The meeting, in Midrand, South Africa, was attended by representatives of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the African Union (AU) Commission, the NEPAD Secretariat, national ministries of agriculture and environment, multilateral development partners, African NGOs and civil society organisations.

The objective of the meeting was to consult with African stakeholders in finalising the SIP brief for submission to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in September 2006, with implementation to begin in early 2007.

TerrAfrica is a regional initiative to enable governments of Sub-Saharan Africa, the international development community and other global regional and national stakeholders to scale-up the mainstreaming and financing of country-driven sustainable land management.

Land degradation in sub-Saharan Africa is a major challenge that cuts across issues of poverty, health, the environment and economic growth. Up to two-thirds of Africa’s productive land area is affected by land degradation, while close to 100% is vulnerable.

Without an integrated approach to the challenge, current rates of land degradation cannot be reversed nor can the region’s socio-economic development targets be met. Sustainable land management offers the integrated approach needed to provide solutions to the challenge. The Midrand workshop followed the preparation workshop held in Dakar in April 2006 and two years of TerrAfrica consultations.

The main points highlighted at the workshop were :
 The serious dedication to sustainable land management (SLM) as an important issue for poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability ;

 General show of support for the Strategic Investment Programme (SIP), the tools and processes proposed for implementation ;

 The careful consideration that the SIP approach is in line with and takes into account existing initiatives and institutional structures ;

 The SIP approach supports country and regional priorities in addressing SLM and in alignment of investments, mainstreaming key SLM issues into country strategies and programs ;

 Agreement to build on the SIP approach to facilitate Africa’s improved access to GEF resources ;

 An apparent need to increase awareness of TerrAfrica through advocacy and relevant communication channels ;

 Build on AU’s plans to implement key Africa-wide SLM sector policies including environment, land tenure, water and fertiliser usage and recognise TerrAfrica as the framework for implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) ;

 Definition of distinct roles and responsibilities for NEPAD and RECs in the implementation of SIP objectives ;

 Ensure strong stakeholder participation and ownership in the SIP approach ;

 Throughout the SIP, strengthen linkages among NEPAD programs and relevant constituents ;

 ensure enhanced institutional capacity of NEPAD and the RECs for improved coordination and implementation ;

 Significant buy-in of the SLM project designed to strengthen the institutional and human capacities of NEPAD and the RECS.

Source : nepad news, august 4, 2006