MDG3-cover.qxd 31/8/05 9:28 am Page 1 How to Make Poverty History: The central role of local organizations in meeting the MDGs The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) commit the international community to an expanded vision of poverty reduction and pro-poor growth, one that HowtoMake vigorously places human development at the centre of social and economic progress in all countries. The MDGs also recognise the importance of creating a global partnership for change, as high-income nations must reform their domestic How to Make Poverty History – The central role of local organizations in meeting the MDGs Poverty History and international policies related to agriculture, trade, and sustainable development; enhance the effectiveness of their aid programmes; and help poor countries to reduce their debt burdens. For their part, low-income nations must address fundamental issues related to governance, rights and social justice. In all cases, countries must set their own strategies and policies, together with their global partners, to ensure that poor people receive their fair share of the benefits of development. As an active member of this partnership, IIED has launched a programme of collaborative research, networking and advocacy on the MDGs. Meeting these ambitious goals requires more local action, local capacity and good governance. We aim to identify policies and practices that enhance these local development processes. We also aim to challenge inadequate and inaccurate measures of poverty and development progress and increase the influence of civil society on key debates and high-level policy processes. This booklet was produced for the UN 2005 World Summit in September 2005 and for IIED’s conference, How to Make Poverty History: The central role of local organizations in meeting the MDGs in December 2005. For more information about IIED’s work on the MDGs, go to http://www.meetingthemdgs.org. The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is an independent, non- profit research institute working in the field of sustainable development. IIED aims to provide expertise and leadership in researching and achieving sustainable development at local, national, regional, and global levels. In alliance with others we seek to help shape a future that ends global poverty and delivers and sustains efficient and equitable management of the world’s natural resources. ISBN: 1 84369 561 8 The central role of local organizations in meeting the MDGs International Institute for Environment and Development 3 Endsleigh Street, London WC1H 0DD, UK Edited by Tom Bigg & David Satterthwaite Tel: +44 (0) 20 7388 2117 International Fax: +44 (0) 20 7388 2826 Institute for Email: [email protected] Environment and http://www.iied.org Development MDG3-cover.qxd 31/8/05 9:28 am Page 2 Acknowledgements Production of this booklet would not have been possible without the hard work of numerous individuals. In addition to the written inputs of each of the chapter authors, coordination and administration was provided by David Satterthwaite and Tom Bigg, and Nina Behrman’s copy-editing greatly improved the text. IIED’s work on international sustainable development governance issues focuses on ways in which global decisions affect efforts to achieve sustainable development at local and national levels. This work has been made possible by support from the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida); the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD); the Directorate General for International Co-operation of the Netherlands (DGIS); the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC); and the UNDP Poverty and Environment Initiative (supported by the UK Department for International Development and the European Commission). ISBN: 1 84369 561 8 International Institute for Environment and Development 3 Endsleigh Street, London WC1H 0DD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7388 2117 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7388 2826 Design and layout by: Smith+Bell ([email protected]) Email: [email protected] Cover design by Regina Doyle http://www.iied.org Printing by Russell Press MDG3-prelims.qxd 31/8/05 9:33 am Page i HowtoMake Poverty History The central role of local organizations in meeting the MDGs MDG3-prelims.qxd 31/8/05 9:33 am Page ii Summary of the Millennium Development Goals and their targets 8 Millennium 18 Millennium Development Development Goals Targets 1. Eradicate extreme 1 and 2: Between 1990 and 2015, halve the proportion of poverty and hunger people: * whose income is less than US$ 1 per day * who suffer from hunger. 2. Achieve universal 3: By 2015 all boys and girls able to complete the full course of primary education primary school. 3. Promote gender 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary equality and empower education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no women later than 2015. 4. Reduce child 5: 1990–2015: reduce by two-thirds the under-five mortality mortality rate. 5. Improve maternal 6: 1990–2015: reduce by three-quarters the maternal mortality health ratio. 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, 7 and 8: By 2015, to have halted and begun to reverse: malaria and other * the spread of AIDS diseases * the incidence of malaria and other major diseases. 7. Ensure 9–11: environmental * Integrate principles of sustainable development into country sustainability policies, and reverse the loss of environmental resources. * 1990–2015: halve the proportion of people without safe water and basic sanitation. * Significant improvements in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. 8. Develop a global 12–18: partnership for * Establish a fairer trading and financial system, including a development commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction – both nationally and internationally. (Also targets that include aid flows equivalent to at least 0.7% of high- income nations’ gross national income.) * Address special needs of least developed and land-locked countries and small island states. * Deal with debt problems. * Strategies for “decent and productive” work for youth. * Provide access to affordable essential drugs. * Make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications technology. For the complete text and also details of the indicators to be used to monitor progress, see http://unstats.un.org/unsd/mi/mi_goals.asp MDG3-prelims.qxd 31/8/05 9:33 am Page iii iii Contents Foreword – Camilla Toulmin .......................................................................................... vii 1. Introduction: why local organizations are central to meeting the MDGs – David Satterthwaite .............................................................................................. 1 Overview ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 The contradiction between local development and centralized institutions .......... 3 The local processes on which development depends ............................................................ 8 Changes beyond the local ...................................................................................................................... 13 What international agencies should do .......................................................................................... 14 Monitoring the MDGs: local information for global goals................................................ 20 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................ 25 2. Securing land and property rights in Africa: the role of local institutions – Camilla Toulmin ...................................................................................... 27 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 27 Land under increasing pressure and competition .................................................................. 29 MDG3-prelims.qxd 31/8/05 9:33 am Page iv iv G Land rights in Africa: multiple origins and overlapping systems .................................. 32 Land management ...................................................................................................................................... 35 a. Multiple structures .................................................................................................................................. 36 b. How are rights secured? .................................................................................................................... 37 Contents c. The role of government ...................................................................................................................... 38 Creating a favourable climate for investment............................................................................ 40 Securing rights in practice ...................................................................................................................... 42 a. The problem of bureaucracy .......................................................................................................... 42 b. What does experience tell us?........................................................................................................ 43 c. Locally driven intermediate tenure .............................................................................................. 48 d.