General

This project addresses the ongoing critical development challenge of changes in land use in Indonesia, Burma (Myanmar), and India. It will generate knowledge and an evidence-driven intervention strategy to help people gain more security over the land and natural resources they rely on for their livelihoods and survival. Industrial projects, large-scale agriculture Since the 1990s, successive governments of growing Asian economies have promoted trade and industrial expansion as critical drivers for economic stability and growth. This focus has led to rural and peri-urban landscapes being transformed by industrial projects, infrastructure, and large-scale agriculture. For people who depended on the land, these transformations have resulted in serious social and ecological impacts: -direct physical displacement and dispossession -loss of livelihoods -pollution or land degradation Legal rights remain unprotected There are very few easily accessible remedies to address the impacts of land use change. While regulations to minimize and mitigate damage exist, implementation is poor. There is widespread non-compliance to regulations. Administrative agencies are ineffective at responding to local community needs and integrating them into policy or legal designs. Laws are also ineffective. They serve as a threat, but not something that people can use to exercise their basic rights. Lawyers are costly, and often focused on formal court channels that are impractical for most people The UN Commission on Legal Empowerment estimates that four billion people cannot exercise their legal rights because of costs, dysfunction, corruption, or abuse of power. There is a recognized need for intermediary institutions, such as media, political parties, and unions that help citizens exercise their rights. Community paralegals as a solution Community paralegals also offer an effective solution. They are attracting increasing attention from international organizations, including the UN Commission on Legal Empowerment, for being cost-effective, flexible, and able to manage plural legal systems. They are especially noted for their effectiveness in dealing with land rights disputes in many countries, including several in Africa. This project will map land use changes in Indonesia, Burma, and India. Researchers will study how community paralegals can -collect rigorous data on impacts of land use change -translate impacts into legally actionable evidence -help affected communities seek remedies through formal administrative and legal institutions closest to the point of impact The project team will use conduct locally grounded research that identifies workable solutions to reduce the adverse effects of land use change on communities. The research will advance knowledge, inform evidence-based policy, and build evidence to promote responsible land governance.

Objectives

To promote land degradation neutrality, restore and improve the use of land and water resources in Turkmenistan’s Amudarya watershed to enhance the sustainability and resilience of livelihoods and globally significant ecosystems.

Other

Note: Disbursement data provided is cumulative and covers disbursement made by the project Agency.

Target Groups

The envisaged benefits to local and national stakeholders will be interconnected with the aggregated environmental benefits enabled by the project’s features: (i) embedded integrated benefits and synergies across focal areas, (ii) mechanisms for integrated decision making and (iii) landscape-scale designed interventions. The project incentivizes local actors away from destructive behaviour through engaging them in biodiversity friendly livelihoods around protected areas. Adequate awareness, technical knowledge and access to funding are key to ensuring that stakeholders will be able to adopt innovative, environmental-friendly practices. The project therefore aims at increasing capacity of 100 public sector employees and 200 PAs staff who will be participating in training activities. Approximately 10,150 people stand to benefit directly from the project’s interventions. About 100 local farmers and pastoralists will benefit from the project’s Micro-scheme support for livelihoods ( under Output 2.3) and it is estimated that their income will register at least 20% increase as a result of the implemented SLM measures. This is a conservative percentage, as income generation from recommended SLM measures will likely provide more benefits: e.g. according to past donor-supported projects[1], application of rotational grazing alone can provide an estimated net profit of up to $16 per sheep ( after subtracting the costs per sheep of about $8). The repair of the irrigation network (Output 1.3) has proven economically profitable, for example: repair of dams and reservoirs will increase water availability and can support expansion of cultivation areas (that previously were not suitable); the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is 227% and the payback period is 1 year; the repair and lining of water storage basin will reduce water losses and leads to increased water supply. The IRR is 15% and payback period is 8 years; construction of drip irrigation systems will increase with approximately 40-50% the fruit and vegetable yields and the IRR is 29% and payback period approximately 5 years. Approximately 9,750 farmers will benefit from the improved refurbishment of irrigation systems on demonstration plots, demonstrative drip irrigation systems, construction of water wells, rainwater harvesting facilities and pasture management regimes and restored degraded land. The generated experience is replicable first to approximately 100,000 people (employed in agriculture) in Dashoguz and Lebap priority districts first, then at the province level, particularly through: the project supported policy (i.e. National Action Plan to Combat Desertification), different Guidelines on LDN compatible land use, manuals, land use planning tools, demonstrated experiences at local level that work, and with the support of the awareness events and radio/TV talk shows. Improved livelihoods resilience is likely to result in reduced economic losses associated with water scarcity, and in greater agricultural productivity, increased revenues and employment prospects and diversification of income sources. The project’s gender-sensitive micro-grant scheme will prioritise mid and small farmers located in the selected areas (and identified LDN hot spots) including women, youth and vulnerable people thus prioritising support to the most vulnerable among the farming communities, affected by climate vulnerability but also from a social perspective. Greater resilience will result in reduction in economic losses associated with climate shocks. At national level, these losses are estimated at $ 2.5 billion per year by 2030. Cost benefit analysis will be undertaken for individual investments to be made on demonstration plots. Due to the awareness and education events and due to the National LDN Target and enabling policies the potential for scaling up sustainable land management measures and integrated LDN compliant land use planning will increase the replication potential. The mechanisms for integrated decision making that the project will promote under GEF/UNDP Projects Output 1.1 (regarding participative integrated land use planning and regional LDN target setting) and Output 2.1 ( regarding the Local Councils and consultative committees to provide for local consultations on the designation of new protected areas and improved protection regimes around KBAs/IBAs and sanctuaries) will provide opportunities to reduce conflicts among resource users or overlaps in institutional mandates. General agreements on potential trade-offs promoted through an integrated and participatory manner, provide the platform for improved environmental and socio-economic benefits. In addition to agricultural activities, as it has been demonstrated by many other projects, during participatory mechanisms, farmers use these opportunities to talk about water, climate, sanitation and social issues and by so doing they are able to engage local authorities as partners in different other proposals for rural development. Finally, the project’s focus at landscape-level in the Amudarya Basin landscape and on the implementation of multiple interventions within a spatial unit, allows for generating more synergistic benefits. Healthy ecosystems will ensure resilience of the region to climate and human threats, and the maintenance of ecosystem services for local communities. [1] Examples recorded in UNCCD/WOCAT database

General

CAFOB IMPACT AND LONG-TERM OUTCOME The improved practices and policies of the Burundian government and other stakeholders such asprivate sector, allow cooperatives / farmers' organisations, especially the women farmer, to be heard and to have access to farminginputs, land and to decent work. TARGETED OUTCOMES TARGETED OUTCOME(S): Improved policies Government : (1) Legal recognition of land access/ compulsory registration of women#s/wife#s farmers on land titles; (2) Laws and regulations governing the agricultural sector are (changed) in favour of farmers and/or famers# organisations TARGETED OUTCOME: (3) Women effectively participate in governance and leadership bodies at local level, especially in the farmers associations' structure. TARGETED OUTCOME(S): Strengthened CSOs: (4) A sustainable peasant seeds system is strongly supported by enabled advisory frameworks of Civil Society Organisations, and (5) A sustainable peasant seeds system is strongly supported by enabled advisory frameworks of Civil Society Organisations. EARLY ANDINTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES 1. 1100 Improved Policies # Governments: Global Actors: # Cases of (sub) national governments or global actors adopting/implementing improved gender sensitive promoting small scale producers landrights <(>&<)> access to water (following Oxfam/partners actions) 2. 1400 Improved Policies: # of cases where Oxfam/partners influenced the Governments or global actors in adopting/implementing policies on (i) Sustainable food production and consumption, (ii) Land Rights and (iii) Climate Change with a gendersensitive lens. 3. 1440 Increased Citizen Voice: # of people (M/F) take action on (i) Sustainable food production and consumption, (ii) Land Rights and (iii) Climate Change with a gender sensitive lens following Oxfam/partners actions. 4. 1420 Strengthened CSOs: # or national CSOs increasingly participate in or initiate influencing and advocacy efforts on (i) Sustainable food production and consumption, (ii) Land Rights and (iii) Climate Change with a gender sensitive lens. 5. 1520 Strengthened CSOs: # CSOs influencing and advocating on farmers freedom to operate, positively strengthen innovation plant breeding and promote plant genetic diversity and Farmers Rights (as defined in ITPGRFA)contributing to the right to food. CAFOB'S PROJECT CONTRIBUTION The main contribution of Cafob in this project is to amplify the women's voice into policy changes to make them more gender sensitive in matters regarding accessto land, gender in action, and making gender visible.