UNITED NATIONS

CONVENTION TO COMBAT
DESERTIFICATION

Enabling the rural poor to overcome poverty

Introduction
In 1997, the first session of the Conference of Parties in Rome selected the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) to host the Global Mechanism (GM) of the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD). IFAD and the GM have since collaborated on a number of programme
activities to support UNCCD implementation. Together, they have conducted a review to assess how
IFAD’s programmes and projects relate to UNCCD objectives. The portfolio review analysed project design
documents for 185 loans and 708 grants approved between 1999 and 2005. Its purpose was to:
„ document IFAD’s interventions that are relevant to the UNCCD
„ enhance IFAD’s support to the UNCCD
„ encourage other development partners to undertake similar reviews to enable further
mainstreaming of the UNCCD objectives in their operations

The findings will be used as a baseline for future monitoring and to refine the methodology applied.
To support mainstreaming of UNCCD objectives in IFAD operations, and in those of other interested
development partners, IFAD and the GM will ensure that lessons learned and current innovations are
documented in “Learning Notes”.

Approach
Programmes and projects approved between 1999 and 2005 were selected for review based on whether
they targeted arid, semi-arid and/or dry sub-humid areas, followed by an assessment on whether they
addressed UNCCD objectives.
Ranking is attributed according to the Rio Markers1 developed by the Development Assistance Committee
(DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and classification is
based on the Relevant Activity Codes (RACs)2 developed by the GM.

Main findings
1. Rio Markers identify 1. Over the seven years under review, the value of resources approved for IFAD programmes
activities that target the
and projects supporting UNCCD objectives was equivalent to US$1.85 billion for loans, about
objectives of the three Rio
conventions: the UN 63 per cent of the total approved value, and US$118.68 million for grants, also equivalent to about
Convention on Biological 63 per cent of the total approved value. These figures refer to programmes and projects rated as
Diversity (UNCBD); the UN RM1, RM2 or RM3. See Graphs 1 and 2.
Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC);
and the UNCCD. For the
UNCCD, RM0=not targeted,
RM1=significant objective,
RM2=principal objective,
RM3=principal objective and in
support of an action
programme. The Rio Markers
were developed in consultation
with the Secretariats of the Rio
conventions, including the
UNCCD, the UNCBD, the
UNFCCC and the GM.
2. RACs include over 60
codes and topic descriptions
grouped under the four main
areas of UNCCD-related
interventions: Monitoring and
Research, Mitigation and
2. Over the seven years under review, 117 loan programmes and projects (63.2 per cent of all loans
Recovery, Risk Management, approved) and 288 grant programmes and projects (40.7 per cent of all grants approved) were
and Emergency Response. relevant to UNCCD objectives (rated as RM1, RM2 or RM3).
 3. A total of about US$2 billion in loans and grants was committed to relevant programmes and
projects (rated as RM1, RM2 or RM3), 46.8 per cent of which principally targeted UNCCD
objectives (rated as RM2 or RM3).
4. Nearly US$2 billion in cofinancing was leveraged from IFAD partners for implementation of
UNCCD-related loan programmes and projects. Financing partners for loans rated as RM2 or RM3
include governments, beneficiaries, the OPEC Fund, the West African Development Bank, the
Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank.
5. In line with CCD priorities, 46.8 per cent of the IFAD portfolio that directly targets the objectives
of the UNCCD (that is, projects rated as RM2 or RM3) was invested in Africa, for a total of
US$430.55 million. Similar investments in Asia and the Pacific are worth US$278.62 million,
or 30.27 per cent of the total, and those in Latin America and the Caribbean are worth
US$169.59 million, or 18.42 per cent of the total.
6. According to the RACs developed by the GM, IFAD’s involvement in combating desertification
focused on four broad topics: risk management, planning and mitigation, monitoring and research
and emergency response.
The distribution of loans was:
„ 55.64 per cent for risk management – production support, agriculture and resource conservation
„ 43.57 per cent for planning and mitigation – community development, services and
infrastructure, and resource management planning
„ 0.26 per cent for monitoring and research – knowledge management
„ 0.52 per cent for emergency response – population health, relocation and/or rescue and
rehabilitation of production systems
The distribution of grants was:
„ 38.65 per cent for risk management – agriculture, livestock systems and water conservation
Contacts „ 31.88 per cent for planning and mitigation – community development, governance and
legislation, and drought mitigation
„ 28.50 per cent for monitoring and research – technology activities and research and science
Sheila Mwanundu

„ 0.97 per cent for emergency response – population health, relocation and/or rescue
Senior Technical Adviser
Environment and Natural
Resource Management 7. All programmes and projects adopted a participatory approach and the design documents reflect
Technical Advisory Division IFAD’s attention to gender and environmental considerations.
IFAD 8. IFAD’s key institutional partners in the implementation of these programmes and projects are:
Via del Serafico, 107 ministries of agriculture and the environment, Consultative Group on International Agricultural
00142 Rome, Italy Research (CGIAR) centres – such as the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry
Telephone: + 39 06 54592031 Areas (ICARDA), the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the International Livestock Research
Fax: + 39 06 5459 3031 Institute (ILRI) – NGOs and community groups.
E-mail: [email protected] 9. Half of the loan programmes and projects classified as RM3 refer to all three Rio Conventions,
equivalent to 7.03 per cent of the portfolio.
Kwame Awere-Gyekye
10. There appears to be a positive correlation between the rating attributed to country and subregional
Programme Manager for
strategic opportunities papers and that attributed to the relative loan: 67.85 per cent of loans
Eastern and Southern Africa
related to strategic opportunities papers rated as RM3 are principally aligned to the UNCCD
Global Mechanism (that is, the loans were rated as RM2 or as RM3). One third of the strategic documents approved in
Via del Serafico, 107 2005 were rated as RM3.
00142 Rome, Italy 11. IFAD and the GM collaborated on numerous occasions during the period under review. An example
Telephone: + 39 06 54592199 is the integration of priorities outlined in the UNCCD National Action Programmes (NAPs) into
Fax: + 39 06 54593199 IFAD’s country and subregional strategic opportunities papers.
E-mail: [email protected]
12. IFAD’s efforts to support the UNCCD are enhanced by its role as an executing agency of GEF.
The Facility’s Operational Programme on Sustainable Land Management is an opportunity for IFAD
Links
to further address the links between poverty and environment.
www.ifad.org
www.gm-unccd.org
Conclusions
Mainstreaming of sustainable land management should go beyond focusing on poverty reduction
strategies because there are significant synergies to be leveraged also among the National Biodiversity
Strategies and Action Plans under the CBD, the National Adaptation Programmes of Action for least
developed countries of the UNFCCC, and the NAPs of the UNCCD. The partnership between IFAD and
GEF should further enable countries to build on such synergies.
Strategy papers serve as the first entry point for mainstreaming UNCCD objectives. The Environmental
Screening and Scoping exercise for projects was also identified as an important tool to mainstream
CCD objectives. The Learning Notes on the environment and on GEF are instrumental in directing
IFAD’s support to the implementation of the Rio Conventions, as well as addressing the nexus between
poverty and the environment.
The review demonstrates IFAD’s commitment to the UNCCD and highlights areas for improvement.
The enhanced collaboration between IFAD and the GM is expected to lead to:
„ increased mainstreaming of UNCCD in IFAD programmes and projects
„ better reporting of UNCCD-related activities
„
UNITED NATIONS
CONVENTION TO COMBAT
DESERTIFICATION learning from experience for effective replication and scaling up of effective interventions