Sustainable Management of Land and Water Resources, Phase 2
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Why is it important? Unsustainable management of natural resources, driven from human activities, result in ecological problems such as land degradation and declining access and availability to water resources. As the stability of eco-systems affects the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable communities, the sustainable management of land and water resources is a matter of great concern for both the government of Iran and non-governmental stakeholders. Drought, soil erosion, overgrazing and desertification are becoming increasingly difficult challenges for land management in large parts of rural Iran. In addition to these, increasing frequencies of floods over the last decades poses another challenge as it indicates a degraded condition in many of the country’s unplanned watershed areas. Such developments will have a serious impact on the agricultural development of Iran and imposes a threat not only on the country’s development but also on the status of its food security. In order to change this adverse trend, UNDP partnered with the Forests, Rangelands and Watershed Management Organization (FRWMO) in 1997 to initiate a project on the sustainable management of land and water resources. Phase one of the project was a pilot initiative in the field of integrated, participatory and community-based management of land and water resources in the rural areas of Iran. It has therefore provided valuable insight into how rural communities in Iran can participate in the sustainable management of their local natural resources. Building on the success of its first phase, the project entered into a second phase in 2005. The Hable-Rud River basin in Semnan Province, located in the Northern Iran, remains as a pilot site for the project during its phase II and serves as a model for developing an effective inter-agency and multi-sector institutional coordination mechanism which could be adopted for river basin management in the entire country. UNDP works with the government of Iran to reduce the excessive use of natural resources and its impact on the degradation of land and water resources. As such UNDP supports the country’s progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This project targets in particular MDG 1 (reducing poverty and hunger) and MDG 7 (ensuring environmental sustainability). What is our goal? The goal of this project is to continue the valuable work conducted in phase one. By planning an expanded programme of micro-level community-based planning and capacity building, the project aims to:
How will we reach it? The project aims to spread experiences and successes acquired during the project’s first phase to a wider geographical area in order to reach a larger number of communities. In phase two of the project, it will therefore continue strengthening local capacities while simultaneously scaling up pilot activities for a wider reach. In order to develop field workers capacity to use a participatory methodology when working with the rural communities, a range of capacity building activities will be undertaken targeting technical experts, extension workers and community facilitators. A strategy and action plan will be prepared for the whole basin with a micro-planning framework which would link community planning with watershed management principles. In addition, a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system will be set to monitor the delivery and impact of the project activities at the local level. What have we achieved? Community empowerment has been observed through the increasing involvement of community members in the project’s planning activities. Men and women in the community have used the project as a platform on which they have initiated and formulated their own community level activities. In addition pilot communities have mobilised themselves to prepare micro-projects, for which they sought technical and financial support from other sources. The project has supported a participatory community based planning process in which the specific needs of local women were identified. Focus was put on the critical role of women in meeting the welfare needs of households and the contribution they can make to various sectors. The project included male community members in these activities, in order to sensitize them to the concerns and challenges women face in their community. The need to have access to income generating opportunities for men and women received particular attention. The project’s various community empowerment and capacity development components inspired amongst others female headed groups to apply and receive funds from UNDP-Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Project for small businesses. One such example is a group of women in Lazoor who have secured funds in order to produce medical herbs. In addition to these, the village coordinating committee is discussing proposals for a mineral water bottling project with the World Bank. A wide range of baseline studies related to field activities and the management of land and water resources in the basin have been undertaken. Where appropriate the project has used the Geographic Information System (GIS) for these exercises. Financial Delivery The following is the breakdown of expenditures per year since the inception of project activities.
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NATIONAL MDG FOCUS
PROJECT AT A GLANCE Project Title: Sustainable Management of Land and Water Resources in Hableh-Rud Basin, Phase 2 Location: Semnan Province Duration: Start Date End Date 01.07.05 31.12.11 Budget: UNDP $1,000,000 Government in parallel $6,000,000 Total $7,000,000 Implementing Partner:
Project Status: Ongoing UNDP Program Staff: Ali Farzin National Project Director: Mr. Orangi National Project Manager: Mr. Mohammadi Project Document: Sustainable Management of Land and Water Resources in Hableh-Rud Basin - Phase 2
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Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Ensure environmental sustainability
About UNDP Iran
Millennium Development Goals
