The World Bank/WBI’s CBNRM Initiative

Case Received: February 4, 1998

Author : Dramane Traore, Chef de Section Aménagement des Terroirs CMDT Fana.

Fax: +223 22 8141

Email: ali@cmdt.mailnet.ml

The Village Lands Management component is being implemented in the Fana CMDT region of Mali. Fana is a subdistrict (arrondissement) of Dioïla district, which falls within the Koulikoro administrative region (the second region of Mali). For CMDT, the Fana region covers portions of Dioïla and Barouéli districts and is the second most important cotton-producing area in Southern Mali (124,000 tons in 1996-1997). The region is characterized by agricultural production systems organized around cotton, in which integrated farming and stockraising play an important role (animal traction, organic fertilizer, capitalization in the form of livestock). Village Lands Management is an experimental component for developing a methodological approach to natural resources management with the participation of villagers (target group), technical services active in the area (CMDT and other technical services) and support from a private consulting firm (AGE Mali). Thus, the emphasis is on a participatory approach. The component is receiving financial support from the World Bank for one year.

Quarterly interservice meetings were instituted in the area in 1989. These were mostly meetings to share experiences among the various technical services active in the area (the Fana CMDT region). The services involved were as follows: the Water and Forests Department and the Livestock Service of Dioïla and Barouéli districts, CMDT, and the Barouéli Agricultural Service. At these meetings, each service presented a report on activities carried out and problems encountered during the previous quarter, as well as a plan of activities for the coming quarter. These meetings revealed differences in the approaches followed by the various services; often it seemed that the participants were not even speaking the same language. Insofar as all the services had essentially the same target group, i.e. the rural population, it quickly became clear that there was an urgent need to harmonize their approaches. In 1992, when village lands development offices (SACs) were created in each CMDT region, it was proposed that zones be established to test the approaches followed by the various technical services, based on common programs developed in a participatory, grass roots fashion with the target group.

Thus, in 1992, five test zones were created, called Concerted Development Areas (ZACs): one in Barouéli district, comprising three adjacent villages, and four in Dioïla district. The following table identifies the ZAC villages:

A consultative unit linking CMDT and other government technical services was created in connection with the ZACs, and responsibility for coordination was assigned to the Fana CMDT rural development division through the village lands development office. A plan of collaboration was developed by a committee set up to define the operations of the consultative unit. The component document was drafted in 1993 on the basis of a rapid assessment of the various ZACs. This document was then submitted to the World Bank for financial support. The purpose of this request was to support the operations of the consultative unit and make funds available for natural resources management at the village level. The component began in 1993 under the responsibility of the Fana CMDT rural development division, operating through the village lands development office in cooperation with agents of the other technical services (Water and Forests, Livestock, Agriculture) active in the Dioïla and Barouéli districts. In 1996, funding from the World Bank was secured for one year. The component receives methodological support from a private consulting firm called AGE Mali, whose activities began in January 1997.

Operations of the consultative unit:

     -At the subdistrict (arrondissement) level:

At this level there are monthly meetings of the local agents of the various technical services. The meetings provide a forum for discussing the development and evaluation of the common program identified on a participatory basis at the grass roots level.

     -At the district level:

There are quarterly meetings of heads of the technical services and the consultative unit (CMDT, Water and Forests, Livestock, Agriculture). The meetings focus on the following issues: field trips, analysis of field trip results, reading and adoption of the minutes of the previous meeting, report on the activities of the preceding quarter in each ZAC, presentation and discussion of the program for the coming quarter, etc.

Technical services/consultative unit: At the subdistrict level, a multidisciplinary team was set up, composed of agents from the various technical services and a coordinator. At the district level, there is a multidisciplinary team composed of heads of the technical services and a coordinator. The activities of these teams are coordinated by the Fana CMDT rural development division through the village lands development office, with methodological support from the consulting firm of AGE Mali. At the ZAC level, subsequent to the intervention of AGE Mali, a methodological approach was adopted that consists of the following phases:

     -Village preparation

-General participatory assessment to complement the rapid assessments performed in 1993

     -Thematic assessment and awareness-raising

     -Planning/programming of actions

-Village organizations (creation of village natural resources management committees)

     -Training of the committees and other actors

     -Implementation

     -Monitoring and evaluation

The planning phase should culminate in the development of a natural resources management plan, for which implementation will require both human and financial investments.

The human investments are provided by villagers themselves. Grants for natural resources management are reimbursed by the village in order to establish a village natural resources management fund. The village natural resources management committees serve as an intermediary between the villages and the consultative unit. Village-level actions by the multidisciplinary teams, operating through the management committees, have significantly improved natural resources management. Efforts are now underway to develop local agreements on natural resources management.

Due to the short duration of the financial support (one year), it was impossible to fully develop certain phases of the participatory approach. However, CMDT has granted financial support for 1998, which will make it possible to complete the process.

Decentralization is now taking place in Mali, and, once the process is complete, rural communities will have a certain degree of autonomy in managing their own affairs. The experience acquired through this component, particularly with respect to the work of the multidisciplinary teams and the establishment of a local fund for natural resources management, could provide a useful example.

In addition, the Ministry of Rural Development is now being restructured in Mali. The restructuring strongly favors setting up multidisciplinary teams at several levels: region, district, commune. The consultative unit set up by this component could also provide a useful lesson.

The work of the multidisciplinary teams has served to strengthen collaboration among the various technical services and improve the performance of their agents.

Prefinancing of necessary expenditures by CMDT greatly facilitated implementation of the component over the short run insofar as procedures for releasing funds were shortened.

If this experiment is to be replicated, procedures for releasing funds should not be too cumbersome; otherwise, implementation will be affected.

For this component, responsibility for coordination was assigned to a single entity, CMDT. In the event of replication, would similar entities be available elsewhere?

The hope for the future is to move from village management of natural resources to intervillage management and, ultimately, to commune-level management of natural resources.

One final lesson to be drawn from this component concerns the role of the private consulting firm. Such firms could eventually provide services to communes, provided that the foundations for their work are solid.