Page 1 of 9 Regional Environmental Technical Assistance 5771 Poverty Reduction & Environmental Management in Remote Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Watersheds Project (Phase I) NGOs IN THE GMS Involvement Related to Poverty Alleviation and Watershed Management Lao PDR By Gunilla Riska CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 3 2 GENERAL 3 3 LEGAL FRAMEWORK 3 4 COORDINATION 4 4.1 Government-NGOs 4 4.2 Networking among the NGOs 4 5 ROLE OF NGOs 6 5.1 International NGOs 6 5.2 International NGOs at selected watersheds 7 5.3 Local organisations 10 6 CONCLUSIONS 11 6.1 General Conclusions 11 6.2 Co-operation with RETA 5771 12 REFERENCES 14 Page 2 of 9 1 INTRODUCTION The review of NGOs working with poverty alleviation and watershed management in some selected watershed areas, has been done within the limited time of a short -term consultancy. The aim is to get an understanding of the development of NGOs in Lao PDR to-day, with an aim to find organisations of interest for the project in its second planning phase and during implementation. 2 GENERAL The main increase in international NGO assistance occurred after the adoption of the New Economic Mechanism (NEM) by the Government of Lao PDR in 1986. Although the Constitution of 1991 approves of the establishment of associations and organisations local NGOs are not officially recognised. The Government officially acknowledges the importance of international NGOs and their possibilities in reaching vulnerable populations with efficient interventions, however, some mistrust still exist. The number of international NGOs in Lao PDR is growing slowly compared to the situation in e.g. Vietnam and Cambodia and there are to-day approximately 80 international NGOs present in Lao. The NGOs work in close co- operation with specific government counterparts and can through the local government reach down to local community and village level. In the past, the work consisted of support to infrastructure development in rural areas as well on health, humanitarian aid and relief, although agriculture also has been a major recipient for a number of years. Since 1996, integrated rural development has been the biggest recipient, with main focus on human resource development. Assistance from the NGO community has increased more than ten times from USD 1.3 M in 1986 to more than USD 16 M in 1996 (UNDP, 1998). 3. LEGAL FRAMEWORK Decree No 71/PM of April 28, 1998, pursuant to Law 01/95 and made public in English in May 1999, gives the administrative framework for the operations on international NGOs in Lao PDR. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall outline detailed regulations and recommendations on the application of this decree, which contains information pertaining to operations, rights and obligations of international NGOs as well as minimum budget specifications. All matters pertaining to the activities of international NGOs are under the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of International Organisations. According to the Constitution, adopted in 1991, it is possible to form associations and organisations, however no law exists to implement the Constitution when it comes to local NGOs, which are still to be recognised by the government. The few organisations which internationally could be defined as NGOs, and receive financial support from international NGOs, are registered in line ministries in other capacities. 4. COORDINATION 4.1 Government-NGOs Projects suggested by the NGOs for implementation have to be approved by the line Ministry, whereupon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues official approval. The NGO personnel will then be designated to line ministries, departments or government agencies. These authorities will have a say in the planning, implementing and monitoring of the projects. The government has shown some openness to decentralising decisions regarding community development supported by NGOs. Contracts for NGO development projects go through provincial and district authorities. Some, confusion over the new procedures, however, still exists Page 3 of 9 and has led to major delays for many projects. A Memorandum of Understanding is signed between the NGO and the government agency responsible for overseeing of the project. The Government has a tight control on who is working in the NGOs, which e.g. are requested to hand in three candidates when selecting new international staff. Decision on whom to employ is made by the Government. This also goes for short-term consultants who will need a go ahead from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs based on the recommendation of the line ministry. The approval of new projects and the decision on employment often takes long time and the mechanism is considered bureaucratic by the NGOs. Matters related to aid management, monitoring, supervising and managing foreign grants and loan-assisted projects are designated to the newly constituted Committee for Investment and Foreign Economic Co- operation (CIFEC). Functions related to planning and statistical co-ordination are assigned to the newly created State Planning committee (SPC). A Directory of NGOs present in Lao was published in 1997. An updated version will be due in July 1999. 4.2 Networking among the NGOs Networking among the international NGOs is fairly weak, although the NGO community has made efforts to co-ordinate activities and exchange ideas. To improve co-ordination between NGOs, Government and other organisations an NGO Forum existed between May 1994 and August 1996 when the permission to operate was withdrawn by the Government with reference to the regulations to be drafted by the Government for the NGOs. Co-ordination between NGOs has thereafter been done through informal meetings and sectoral co-ordination group meetings. Some of these groups were established in the beginning of the 90’s. Participating in these sectoral groups are NGO staff, and especially their Lao staff, personnel from other international organisations and government staff. The following sectoral groups have been established: Community Health Action Modular Participatory Approach (CHAMPA) Gender Development Group (GDG) HIV/AIDS Group Lao Training Network (LTN) Sustainable Agricultural Forum (SAF) Technical Advisory Group (TAG) SAF; Sustainable Agriculture Forum SAF, which was established in 1991, is a membership organisation project providing training, workshops and study tours to community development workers promoting sustainable agriculture. Members of SAF are: CUSO, working in Laos since 1989; Community Aid Abroad (CAA), supporting community-based rural development initiatives since 1988; CIDSE, operating in Laos since 1978; Japan International Volunteer Centre (JVC) working in Laos since 1988, and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) active in Laos since 1975. SAF is networking with Terra in Thailand and IIRR (International Institute for Rural Reconstruction) in the Philippines. CHAMPA Community Health Action Modular Participatory Approach CHAMPA, which started in 1990 as a project under CIDSE, still remains under the legal umbrella of CIDSE, although it is independent in terms of funding and management, and is looking for funding from international NGOs outside Lao PDR. A consortium of approximately 15 NGOs support CHAMPA, which has developed a national training strategy for village health volunteers. CHAMPA is networking within the CIDSE system. Page 4 of 9 The Gender Development Group To foster good relations and development for women, the Gender Development Group (formerly WID Group) meets regularly to discuss gender issues and to improve co-ordination and co-operation among NGOs, international organisations and the Lao Women’s Union. The group is under the umbrella of World Education. HIV/AIDS Working Group Co-ordinates and shares information on HIV and Aids among NGOs, international organisations and Government officials. The group meets every three months. Lao Training Network Meets monthly to share experiences on training. Technical Advisory Group Networks among the NGOs and other projects working with irrigation schemes. Different forms of regional networking exists; several of the international NGOs have regional linkages to draw experience from other programmes in the region, some of them regularly exchange views and experiences with colleagues in sister organisations in neighbouring countries. These are e.g. Care, Save the Children, Oxfam, Action Faim, Food for the Hungry, NCA and CIDSE. E.g. NCA, which has established a Regional Office in Vientiane, and is developing a NCA Regional AIDS Strategy through a network of individuals and institutions in Lao PDR, Vietnam and Thailand and Myanmar. Co-operation with Cambodia will start this year. In addition the networking with sister organisations other forms of regional networking exist, e.g. TERRA of Thailand is which together with CUSO, Lao providing financial support to CFSU, the Community Forest Support Group with CFP (The Community Forest Project) as an extension. CFP was established by the Department of Forestry, being the implementing agency, to support Community Forestry Activities. 5. ROLE OF NGOs 5.1 International NGOs Today there are some 80 international NGOs working in Lao PDR, either directly in projects financed by their own organisations or as executing agencies for or in co-operation with bilateral or multilateral donors or funders. Most of them have started operations during the 90’s. The international NGOs in Lao PDR, work closely with government counterparts, mainly with the local government but also national level and primarily