CSO Coordination Mechanism for
Sustainable Land Management
Regional Consultative Workshop

Eldelweiss Lodge - Pretoria, South Africa - 23-25 March 2009

Over 70% of the rural populations of SSA depend directly on land and its natural resources for their livelihoods which are based on agricultural production, use of forests or woodlands fisheries, and rangelands for livestock, etc.

There is thus a causal link between land degradation and rural poverty, with the poorest rural communities in SSA generally located in the most ecologically fragile and degraded areas.

UNDP, through the work programme of the TerrAfrica Civil Society Organisations Special Advisory Group, will hold a consultative workshop with CSOs from Sub-Saharan Africa on the establishment of a civil society coordination mechanism for SLM from 23 to 25 March 2009 in Pretoria, South Africa.

The workshop will be attended by a selection of representatives from national and regional networks focal points, CSO representatives who serve on SLM National Platforms, CBOs and development partners working on sustainable land management.

TerrAfrica’s investments in strengthening the capacity of civil society to engage in the initiative and sustainable land management have been at various levels. The TerrAfrica Civil Society Special Advisory Group was setup to elaborate a programme of work that builds on the comparative advantages of CSOs to facilitate equitable and effective community participation in SLM within the context of the TerrAfrica Programme.

The past experience seems to have not adequately addressed the coordination issues. The process still demands a clear action plan based on a systematic process of diagnosing and analysing the underlying issues affecting the local networking systems as well as clearly articulating CSO’s analytical agenda in SLM. Until the underlying causes are addressed and a clear CSO programme of work is developed, the participation in TerrAfrica and SLM risks to remain weak. Furthermore a shared vision and common agenda is required to bind the CSO membership in Africa together.