demonstration/advance area

• willing to consider proposals for support of community-based capability building and national advocacy (including mainstreaming) program for ESHD

New Zealand

• flexibility exists for the rural skills training project (implemented by Dept. of Local Government) to be brought in line with the capability building priorities of ESHDP

• direct project support through its small projects fund (NZD 100,000)

• convergence of its rural water and sanitation program with priority disadvantaged communities

• willing to consider funding for national advocacy program for ESHD

USAID /FSP Profitable Environmental Protection Project

• provision of technical assistance for establishment of environmentally compatible enterprises in the demonstration/advance area(est. at USD 300,000 for 93 and 94)

CUSO

• funding for two regional planners post (up to 1996 based in the outer islands which can become part of the national network for project replication

Commonwealth Youth Program

• youth organization, skills and entrepreneurship development training

4.3 UNDP/ ESHDP

Proposed UNDP/ ESHDP inputs are as follows:

• one UNV Community Planning and Implementation Specialist for 3 years

• seed capital for community-based and managed micro project and enterprise credit schemes for the first year. It is envisaged that the project will be able to, through the success of the pilot initiative, in attracting additional seed capital injections from other donors.

• technical assistance and funding of training of trainers for participatory development planning and implementation with parallel funding from other development partners

• technical assistance and funding for training of trainers and sensitization programs for mainstreaming of women, youth rural communities in the development decision making process

• technical assistance for collection of baseline data on HD indicators in conjunction with community profiling and monitoring and evaluation process

• technical assistance for policy development and strengthening sectoral and donor coordination

• technical assistance on social preparation and community participation methodologies and approaches to other national and donor-supported projects and programs

• linkages with the UND regional Sustainable Development Network and other regional program resources