Eric Patrick, adaptation specialist at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), presented a new innovative pilot programme in a TED-like ‘Landscape Talk’ at the Global Landscapes Forum in Bonn in December.
Patrick began with an analysis of three past water-harvesting projects that seemed to have failed.
Fences to manage grazing were removed. Many of the planted trees died. Water catchment structures were not maintained.
He talked to beneficiaries and other stakeholders to find out why. To his surprise their perception of the shortcomings were completely different to his own.
They said that the projects were successful. It offered them employment: the youth in particular. Materials were used for livestock kraals. The projects kept land out of the hands of the politically well-connected elders.
“Peoples’ criteria for successful projects were quite different from our own,” said Patrick.
Read the full blog post by Oliver Mundy on the IFAD Social Reporting Blog here.
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